SLR July 2020 edition. by 55 North

DARREN GOLDNEY

Independent wholesalers betrayed

JULY 2020 | ISSUE 207

GREG DEACON

WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK

Time for brands to prioritise local

COMMUNITY HEROES SPECIAL

RETAIL HEROES

We celebrate the Covid-19 heroes and examine how we can build a long term legacy

LIQUID GOLD Cashing in on summer drinks

CRISP PROFITS

Sharing bags key in lockdown Special Coronavirus Community Heroes pullout inside!

July 2020

Contents

Contents ISSUE 207

NEWS p4

National Lottery Camelot moves its “Site, Stock, Sell” retailer rewards programme online. p5 Financial Assistance Scottish Grocers Federation establishes a new Retailer Support Fund. p6 Wholesalers CJ Lang unveils a new Click & Collect service for independent retailers. p7 Coronavirus Anger as the Scottish Government announces the closure of two key grant schemes. p8 News Extra Junk Food Legislation Rules outlawing multi-buy deals on crisps and confectionery are “paused”. p10 Product News There’s a new design and ﬂavour for Nordic Spirit while Mr Kipling’s Roald Dahl range returns. p12 Off-Trade News Smirnoff joins the Hard Seltzer party and Malibu launches a new consumer competition.

INSIDE BUSINESS p15 Opinion Greg Deacon It’s time that brands reworked their strategies to put much more emphasis on supporting local retailers, says the NFRN’s Chief Operating Officer. p16 Foodservice Rhian Thomas New research from IGD says the boundaries between foodservice and retail are no longer just blurred, they have broken down. p18 Open Letter Darren Goldney Unitas Wholesale’s boss challenges the government overthe lack of financial support for wholesalers during the Covid-19 crisis. p19 Hotlines The latest new products that suppliers want to see on your shelves. p26 Under The Counter The Auld Yin takes up ﬂy pishing. Yes, you read that right the first time. FEATURES p20 Summer Drinks It’s set to be an unusual summer, but one that will offer more than its fair share of opportunities for retailers to grow their summer drinks sales. p24 Crisps & Snacks There are some easy wins when it comes to growing your crisps, snacks and nuts sales.

ON THE COVER Community Heroes A special pullout celebrates the outstanding efforts of local retailers during the coronavirus outbreak.

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JULY 2020 | SLR

NEW PRICE MARK Price mark pack accounts for over 60% of total soft drink sales in independent and symbol convenience stores1

1P £ PM

500

*Recommended resale price

LOTTERY Retailer rewards programme gets shake-up

Camelot launches Site, Stock, Sell online and splits quarterly £10k into 10 prizes Camelot is shifting its Site, Stock, Sell programme online so that retailers who don’t receive a face-to-face visit from the Lottery’s Retail Sales Team during the coronavirus crisis don’t miss out on rewards. Site, Stock, Sell online will run from 27 July. National Lottery retailers will be able to score their store against ten Site, Stock, Sell questions each month by uploading images to the National Lottery Retailer Hub (tnlretailerhub.co.uk). These will then be reviewed by Camelot Retail Sales Executives and cash rewards will be earned when retailers score eight, nine or 10 out of 10. Each time they score eight or above, this also gives them one entry into the quarterly prize draw (maximum of three entries per quarter) for £10,000. This will now be split into 10 separate £1,000 prizes. Camelot hopes this will make a difference

to smaller shops, in particular, during the current challenging circumstances. Additionally, as part of the changes, Camelot is also introducing a new Site, Stock, Sell ‘score bonus’. This will give retailers who record scores of eight, nine or 10 out of 10 consistently across three months an extra £20. All of this is in addition to the normal £10 bonus events that will continue to support special event draws and Scratchcard campaigns – and means retailers could earn up to £70 per store with Site, Stock, Sell in the space of just three months.

CORONAVIRUS Publishing giant chips in to help struggling retailers

News UK adds to NFRN’s Covid-19 Hardship Fund

SCAN TO ADD TO YOUR NEXT ORDER Diet Coke Lime

Coke Zero

Coke Zero Cherry

Coke Zero Vanilla

Coke Zero Strawberry

Scan to receive your PMP POS kit *Recommended resale price is a recommendation only and you are free to set the price at whatever level you determine. Source: (1) AC Nielsen MAT Total Soft drinks independents and symbols w.e. 21.03.20. ©2020 The Coca-Cola Company. All rights reserved. COCA-COLA, COCA-COLA ZERO and DIET COKE are registered trade marks of The Coca-Cola Company.

News UK has become the latest company to back the NFRN’s Covid-19 Hardship Fund. Its contribution brings the fund’s total to £235,000. The NFRN created the Hardship Fund to help members who are facing severe hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic. Since its launch in April, the Hardship Fund has helped nearly 70 independent retailers and paid out £100,000. News UK Chief Operating Officer David Dinsmore (pictured) said: “News UK is incredibly grateful for all the work of our retailers throughout this pandemic to keep newspapers on the shelves, and in many cases starting or strengthening home news delivery services, ensuring nobody misses out on their favourite newspaper. “We are proud to be supporting the NFRN’s hardship fund for hardworking retailers who have fallen

on hard times and will continue to work with retailers to ensure we continue to serve our readers and your communities.” NFRN’s National President Stuart Reddish said: “I am so pleased that News UK has decided to back our Covid-19 Hardship Fund. “Independent retailers need our help now more than ever, and it’s great to see that so many companies have come together to support them.” Members suffering severe financial hardship can apply for a grant via the NFRN website. The Federation will provide help quickly to the applicants that need it most. www.slrmag.co.uk

CORONAVIRUS Contributions from key SGF partners get new fund up and running

SGF launches retailer support fund Scottish Grocers Federation has established a Retailer Support Fund to provide direct financial assistance to retailers and their families. The creation of the fund was made possible by an initial – and very significant – contribution by key SGF partner Camelot. The Fund has now been given additional and very welcome contributions from key SGF members Bobby’s Foods, Hancocks, Shoply, Tunnocks and Towergate Insurance. Camelot’s Retail Director, Jenny Blogg, commented: “We’re delighted to be able to make a donation to the SGF Retailer Support Fund. Our retail partners have always been there for us over the past 25 years, so we’re honoured to be in a position to help them out at this challenging time. “I want to take this opportunity to thank SGF members for the continued support they have shown

to Camelot, The National Lottery and the Good Causes it supports – particularly over the last few months. Good Cause funding has never been more crucial than it is now, as The National Lottery helps the UK respond to, and recover from, the Covid-19 crisis. In total, up to £600 million in National Lottery funding is being directed towards UK charities and organisations to help tackle the impact of Covid-19.” SGF Chief Executive Pete Cheema added: “We are immensely grateful for the tremendous response from our key partners and members. They have shown how willing they are to support our industry during a time of unprecedented crisis. The fund will provide invaluable help to those in need.” For more information on the fund please download the application form on scottishshop.org.uk.

SAME GREAT TASTE Flavoured Light Colas are worth £171 million and growing +17.7%2 L 1.75

5 £1.7P* PM

*Recommended resale price

SYMBOL GROUPS Ascona win boosts Nisa’s recruitment numbers

Nisa notches up 242 new store sign-ups

Nisa has reported further strong recruitment numbers, with 242 stores onboarded in the five months to May 2020. This follows a robust year post acquisition by The Co-op Group in May 2018 and places Nisa £2.4m ahead of its recruitment budget for the year-to-date. The 242 new recruits include 37 sites secured with growing forecourt retailer Ascona Group. The strong start to 2020 follow a record 2019 for Nisa with over 500 stores enlisted, marking a 40% like-for-like leap in store number recruitment. www.slrmag.co.uk

Nisa CEO Ken Towle said it had been an “incredibly busy” start to the year: “The additional 242 recruitment wins build on the positive momentum set in 2019 and are testament to the strength of Nisa’s offering. “I am pleased to welcome our new partners, who will receive industry leading support, competitive prices and have access to the awardwinning Co-op own brand. “As we move into H2, we will continue to support our partners, ensuring they are able to operate profitably and remain well equipped to serve their communities.”

SCAN TO ADD TO YOUR NEXT ORDER Coke Zero Cherry

Coke Zero

Diet Coke

Coke Zero Vanilla

To find out more visit www.cokecustomerhub.co.uk or call Customer Hub on 0808 1 000 000 *Recommended resale price is a recommendation only and you are free to set the price at whatever level you determine. Source: (2) AC Nielsen MAT Total GB Light Cola w.e. 22.02.20. ©2020 The Coca-Cola Company. All rights reserved. COCA-COLA, COCA-COLA ZERO and DIET COKE are registered trade marks of The Coca-Cola Company.

News WHOLESALERS Spar Scotland wholesaler expands service

FSS offers free online allergy training Food Standards Scotland has developed a new online training tool to improve awareness about food allergens in manufacturing and catering settings. The free tool, which should be of interest to retailers with a food-to-go offer, comprises six modules which are designed so progress can be saved and returned to later, allowing users to learn at their own pace. Find the training tool at bit.ly/2Bl3ObU.

C-Store Collective partners with OpenRoom Events C-Store Collective – the new convenience and forecourt retailing super-consultancy – has welcomed B2B events business OpenRoom as its sixth partner. OpenRoom creates industry-

CJ Lang launches click and collect CJ Lang has launched a click and collect service aimed at providing trade customers with a full ambient and selected chilled range. Operating from its 180,000sq ft distribution centre in Dundee, the wholesaler will provide a click and collect service seven days a week, where trade customers place orders via its website before 1430 hours and collect them by 1800 hours the same day. Orders received after 1430 hours will be available for collection the next day. CJ Lang Chief Executive Officer Colin McLean said: “During the pandemic, we have been in a fortunate position to be able to continue supplying our independent Spar retailers with what they needed to provide communities with essential items on a daily basis.

Colin McLean “Our distribution team has been doing a phenomenal job and also provided a number of retail businesses outside of the Spar network with product over the past 12 weeks. As a result we felt we could expand on this service and provide not only our existing independent Spar retailers with a click and collect service but also allow other retail

trade customers the opportunity to order and collect from our depot. “We are doing all we can to support independent retailing in Scotland and as we work with a growing number of Scottish, UK and international suppliers, we have the ability to offer retail businesses an extensive product range.” The service has been in operation since 10 June and, due to its ongoing success, CJ Lang plans to add more products over the coming weeks. The Spar Scotland wholesaler and retailer also hosted a webinar for suppliers in June, giving details on its progress over the last 12 months and outlining its future strategy. Over 300 delegates took part in the online event, which consisted of five sessions based on trading categories.

speciﬁc events around the world connecting end users with suppliers. Using one-to-one meetings and social functions, it provides a networking experience for those looking to build their business.

Two new faces in CJ Lang’s boardroom Spar Scotland wholesaler and retailer CJ Lang has named Louise Rogers as its new HR Director. She will also take up the role of Company Secretary, working with the Main Board. Meanwhile, Sonya Harper has been promoted to Central Operations Director in recognition of her signiﬁcant contribution to the development of the company in several key areas.

Jisp shopping app trial kicks-off in NFRN stores All-in-one shopping app Jisp has gone live this week across six stores as part of its partnership with the NFRN. The stores’ customers can now take advantage of deals and offers, home delivery and Click & Collect services as well as virtual quizzes and community events. NFRN National President Stuart

CORONAVIRUS Sales team gives commission to NHS

WHOLESALERS

Bestway Vans fundraiser takes the biscuit

SWA joins Scottish Tourism Recovery Taskforce

Bestway Vans Direct has teamed up with snacking giant pladis to raise money for frontline services within the NHS. The Vans Direct team donated their personal incentives and commissions from all biscuit sales over the last few weeks. Their generosity was then matched pound for pound by pladis, to reach a total of £7,537.32. All monies raised will be donated to the NHS in the face of the coronavirus pandemic to help focus supplies where they are most needed. Bestway Wholesale boss Dawood Pervez said the “fabulous” initiative showed “just how passionately everyone is feeling in wanting to help and support frontline essential workers. “Times are tough for all right now and to donate part of their earnings is a real testament to how strongly everyone feels.” Scott Snell, Customer Vice-President at pladis UK & Ireland, said the company was bowled over by the sentiment of the Bestway Vans Direct Team in giving up their personal commissions: “We felt that this was an exceptionally selﬂess act made by the Vans team personally that was worthy of recognition, so we promised to match pound for pound what the team could raise.”

The Scottish Wholesale Association has been invited to participate in the new Scottish Tourism Recovery Taskforce. Chaired by Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism and Jamie Hepburn, the Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, the group will look at the needs of the tourism and hospitality sector as it recovers from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. SWA boss Colin Smith, who will sit on the new group, said: “The Scottish Government acknowledges the key role of wholesalers within the food and drink supply chain so I am delighted that the SWA has been asked to join this taskforce. “Wholesalers supply thousands of businesses operating in the tourism and hospitality industry, and many of our members are in a precarious position after three months of next to no income yet they are still expected – with greatly depleted resources both ﬁnancially and physically – to help the industry reopen as it moves out of lockdown. “It’s going to be a challenge for the whole economy but we hope the taskforce will help ensure that businesses open successfully and transition from opening with a reduced customer base to surviving until ‘normality’ and full viability returns.”

Reddish is trialling the app in his Baxters Londis store. KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST NEWS AS IT HAPPENS – FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SLRMAG

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News CORONAVIRUS Scottish Government under fire from SGF on two fronts

Anger at grants closure and conditional rates relief idea The Small Business Grant and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant schemes will close for new applications on 10 July. Confirming the closures, Scotland’s Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said the rate of new applications had slowed in recent weeks and any remaining funds could be re-routed to help businesses in other ways. Up to 2 June, £824.5m had been distributed to 72,622 businesses across Scotland through the schemes. The Scottish Grocers Federation opposed the decision – which it said was taken “without any consultation” – and wrote to Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, calling on the Scottish Government to keep the grants open until at least the end of this year.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes SGF Chief Executive Pete Cheema said: “The Scottish government must extend the deadline to 31st December this year or to revert back to the original closing date of 31st March 2021. Reducing the time available to apply for a grant puts Scottish businesses at a severe disadvantage from those in the rest of the UK, where the deadline remains at 31st March 2021.” There was also anger at key recommendations in a report from the Advisory Group on Economic

Recovery, which was set up by the Scottish Government to provide independent expert advice on helping Scotland’s economy recover from the impact of Covid-19. Its report stated that the government’s approach should include targeted use of rates relief to incentivise economic recovery but that this should be accompanied by greater use of conditionality – this could mean that to qualify for the small business bonus, retailers would have to pledge to pay the Scottish government’s living wage or invest in skills in training. Urging the Scottish Government to disregard the recommendation, SGF Chief Executive Pete Cheema said: “Retailers should not be forced into having to make pledges and guarantees in order to qualify for key rates reliefs.”

Pastorfrigor unveils new refrigeration range Pastorfrigor has launched its new generation integral Genova Overview refrigeration range. The plug-in range is a quick turnkey solution for convenience stores and food-to-go businesses that want to replace their refrigeration overnight. The entire range is available using the natural refrigerant R290 and has a maximum charge per system of just 150g.

Shoply delivers a spot on top 100 startups list Edinburgh-based tech ﬁrm Shoply has been listed at number 67 on the Startups 100, an index that showcases new businesses which demonstrate innovation, solid ﬁnancials, economic impact, and the ability to scale. Shoply is currently collaborating with the SGF on a partnership that will see the home delivery platform piloted across several Federation

PAYMENT SERVICES New deals for rival service providers

PayPoint renews MFG deal, Payzone expands PayPoint and Motor Fuel Group (MFG) have announced a renewal of their partnership agreement that will see the deployment of an EPoS integrated PayPoint solution into 900 locations, and the continuation of Collect+ parcel services in almost 500 stores. MFG is the largest independent forecourt operator in the country and comprises BP, Shell, Esso, Texaco, JET and Murco-branded stations among its portfolio. In renewing and reshaping its partnership with PayPoint, the company expects to benefit from an improved customer and operational experience. Danny Vant, Client Services Director at PayPoint, said: “This is great news for PayPoint and Collect+. MFG is a really important part of the PayPoint and Collect+ networks, and the move to an EPoS integrated solution will mean a better experience for the stores and consumers alike.”

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Meanwhile, rival payment services provider Payzone has signed exclusive agreements with two new bill payments partners – Scottish Power Smart Metering and Jersey Electric. It also said that 2,300 new retailers have signed up for a Payzone terminal in the last six months. Payzone, which was acquired by Post Office Limited in October 2018, now has a network of 24,000 locations. Since Payzone and Post Office become the exclusive bill payments provider for British Gas, the average number of transactions through a Payzone till has more than doubled. Payzone also launched its #Keeptalking campaign on its social media channels, which encourages customers to check in on a neighbour, relative or someone who is self-isolating to top up their phone credit and keep talking to loved ones.

STORES FOR SALE

member stores.

Nisa Shieldhill on market

Fuel sales on long road to recovery Fuel sales are slowly rising again as lockdown eases but are still almost 40% below their usual levels. Forecourts sold an average of 17,690 litres per day in the eight weeks before lockdown started on 23 March

A Nisa-branded store near Falkirk is on the market at an asking price of £575,000. The store’s food-to-go operation generates £7,500 in sales per week on average while the Snappy Shopperpowered home delivery service brings in circa £10,000 weekly. The premises were rebuilt, extended and fully refurbished in March 2019. There is scope to extend the food offering. Daniel Arrandale, Director of Retail at Christie & Co, who is handling the sale, commented: “Nisa Shieldhill is a wonderful example of modern convenience store retailing.”

then plunged to a low of 2,522 litres on 12 April. Sales are recovering slowly but surely, with ﬁgures for the week ending 31 May up 7.5% on the week before.

Free virtual energy assessments from ZWS Small businesses in Scotland are encouraged to bring their costs down with a free, one to one, a virtual energy assessment from Zero Waste Scotland. An expert advisor will assess current energy use data to identify and quantify savings. Assessments typically ﬁnd 24% savings on business energy bills. To ﬁnd out more, or to apply, visit energy. zerowastescotland.org.uk.

JULY 2020 | SLR

News Extra

Legislation | Junk Food Promotions

NewsExtra UNLOCK SNACKING SALES – P24 LEGISLATION Highly disruptive new rules put on hold

Convenience Matters with the SGF The inevitable (or seemingly inevitable) doesn’t always happen: in what is surely a sign of these unprecedented times the Scottish government has jettisoned key planks of its legislative program. A few weeks ago, it was announced that the Circular Economy Bill would not be taken forward. In terms of the impact on convenience the Bill would have introduced a coffee cup levy and increased the carrier bag charge in Scotland. Given the importance of all things related to the environment, this is a major decision. It has not stopped there. The latest victim of this legislative cull is the Bill to restrict promotions of foods deemed to be high in fats, salt, and sugar. The legislation will not happen in this parliament and with a Scottish election next year, it is difﬁcult to see it happening in the foreseeable future. This might just seem like a technical adjustment to the process of government but if it had gone forward the impact of this legislation on convenience retailing would have been severe. Particularly as it would also have placed restrictions on where products could be placed, in-store advertising, branding of chillers and so on. The convenience sector has – at least for the time being – avoided regulations which would have been costly, disruptive and from a policy point of view, largely ineffective. At the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, SGF wrote directly to Nicola sturgeon and key Cabinet Secretaries urging them to suspend any legislation which would impact on retail. They might just have listened.

SLR | JULY 2020

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT PAUSES JUNK FOOD LAWS

New rules banning multi-buy offers on crisps and confectionery are scrapped for the time being, as Ministers “take stock” of lockdown’s impact on Scotland’s diet.

New laws restricting in-store promotions of foods deemed be high in fats, sugar or salt in Scotland have been put on hold. The Scottish Government had promised to introduce the legislation before the next Holyrood elections, which are due to be held on 6 May 2021. The Restricting Food Promotions Bill would have banned multi-buy offers and would also likely have placed restrictions on where products could be positioned within a store – putting an end to confectionery displays at aisle-ends and the tillpoint. However, Minister for Public Health Joe FitzPatrick said the pause would give the Scottish Government “an opportunity to take stock, take into account the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown, including on people’s diet and healthy weight”. There are concerns that lockdown has caused some people to eat more and exercise less. Evidence may also suggest that the coronavirus causes more severe Covid-19 symptoms in those who are extremely overweight. Almost one-third of adults and over 10% of children in Scotland are currently classed as obese; the Scottish Government has pledged to halve the childhood obesity rate by 2030. FitzPatrick said the Bill wouldn’t be introduced in the current parliament, which ends in May 2021.

He added: “We remain fully committed to restricting the promotion and marketing of foods high in fat, sugar or salt where they are sold to the public and will seek to progress this measure as soon as it is possible to do so.” Scottish Grocers Federation welcomed the news; at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, SGF wrote to the First Minister and key Cabinet Secretaries urging them not to bring forward any legislation which would adversely affect the convenience industry. SGF boss Pete Cheema said: “We are delighted that that the Scottish government has listened to our concerns and taken this very pragmatic approach to this legislation. These are unprecedented times. “Our industry will need time and support to recover from the Covid-19 crisis and it would have been ill-advised to enact this legislation which would have been costly, disruptive and ineffective.” However, health campaigners condemned the decision to pause the Bill. Obesity Action Scotland called on the Scottish Government to re-introduce the measure “as soon as possible”. Its Programme Lead Lorraine Tulloch said: “If we want to secure the health, resilience and longevity of the people of Scotland then tackling overweight and obesity must be a priority.” www.slrmag.co.uk

News

Products

Nation goes mad for mushrooms Britain is swapping meat for

ProductNews

mushrooms, according to new research from – surprise, surprise – the Mushroom Bureau. Apparently 1.2 million more consumers bought fungi in April this year. The data also found that shoppers are picking up a pack of mushrooms every other week. White Closed Cup is the nation’s favourite variety, followed by Chestnut and then Button.

British Lion backs bid to save high streets The British Egg Industry Council has welcomed The Daily Mirror’s ‘Shop for Britain’ campaign, which has been launched to encourage consumers to buy British goods to help save high streets. It comes when imported eggs are back on major retailers’ shelves for the

ALL THE LATEST NEW PRODUCTS – P19 BAKERY Premier’s popular limited-editions return for a fourth year

Mr Kipling brings back Roald Dahl range Premier Foods has relaunched its limited-edition Roald Dahlthemed Mr Kipling range and onpack promotion. Now in its fourth year, the range delivered £3.6m RSV in summer 2019. Alongside four limited-edition products, a packaging redesign is rolling out across the core Mr Kipling range. The limited-edition SKUs are available on a when-its-gone-itsgone basis, including the brand new Miss Honey’s Delightful Honeycomb Flavour Slices, which joins three favourites from previous years: The BFG’s Strawbunkles & Cream Fancies,

George’s Marvellous Lemon & Raspberry Whirls and The Enormous Croc’s Chocolate Mud Pies. The accompanying on-pack promotion gives shoppers the chance to win thousands of prizes for the family, including trips and experiences across the UK inspired by the Roald Dahl stories, as well as books and games. Shoppers will be directed to a microsite where they can enter a code from inside packs to see if they have won, as well as gaining access to hints and tips on how to make the most of the summer.

The campaign is supported by in-store activity including a wide range of digital, aisle end and bespoke branded display units to generate interest among shoppers throughout the summer. The limited-edition Mr Kipling Roald Dahl range is available until 31 August.

ﬁrst time in decades, and the industry lobbies Government to not reduce, or remove, tariffs on imported eggs.

Bobby’s and Bonds Singles in growth Bobby’s Foods and Bonds of London have both featured in the Top Five Winning ‘Singles’ Brands in the Wholesale and Convenience channels, according to the latest IRI data. Bobby’s came third in the list with growth of £1.1m, whilst Bonds took ﬁfth spot with £863,000 growth in the category. Other brands in the top ﬁve included Mars Twix, Cadbury Twirl and Cadbury Crunchie.

Botulism fears force Primula off shelves Squeezy cheese brand Primula was forced to issue a recall alert after Clostridium botulinum bacteria was found in one of its products. If untreated, botulism can cause paralyis and death. All ﬂavours of 150g Primula Cheese tubes with best before dates between 25.12.20 and 28.01.21 alongside all ﬂavours of 100g tubes (BB 30.10.20 to BB

CONFECTIONERY Where’s the rainbow?

Skittles launches Pride limited-edition For the fifth consecutive year, Skittles has removed the colours from packs – sweets included – to support the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month. Also, with most Pride events cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the brand has teamed up with Gay Times and Switchboard for its latest campaign, Letters Filled with Pride, that aims to let people stay in touch with family and friends they cannot meet up with. Anyone wishing to send a letter can log into to the Letters Filled With Pride website to create their note, before submitting it to be printed and posted free of charge to a recipient of their choice. The on pack-promotion is available on 152g and 196g Skittles Pouches. Victoria Gell, Skittles Director at Mars Wrigley, said: “We believe that giving up our rainbow means so much more than just removing the colours from our Skittles packs, which is why we have supported Switchboard for the last three years and this year have worked closely with the Switchboard volunteers and Gay Times to develop a campaign aiming to keep people connected even while we’re apart.”

HOUSEHOLD

Marigold cleans up product names Marigold has revamped its packaging to make it clear to shoppers exactly what its products are for. Updated packs on the brand’s cloths and scourers range are designed to offer customers a more comprehensive outline of product USPs. Marigold’s quirky product names – including Let it Shine, Squeaky Clean and Cleaning Me Softly – are now qualiﬁed with a descriptor to make it obvious what the type of product is and what its primary uses are. One product, No More Elbow Grease, has been renamed as the more selfexplanatory Scrub Away and given a ‘heavy duty scourer’ product descriptor. Laura Marsden, Shopper Product Manager for Marigold commented: “In a category where shopper decisions are made in a matter of seconds, it‘s important that packaging clearly communicates product USPs. With this in mind, we have taken this opportunity to further strengthen shopper comprehension of our products.”

10.12.20) are affected. KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST NEWS AS IT HAPPENS – FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SLRMAG

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Products

News

Make your own Fanny, Irn-Bru urges public Irn-Bru give its fans a chance to star in their own adverts for Scotland’s favourite ginger recently as part of its ‘Irn-Bru

TOBACCO ALTERNATIVES JTI builds on successful start for nicotine pouches

New design and ﬂavour for Nordic Spirit

Gets You Through’ campaign.

Following its successful launch into the convenience channel last year, JTI has unveiled a new design and flavour – as well as price-marked packs – for Nordic Spirit tobaccofree nicotine pouch brand. Already available in Mint and Bergamot Wildberry, Nordic Spirit has extended its range with an Elderflower variant. All three are available in 6mg and 9mg strengths, with an RSP

or remake classic Bru TV ads

of £6.50 for 20 pouches. As well as the brandnew flavour, key changes to the design include enlarging the brand name, in particular ‘Nordic’, to emphasise the product’s deep connection to its Swedish heritage. Additionally, the varying strengths are now represented with four hexagons in line with other products in the category for consistency and ease for the customer. Stephane Berset, JTI’s UK

Head of Marketing, commented: “Since its launch in 2019, we have seen Nordic Spirit go from strength to strength as more adult smokers and vapers look for alternative nicotine products.” He said the rapidly evolving category, already worth £380,410 a month, presented a “huge” profit opportunity: “We would urge retailers nationwide to incorporate Nordic Spirit into their offering as the category continues to flourish.” For more information, retailers should speak to their JTI rep or visit nordicspirit.co.uk and JTI Advance.

The public was asked to create their own Gets You Through ﬁlm such as Fanny, Steamy Windows and Blind Date. Fans posted their ads on social media, and the best ones featured in a special Irn-Bru STV ad-break takeover.

Häagen-Dazs ditches plastic spoons Häagen-Dazs has stopped including a single-use plastic spoon in its mini cup multipacks. The luxury ice cream brand estimates this will save 126 tonnes of plastic and will prevent the distribution of around 30 million plastic spoons in the UK annually. The removal is the ﬁrst step for Häagen-Dazs on a “comprehensive journey” to

SPORTS & ENERGY

CONFECTIONERY

Rockstar splits from Barr early, ramps up caffeine

Swizzels adds Love Hearts and Parma Violets PMPs to Originals range

Rockstar Energy has terminated its contract with AG Barr. The Cumbernauld-based soft drinks producer makes, sells and distributes Rockstar in the UK under a licence that was due to expire in 2024. The contract will now end on 23 August 2020; AG Barr will be compensated for its early termination. The move follows soft drinks giant PepsiCo’s purchase of the Rockstar brand in March for $3.85bn. Rockstar accounted for around 8% of Barr’s total sales volumes in the last ﬁnancial year. The news came shortly after Rockstar launched a reformulated core range containing 25% more caffeine. Rockstar seeks to create a point of difference for shoppers and retailers within the crowded energy drinks market with the new recipe. It will launch across the full core range, which includes bestsellers Xdurance and Punched as well as Original and SuperSours (Bubbleburst and Blue Raspberry) variants. All will be available in 500ml 99p big can formats. The substantial caffeine boost in the new recipe follows the success of higher caffeine energy drinks delivering high market growth in the USA.

Swizzels has expanded its Originals range with pricemarked hanging bags of Love Hearts and Parma Violets. The £1 PMPs are now available for convenience stores and independent retailers. Each Originals variant comes in a 142g hanging bag and they are both suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Swizzels also released the ﬁrst ever Parma Violets recipe book online to coincide with National Parma Violets Day on 26 June. A consumer marketing campaign in the run-up to the big day invited the public to share their own recipes incorporating the sweets for a chance to appear in the book, which bears the title ‘50 Tastes of Purple’.

become more sustainable.

Six new Spar brand chilled desserts launched Spar has added six new on-trend lines to its own-label chilled dessert range: Chocolate Sundae 110g; Coffee Sundae 110g; Caramel Panna Cotta Twinpack pots 150g (2 x 75g); Chocolate Triﬂe Twinpack 180g (2 x 90g); Blackcurrant Cheesecake Twinpack 200g (2 x 100g); and Strawberry Cheesecake Twinpack 200g (2 x 100g). The new products are based on popular customer demands.

Cadbury controls calories Mondelez is making inroads on its pledge to bring all Cadbury chocolate and wider biscuit products typically bought by parents for children to under 100 calories by the end of the year. Fudge, Curly Wurly, Chomp and Barny sponge bears will all comply by October. New pack designs will roll out with a ﬂash highlighting the under 100 calories messaging.

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JULY 2020 | SLR

News

Off-Trade

Keepr’s unveils ultra-low alcohol G&T RTD The British Honey Company, the

Off-TradeNews

producer of honey-infused spirits brand Keepr’s, has launched its ﬁrst ultra-low alcohol product. Keepr’s Ultra Low Alcohol Gin & Tonic ﬂavoured drink (ABV less than 0.5%) is available now in cases of 12 x 250ml. The launch taps into consumer trends for both premium RTDs and low/ no alcohol drinks. For stock enquiries, visit britishhoney.co.uk.

Survey shows Brits drinking moderately under lockdown In the ﬁrst survey to measure how much UK consumers are actually drinking during the lockdown, the Portman Group – the UK alcohol regulator and social responsibility body – has concluded that most Brits are drinking the same or less compared to before 23 March,

SOAK UP SOME SUMMER DRINKS SALES – P20 LIQUEURS Pernod Ricard brand targets Generation Z

Malibu’s consumer comp adds hint of sunshine Coconut rum brand Malibu has unveiled a new digital campaign, which gives consumers the chance to win a Malibu gift pack. With social media usage in the UK up 18% from February to March, the campaign is aimed squarely at Malibu’s target audience of ‘Young Fun Starters’ (or Gen Z). It sees the Pernod Ricard brand partner with lockdown content creators to launch a usergenerated ‘Holiday at Home’ content series, encouraging people to share where in the world they would rather be during the summer months.

By posting on social media and tagging @maliburumuk with #MalibuHoliday, consumers will be entered into a competition giving them the chance to win an at-home pack featuring all the Malibu products available in the UK. Malibu is also increasing its reach by partnering with ‘meme’ account The Archbishop of Banterbury. Raja Banerji, Marketing Director at Pernod Ricard UK, commented: “During these uncertain times, consumers are looking to learn new skills and are seeking moments of joy

within their home. Memories are able to bring sunshine to any cloudy day and Malibu is all about inspiring our Young Fun Starters to create summer memories that last a lifetime. “Since our consumers can’t be together physically, our campaign encourages the creation of new memories in their own home by bringing that summer feeling to life digitally.” The campaign runs on the brand’s Instagram channel @ Maliburumuk and coincides with in-store activity calling out the Malibu Piña Colada as this summer’s must-have cocktail.

with a large majority remaining within the UK Chief Medical Ofﬁcers’ 14 units a week low risk

RUM

drinking guidelines.

Matugga unveils new artisan rum range

Haig Club launches RTDs

Livingston-based Matugga Distillers has unveiled its new rum collection, Liv Rum. It includes two award-winning white rums – Pot Distilled White Rum (ABV 42.5%, RSP £25.99) and Navy Strength White Rum (ABV 57.5%, RSP £31.99) – and Black Spiced Rum (ABV 40%, RSP £25.99) infused with Scottish heather. All three are available now. The artisan collection also includes two flavoured liqueurs available from July 2020: Raspberry & Hibiscus Rum Liqueur (ABV 32% ABV, RSP £23.99), made using seasonal handpicked raspberries; and Honey & Lavender Rum Liqueur (ABV 32% ABV, RSP £23.99), created using Scottish honey and locally sourced lavender. Head Distiller Paul Rutasikwa said: “We wanted to create an accessible range of high-quality rums that are of great value and showcase the diversity and flexibility of the spirit.” To find out more, email info@livrums.com.

Diageo has unveiled two Haig Club ready-to-drink variants: Haig Club Clubman mixed with Root Ginger Ale & Lime and Haig Club Clubman mixed with Crafted Cola. Both are available in 330ml cans (ABV 5%, RSP £2). David Beckham, Haig Club’s Global Business Partner, said: “These pre-mixed drinks are convenient and taste great and are arriving in stores just in time for summer. I love the new cans.”

100 years of Antique XO The House of Hine is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its Antique XO cognac with the release of 1,920 hand-numbered bottles of the somewhat unimaginatively named Antique XO 100th Anniversary 19202020. The limited edition blends Antique XO with a Grande Champagne eau-de-vie from the 1920 vintage which was kept since its harvest in the Réserve du Paradis. It is available now

OWN-LABEL Spar casts pearls before wine...

Spar launches Italian rosé sparkling wine Spar has unveiled a new extra dry sparkling wine for rosé fizz lovers. The Perlezza Rosé Spumante takes inspiration from the Italian word for pearls (“perle”) and joins the white grape Perlezza Brut in the range. The bottle is produced to be ideally enjoyed as an aperitif on a warm, sunny afternoon. Philippa Carr, Spar’s Master of Wine, commented:

“The Perlezza Rosé is gently aromatic and certainly one for lovers of fruit. It has delicate red berry characters, hints of red apple and a soft creamy finish. As you may have guessed… always serve chilled.” Perlezza Rosé Spumante NV (RSP £8) is available now at a special launch promotional price of £7.50 until 19 July 2020.

with an RSP of £165. KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST NEWS AS IT HAPPENS – FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SLRMAG

SLR | JULY 2020

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Off-Trade

News

TWE unveils 19 Crimes Sauv Block Treasury Wine Estates has launched a new addition into its 19 Crimes portfolio – 19 Crimes Sauv Block, available now at a £9

HARD SELTZERS Diageo enters the alcoholic sparkling water market

Smirnoff joins the Hard Seltzer party

RSP. TWE has also launched a social media campaign focusing on bringing people together through music. Aimed at

Diageo’s vodka brand Smirnoff become the latest big player to enter the alcoholic sparkling water market with the launch of new Smirnoff Seltzers (ABV 4.7%). Made from a mix of Smirnoff No.21 Premium Vodka, sparkling water and natural fruit flavours, the Seltzer range includes two flavours: Raspberry & Rhubarb and Orange & Grapefruit. Both are available now from Spar Wholesale and Booker in 250ml ready-to-drink cans (RSP £1.80). Hard Seltzers are set to be the next big thing in the growing RTD category and are booming

in America, where the market was valued at over $1.5bn last year. Demand is driven by healthconscious consumers seeking a refreshing low-calorie alternative to wine or beer. A 250ml serving of Smirnoff Seltzer contains 54% less calories than a regular 175ml glass of wine and 49% less calories than a 330ml bottle of beer. Sarah Shimmons, Global Marketing Director for Smirnoff, said: “Smirnoff has a long legacy of innovation, so we’re thrilled to bring the new range of Seltzers to the UK. After seeing the trend of Hard Seltzers soar in the US, we’re delighted to offer

consumers refreshing tasting Smirnoff Seltzers, at 72 calories per 250ml serving. We are excited to launch in the UK, just as the summer begins.”

WINE £135m overhaul for Accolade brand

Echo Falls unveils new look and fresh positioning to attract new audiences Echo Falls has unveiled a redesign across its entire portfolio, alongside new brand positioning intended to recruit younger shoppers and expand the category. The £135m brand from Accolade Wines has given its collection a fresh look, with a modern and sophisticated design incorporating a new ‘waterfall’ asset. Created to offer maximum stand-out on shelves, the designs are intended to complement Echo Falls’ new brand ethos throughout upcoming marketing and innovation campaigns. Part of a wider £1m marketing spend for the year ahead, the redesign reflects the accessible and approachable proposition of the brand’s drinks. The new positioning as ‘your friend in wine’ aims to attract younger shoppers (35 and under) to the category, as well as to reassure consumers on their wine journey as they navigate through the portfolio. Lydia Freeman, European Marketing Manager at Accolade Wines, commented: “Packaging is a key communication tool for wines. We already have the third-highest wine brand awareness in the UK and this

full redesign will enable us to grow our core audience (aged 30+) as well as recruiting new shoppers, the under 28s. We want to reaffirm Echo Falls’ position as the easygoing and sociable wine, perfect for a night with friends. “A lot of younger people don’t know where to start with wine and therefore are potentially lost to other alcohol categories. Echo Falls, with its collection of fruit, spirit and botanical fusions, as well as our core range of varietals is the perfect brand to introduce wine to a new audience, boosting penetration for the entire category and increasing the likelihood of trading-up in the future. “We’re looking forward to working with retailers to ensure they stock the right products for their store, helping to grow the category and boost their sales.” The new redesigns are available now. Earlier in the year, Echo Falls introduced its new Botanicals range in two flavours (Melon & Mint and Raspberry & Lavender) to cater to trends for low alcohol and botanical products.

millennials, the brand is hosting a three-month campaign of interactive Instagram sessions.

6 O’clock Gin marks 10 years with new launches Family-owned craft gin brand, 6 O’clock Gin is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with several new releases. The ﬁrst is Romy’s Edition Gin, a limited-edition mango, ginger and lime ﬂavoured gin, available from now until to November 2020. For more information visit 6oclockgin. com, call 01454 418046 or email sales@6oclockgin.com.

VODKA

Absolut beginners urged to design vodka bottle Absolut has launched a competition giving consumers the chance to win one of 40 ‘cocktail at home’ kits that will let them create either Espresso or Passionfruit Martinis to enjoy with their household during lockdown. Consumers can enter by voting for their favourite new limited-edition bottle design on the Absolut website from 8 June. There are 10 designs to pick from. Each has been created by an up-and-coming artist commissioned by Absolut. The designs are inspired by the two cocktails, which are among the UK’s favourites. With lockdown-induced creativity on the rise, the Pernod Ricard brand is also encouraging people to have a go at designing a new bottle themselves and share their designs using the hashtag #AbsolutCreate. Raja Banerji, Marketing Director at Pernod Ricard UK, commented: “We are delighted to be supporting grassroots creatives through the Absolut Create campaign. During this unprecedented time, many in the creative industry have found themselves without work as projects have been postponed or work cancelled. “Absolut has a track record for harnessing creative thinking, having collaborated with more than 580 artists on over 850 projects since 1985, and there isn’t a better time to be supporting this community and stimulating creativity.”

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COVID HEROES SPECIAL SLR PULLOUT

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH THE FUTURE HAS ARRIVED ‘BROKEN’

CORONAVIRUS STARS

A CELEBRATION OF THE RETAIL HEROES OF COVID-19 AND A GUIDE TO BUILDING A LASTING LEGACY.

HOME DELIVERY THE REAL GAMECHANGER COMMUNITY 2.0 EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PARTNERS: SPAR SCOTLAND I UNITED WHOLESALE SCOTLAND I UNITED WHOLESALE GROCERS I COCA COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS I NEWS UK I PAYPOINT I SNAPPY SHOPPER I HEALTHY LIVING PARTNERSHIP I BOBBYS

Supporting our local community Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here to support our community, neighbours, colleagues and Scottish suppliers.

Supporting local communities and charities with donations worth ÂŁ150,000 right across Scotland. SparScotlandOfficial

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CJ Lang & Son Ltd, Longtown Distribution Centre, 78 Longtown Road, Dundee, DD4 8JU

COVID HEROES

4 WELCOME

A celebration of the retail heroes of the Covid-19 pandemic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and an examination of how the sector can secure a lasting legacy that leaves businesses stronger in the long term.

GAME CHANGERS 6

HOME DELIVERY

COMMUNITY 2.0

Home delivery represents perhaps the most important development for the convenience channel under lockdown, with the opportunity for all local retailers to grow their turnovers significantly both today and long into the future.

Local retailers have long enjoyed fantastic relationships with their communities, but Covid-19 has seen a ramping up of the symbiotic relationships between shoppers and retailers, providing a strong platform for future growth.

WHOLESALE HEROES 10 SPAR SCOTLAND

Spar Scotland has a long history of supporting retailers, communities and charities throughout Scotland, but the last few months have seen those efforts move into overdrive.

12 UNITED WHOLESALE SCOTLAND

UWS has an enviable reputation for creativity and commitment, as a recent industry-first Covid-19 inspired cleansing initiative clearly demonstrates.

15 UNITED WHOLESALE GROCERS

The last few months have seen UWG rise to the challenge of supporting community groups and charities across its native Glasgow and beyond.

SUPPLIER STARS 16 COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS

CCEP has been passionate about its support of retailers and communities in Scotland throughout the coronavirus pandemic, working hard with retailers and their customers to help those in need.

19 NEWS UK

As part of a unique initiative, News UK has partnered with Virgin Radio to organise The Big Thank You Tour, offering 32,000 free tickets to retailers and other key workers to attend a series of concerts across the UK featuring some of the biggest music stars in the business.

20 PAYPOINT

With its strong links to the vast majority of convenience stores, PayPoint has further demonstrated its commitment to its retail partners under lockdown with a series of activities and initiatives to support the sector.

24 SNAPPY SHOPPER

www.slrmag.co.uk

Dundee-based home delivery app Snappy Shopper has flourished in recent months as convenience retailers adopt home delivery en masse. Two case studies offer fantastic insight into how the app can help transform both stores and the communities they serve.

JULY 2020 | SLR

COVID HEROES ANTONY BEGLEY, PUBLISHER, SLR

LET’S CELEBRATE OUR RETAIL HEROES, BUT LET’S ALSO BUILD A LEGACY It is right to celebrate the retail heroes who have risen to the challenge of keeping Scotland fed and watered – but now is the time to begin building a Covid-19 legacy that ensures we retain as many of our new customers as possible in the long term. Coronavirus has been an almighty omnishambles that has probably changed the world forever. That’s something we can probably all agree on. The rarely spoken fact remains, however, that it has had an undeniably positive impact on the local retailing sector across the UK. Kantar reckons that sales in the convenience channel have been up by as much as 85% during the pandemic and I’ve yet to speak to a retailer who hasn’t seen sales rocket. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. The sector has been given the opportunity to demonstrate its true worth to communities across the country and has passed that test with flying colours. Bar a few morally questionable individuals, it seems that the vast majority of retailers have avoided the temptation to price hike and exploit this opportunity – so our sector can hold its head high. What’s even more encouraging is the amount of data suggesting that consumers won’t be rushing back to their 4

old ways any time soon. They appreciate that their local independent has been there for them when times were tough and we have earned some respect and some loyalty. We’ve been forced to evolve and adapt quickly to the new world order and we’ve largely succeeded in doing so. But what have we really learned from the last few months that we can use to our advantage for months and maybe even years to come? For me, there are several learnings and opportunities and they’re highlighted below. By embracing these opportunities, retailers have all the tools they need to build sustainable, long-term growth. There will be more shocks and challenges in the future, some of them already lurking on the horizon. Would you bet against a price war breaking out between the supermarkets as they attempt to reassert themselves under the new normal? These are interesting times, but once again our sector has shown how capable it is. And long may that continue.

SLR | JULY 2020 www.slrmag.co.uk

COVID HEROES ANTONY BEGLEY, PUBLISHER, SLR

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM COVID-19? The coronavirus pandemic has changed forever the way both shoppers and retailers behave. And while local retailers have been the undoubted stars of the show over the last few months with their heroic efforts to serve their local communities, it’s vital that our sector views the last few months as a platform to build better businesses for the longer term, rather than viewing it as a short term once-in-a-lifetime bonanza.

SO WHAT ARE THE KEY LESSONS TO BE LEARNED? COMMUNITY MATTERS MORE THAN EVER

The strength of the relationships that local retailers enjoy with their communities has long been our one standout USP. It’s something the supermarkets and discounters have never been able to replicate and probably never will. But coronavirus has led to those relationships becoming stronger than ever with communities across Scotland realising just how vital that their local stores are to a well-functioning village, town or city. We’ve earned the respect of our communities over the last few months – and rightly so – but now is the time to plan how we are going to maintain those relationships at this new, more closely entwined level.

HOME DELIVERY IS THE GAMECHANGER Home delivery has been the most important gamechanger of all since lockdown began. It was something that many local retailers were dabbling with but only a limited number were actually taking it very seriously. ACS figures show that only one in 10 local retailers did home delivery prior to lockdown. A month or two later and that figure was almost 70%. As well as providing a vital lifeline for communities, families and individuals under all kinds of pressure, home delivery is simply very much in line with the way shoppers want to operate these days. Can you think of any other opportunities to add up to £10k a week of additional sales to your store turnover without damaging existing in-store sales?

DIGITAL, TECH AND DATA’S DAY HAS ARRIVED Digital, tech and data are huge topics but they are intertwined and, again, they are areas that some retailers have been dabbling in but only a few have

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really gotten behind. Coronavirus has proven to be the great accelerator and this will be particularly true when it comes to speeding up adoption of digital, tech and data. Tech offers the chance to do routine tasks quicker, more efficiently and cheaper. Digital is transforming the way retailers communicate with their customers but also with their wholesalers and suppliers. Data is the latest missioncritical challenge that our sector must embrace. It has already transformed the way all other retail is done – it’ll soon be time for it to transform the way local retailing is done.

CUSTOMER SERVICE... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT. Customer service has always been how local retailers set themselves apart from the competition, but customer service is changing. What customer service even means is changing because shoppers’ expectations have changed beyond recognition in the last few months. Yes, a friendly face behind the till and a chat to catch up on the gossip is still important, but what shoppers consider to be great customer service has evolved beyond recognition. Shoppers now live in a world where data and technology makes their lives easier than ever. They expect the same levels of customer service when they interact with their local convenience store and that will mean embracing data to personalise communications with individual customers, that will mean generating specific promotions for specific groups of customers, or even individual customers. Ultimately, what it means is that customers will expect to get relevant communications at the times that suit them best on the channels they prefer. One size no longer fits all. Personalised customer service is where it’s at.

DON’T GET COMFORTABLE Possibly the most important learning from the coronavirus pandemic is that everything can change overnight, and it probably will again. It might not be another virus but the future is likely to bestow many more shocks on us. The key here then is to build a model that keeps you agile, alert and ready to adapt at the drop of a hat. The ability to change quickly was partly why local retailing fared so well under coronavirus. The regular contact with shoppers meant that retailers stayed in touch with what shoppers actually wanted, letting them adapt their offer to better suit the current mood and circumstances. This will be a vital quality to retain moving forward as the only thing likely to remain constant is change.

JULY 2020 | SLR

COVID HEROES GAME CHANGERS | HOME DELIVERY

DELIVERING REAL CHANGE Not so long ago only one in 10 retailers offered home delivery but under coronavirus around two-thirds of retailers offer the service, making 600,000 deliveries a week, according to recent ACS figures. Home delivery is the biggest game-changer to emerge from the pandemic – and here are some reasons why. RETAILERS: Ross McPherson & Mandi Duncan

STORES: Day-Today Doonfoot & Day-Today Barrassie

THEIR STORY:

“Home delivery has been nothing short of a game-changer for us in the two stores. It’s unbelievable, really. We introduced home delivery way before coronavirus, as it was something we thought had potential to grow both businesses. We went with Snappy Shopper and launched it only in Barrassie and it was doing really well. We were aiming to add around £3k a week to the sales. Then Covid-19 happened so we added it the service at Doonfoot too and for the last month or so we’ve been doing about additional £10k a week in additional home delivery sales. And that’s £10k extra in both stores! That equated at the peak to an extra £80k a month in sales. ”The basket spend for home delivery is also extraordinary. Barrassie’s average basket spend is £43 and in Doonfoot it’s £34. We do around 70 a day for Barrassie and 35 a day at Doonfoot. There are extra costs, of course. We have three drivers at Barrassie, all people on furlough or who have been made redundant, so

that’s quite a nice story too. And in Doonfoot we have two students. All of them have been trained in licensing to ensure they can properly check IDs on any orders with age-restricted products. “We charge £3 for delivery and it’s opened up a whole new world for us. We do a lot of leafleting so we’re getting orders from three and four miles away, customers who would never have used us before. They’ve got stores closer to them but I guess they like the convenience of having their shopping delivered to their door for them. And we don’t hike prices, so they’re paying the same as they would if they came to the store, which will hopefully keep them using the service. ”We see this as a long-term strategy. We introduced it way before Covid-19 and I think we will retain a lot of our new home delivery customers. We’re not kidding ourselves on. Lots of people will go back to using supermarkets once this is all over, but I think we’ll retain quite a few of them.

£10K

a week extra sales in each store .....

100+

deliveries per day .....

£43

basket spend

SLR | JULY 2020 www.slrmag.co.uk

COVID HEROES GAME CHANGERS | HOME DELIVERY

RETAILERS: Natalie & Martin Lightfoot

STORE: Londis Solo Convenience, Baillieston

THEIR STORY:

“We’ve been doing home delivery for a little while now. It was something we always wanted to do. We’d been talking to Snappy Shopper since last June but it took until about 12 weeks ago to actually get round to implementing it. We launched it initially as a free delivery service because it felt like the right thing to do under the circumstances, but it became so popular so quickly that we really needed to start charging. We only introduced the delivery fee in the last few weeks and we were afraid we’d lose a lot of our customers now we’re charging. “As far as we can tell, however, we haven’t lost a single customer. Additionally, we’ve seen the basket spend rocket in recent weeks. When it was free delivery the figure was around £26. Now that there’s a charge, the spend has risen to £35. Before we were getting some customers using the service twice a day but now that they’re paying a delivery fee, I guess they just get everything they need in one go so that they don’t have to pay twice. “Monday to Thursday we average 25 to 35 deliveries a day. Weekends are higher. On Saturday we did 63. We actually started out more focused on food-to-go as the key opportunity but the store is quite small and doesn’t have room for a big unit. We’re also surrounded by fast food outlets on the high street we’re on,

so we decided that home delivery was maybe a better option. “The Snappy Shopper app is nice and clean and it’s easy to use for both shoppers and retailers. I looked at other options but when you use thirdparty delivery companies you’re automatically slashing your margin or overcharging customers. We were keen to keep in-store pricing on the app because our customers know how much things cost, and wouldn’t have responded well to paying inflated prices to have them delivered. Snappy Shopper lets us keep our prices just as they are in-store. “After Covid-19, I think we will retain the majority of our home delivery customers. Home delivery is actually working out really well because so many customers are now used to ordering their food from the fast food outlets that it feels quite natural for them to then order their alcohol, soft drinks and confectionery from us at the same time. I don’t think that will change when lockdown ends because the ‘want it now’ mentality is now firmly ingrained.”

60+

deliveries per day .....

£35

basket spend

RETAILERS: James Brundle & Chris O’Connor

STORES: Four Eat17 Spar stores and one restaurant in London

THEIR STORY:

“We knew when the pandemic started that we needed to change the retailfoodservice landscape if we were going to emerge stronger afterwards. When our restaurant had to close, we knew it would be very hard to make a takeout-and-delivery model work profitably. About 10 weeks ago, by using Deliveroo and Snappy Shopper, we started to do some home deliveries. It’s been successful so far. We’re doing about £8,000 a week through the home delivery channels.” www.slrmag.co.uk

£8K

extra sales per week

JULY 2020 | SLR

COVID HEROES GAME CHANGERS | COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 2.0

COMMUNITY MATTERS MORE THAN EVER Local retailers have always enjoyed stronger relationships with the communities they serve than any other channel – but coronavirus has inspired many retailers to up the ante even further. We look at two fantastic examples that other retailers can learn from. The local retailing sector has always been envied for the strength of the relationships it enjoys with communities across Scotland, but there’s no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic has thrown an even sharper focus onto the way that communities and their local store support one another in the toughest of times. There have been countless examples across Scotland of retailers demonstrating creativity, commitment and compassion. Far too many to try to cover in a single article – but we have chosen two particularly poignant examples that all local retailers can learn from and possibly even replicate in their own stores and communities.

£10K fundraised so far

SLR | JULY 2020 www.slrmag.co.uk

COVID HEROES GAME CHANGERS | COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 2.0

COMMUNITY HARDSHIP FUND Linda Williams Premier Broadway Convenience Store, Edinburgh

WHAT IS THE HARDSHIP FUND AND HOW DID IT COME ABOUT?

It all started about a couple of months ago when it dawned on me that some of our customers were probably struggling to even feed themselves. I started putting out fresh sandwiches that our customers could help themselves to if they were struggling. I put out a Facebook post on it to let people know about it – and suddenly I started getting a flood of offers from people wanting to help by making contributions or paying for the bread or the ham or whatever.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

We decided to start a Facebook page to let people donate if they wanted to so my daughter Sophie and I set up a collections page. We set our target at £300 and even then I wondered if that would look a bit cheeky and high. But within 40 minutes we’d hit the target and by the end of that day we’d hit £1,500. We’ve raised over £10,000 since then. We’ve been overwhelmed by how generous and kind people have been. HYBRID HOME DELIVERY Sean Boyd Family Choice (Day-Today Elite), Hamilton

TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU’D ADAPTED YOUR HOME DELIVERY SERVICE

I’m a delivery driver and I work for Omar Amir and his family in Hamilton. They have two Family Choice stores. I was in a bad state before I started the delivery job with Snappy Shopper. When I first got the opportunity, I used it to just get me out the house. That was at the start of this year but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Our store tried to remain open as long as it could but eventually had to close due to the situation. Omar just didn’t feel he could keep his staff and customers safe.

WHAT HAPPENED THEN?

The store was closed for about a week, but we quickly realised that people saw the store as a lifeline. No one really knew how to react, so I continued to reach out to people during the time the store was closed and still did people’s shopping from other stores to keep me busy. Helping people was helping me.

SO THE STORE RE-OPENED?

Yes. We realised how vital it was for the community. We have a lot of elderly and vulnerable people in the housing scheme that surrounds the store and many don’t have transport. There are no other stores www.slrmag.co.uk

HOW DO YOU USE THE MONEY?

We’re very careful about how we do it and we done it in small amounts. It’s typically £20 or £30 worth of shopping or electricity or gas vouchers for customers that really need our help. And we definitely see it as help, not charity. We all need a little help sometimes. We’ve helped about 120 individuals and families so far.

HOW DO CUSTOMERS REQUEST HELP?

Some people are happy to just ask us, others get referred to us by friends, neighbours or family and we’ve recently started getting more formal referrals from the Housing Department, the Social Work Department, the local schools and the local Health Visitor.

IT’S SURELY AN IDEA OTHER RETAILERS COULD REPLICATE?

One hundred per cent. I don’t know why more retailers aren’t doing it but we’d be happy to help if anyone wants to find out more about how we did it so they can do it in their own stores. nearby, so we quickly decided to re-open to make sure our customers had access to the vital products they needed.

AND YOU CREATED A NEW SUPPORT GROUP?

When our store opened back up I continued to support my community and created the Helping Hands Hamilton group. The support group does what it can to help everyone in the community, but particularly the elderly and the vulnerable. I deliver essentials to the elderly for free; I raise funds and donations to deliver essential boxes; and I organise donations of food and other items that we share for free to those who need a little help. Orders are placed through the Snappy Shopper app and delivered from the store.

SO YOU’RE COMBINING YOUR JOB WITH YOUR GROUP?

Exactly. And during the crisis, it’s become a really important service. People see Snappy Shopper as a lifeline, so I view it as the perfect solution because I’m able to mix the deliveries with the various support elements of my group, so it works. I can deliver a lot of orders per day – up to 350 a week – and the way I see it, that’s a lot of people and families that remained risk-free by staying at home. JULY 2020 | SLR

COVID HEROES WHOLESALER FOCUS : CJ LANG & SON

SPAR SCOTLAND: THERE FOR YOU WHEN YOU NEED US Spar Scotland wholesaler and retailer CJ Lang & Son has a long tradition of supporting the industry, as well as communities and charities across Scotland with the company’s efforts shifting into overdrive in the last few months. By Paula Middleton, Marketing Manager, Spar Scotland

in Fife. When local resident Wendy Page got in touch looking for support, the leading convenience store group in Scotland had to help. “We became aware that patients are often admitted to hospital urgently with no personal possessions and no one to assist in delivering these,” said Wendy. “With the hospital in lockdown, families were unable to take things to the hospital and we knew they would feel isolated. We would like to say a big thank you to Spar Scotland.”

HEROES FOR HEROES

Spar Scotland has a long and proud history of supporting the local retailing industry in Scotland, as well as communities and charities across the country. Well before lockdown, we launched a £100,000 charity giveaway right across Scotland, receiving over 700 nominations from local charities. The result was that 100 of these charities were given £1,000 to support a huge amount of community initiatives. We also continue to support our national charity partner Marie Curie, with £40,000 being donated in the last 12 months. Our work with our local communities continues and never more so than during lockdown. Since the end of March 2020, we have donated a further £10,000 to local charities, community groups and foodbanks. Donations have been a mixture between Spar vouchers, food and drink, and cash. Additionally, we have supported and work with many local suppliers during Covid-19 and help them during these unprecedented times. Here are a few examples:

SPORTING NHS FIFE PATIENTS

Spar Scotland donated £200 to help patients at a hospital 10

Spar Scotland donated 1,400 boxes of Cadbury Heroes to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee at a time when Scottish NHS frontline staff are working tirelessly to help the nation. Colin McLean, CEO of Spar Scotland, said: “We really appreciate the amazing work all frontline NHS staff at Ninewells Hospital are doing. As they are our heroes, we thought it would be only fitting to treat them to boxes of Cadbury Heroes.” NHS Tayside Chief Executive Grant Archibald said: “I would like to thank everyone at Spar Scotland for thinking of our staff as we all respond to Covid-19.

SLR | JULY 2020 www.slrmag.co.uk

COVID HEROES WHOLESALER FOCUS : CJ LANG & SON

RURAL SUPPORT

Lochcarron is a picturesque village of white-washed cottages on the shores of Loch Carron in the Wester Ross area of the Highlands with a population of nearly one thousand people. However, during the Covid-19 crisis, one family has been working tirelessly, night and day, to keep their local community going. Emma and Hector Maclean, together with their daughter Kayleigh and a team of six employees at Spar Lochcarron have been delivering essential food and drink items from their Spar store to residents in the region. “We have always provided a free home delivery service but we have really stepped up to the mark during the coronavirus lockdown and we are now delivering to a larger proportion of the community,” said Emma. “Many of the community are elderly and we have been making deliveries from next door to up to 10 miles away. Deliveries are going out to young and old people to try and limit the amount of customers passing through the shop on a daily basis. We are trying to look out for our community but also our own family and all our staff. We want everyone to be as safe and healthy as possible.”

sandwiches at this unprecedented time of worry and food insecurity for so many people across the city who already teeter on the edge of coping.” Spar Scotland’s foodbank partner Gate Church has also taken some stock to help those in need around Dundee.

FOODBANK HELP

Spar Scotland and Tarves Community Council have join forces and donated £1,000 to Tarves Community Foodbank. Organised by the local church, Tarves Community Council helps people in need within the Tarves community by donating funds to the local community foodbank. When Spar Scotland heard how in one week they had delivered a huge number food parcels, donated by customers in the Duthies of Tarves Spar store and Tarves Pharmacy, to the needy and elderly within the village and surrounding area, Spar decided to double their £500 donation to £1,000.

SUPPORTING LOCAL SUPPLIERS

The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the way Spar Scotland works with local suppliers. As the pandemic hit, Spar Scotland spoke to its existing local supplier base to see what they could do to support them. As shoppers rediscovered the importance of shopping and supporting local, the knock-on effect of this in many cases was the adjustment of orders to local suppliers to help them maintain their volumes. Spar Scotland works with over 150 local Scottish suppliers at any given time. “Such developments are not only assisting local businesses during this time of uncertainty but it has allowed us to maintain a regular flow of local products to our Spar stores right across Scotland,” said Colin McLean. “The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the opportunity of committing to local Scottish businesses. The quality and price of what we produce right here on our own doorstep is as good as what we may bring in from other parts of the UK and abroad.” The company works with a number of local Scottish bakeries, fresh and chilled suppliers in order to keep the shelves of Spar stores stocked. Graham’s the Family Dairy, Farmlay Eggs, Brownings the Bakers, Ashers, McGhees, JG Ross, Malcolm Allan and Stuarts Bakers are a few who currently supply the wholesaler.

LOCAL FOCUS

Spar Scotland has donated 8,000 sandwiches to a number of great causes after hearing about the brilliant fundraising activities of local charity Dundee Bairns. Dundee Bairns is a charity working to support existing projects as well as schools in assisting with ‘holiday hunger’. They have provided over 180,000 meals to meet some of the greatest levels of need in some of the areas of highest deprivation in Scotland. David Dorward from Dundee Bairns said: “We are immensely grateful to CJ Lang for the donation of www.slrmag.co.uk

JULY 2020 | SLR

COVID HEROES WHOLESALERS / UNITED WHOLESALE (SCOTLAND) DEEP CLEAN

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www.slrmag.co.uk

COVID HEROES WHOLESALERS / UNITED WHOLESALE (SCOTLAND) DEEP CLEAN

UNITED IMPLEMENTS ‘BIOFOGGING’ FIRST United Wholesale (Scotland) has become the first wholesaler in Scotland to utilise innovative ‘bio-fogging’ disinfection to protect customers and staff in its three depots.

Glasgow-based delivered wholesaler and cash & carry business United Wholesale (Scotland) has become the first wholesaler in Scotland to make use of an innovative method of deep cleaning in its three depots in Glasgow and Grangemouth. The ‘bio-fogging’ technology used is also deployed in hospitals and is implemented using a specialised handheld device to deliver a disinfectant solution in a mist form. After a few hours, the treated areas become safe to the public. Each of the three UWS depots have now been successfully decontaminated during closing hours to ensure no harm can come to customers or staff. The move is part of United’s commitment to undertake a deep clean of their properties as they prepare for the potential easing of lockdown restrictions in order to provide reassurance for customers and staff – and ultimately, protect the NHS. The operation was carried out by the specialist PSS Group and means that the nearly 3,000 retailers who shop at UWS can continue to provide the nation with vital supplies without any worry of catching the virus. Mohammad Abdur Rajak, Owner of Day-Today Bridgeton, said: “It’s fantastic to see UWS is taking the safety of its customers and keyworkers seriously. www.slrmag.co.uk

The recent deep clean at its depot with fog technology gives us that much needed confidence and that added layer of security whilst shopping at any of their three warehouses.” Mr Sijad (CJ), Floor Manager of UWS’s Queenslie depot, said: “Staff are very happy that we are getting a deep clean. It gives them confidence that we can continue working without the constant worry of our safety. We all feel a great sense of pride that our company is going above and beyond to look after the safety and well-being of their staff.” Chris Gallacher, MD of UWS, added: “Our depots have remained open during the coronavirus crisis and we have introduced many safety measures to protect our customers, including social distancing. We want to do everything we can to not only protect our workforce and customers, but to help drive down coronavirus cases and care for our NHS. Deep cleaning is a sensible plan for all businesses ahead of the easing of lockdown restrictions and provides reassurance to customers using the premises. We have just completed the two trial c-stores which are part of our symbol group, Day-Today – I can confirm this was a massive success and I would encourage all wholesale and retail groups to carry out this procedure.” JULY 2020 | SLR

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OUR BRANCHES HEAD OFFICE

SPRINGBURN DEPOT

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246 Flemington Street, Glasgow G21 4BY Tel: O141 557 2255 Fax: O141 557 222O DELIVERY HOTLINE: T: O141 557 3214 F: O141 558 3724 OPENING HOURS: Monday to Saturday: 6am-5.3Opm Thursday Late Night: 6am-8pm

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NOW RECRUITING! ALCOHOL WHOLESALERS REGISTRATION SCHEME United Wholesale Grocers Limited is registered with the AWRS OUR URN NUMBER: XSAWOOOOO1OO677 IT IS AN OFFENCE TO PURCHASE ALCOHOL FROM A NON-REGISTERED AWRS SUPPLIER. Strictly Trade Only. Restrictions may apply. All offers subject to availability and VAT where applicable E&OE.

COVID HEROES WHOLESALE / UNITED WHOLESALE GROCERS

UNITED AGAINST CORONAVIRUS Glasgow-based United Wholesale Grocers has demonstrated its commitment to its retailers as well as the communities they serve with a raft of activities over the last few difficult months. ORGANISATIONS & CHARITIES SUPPORTED Q Lights on G1 Q Gorbals Housing Q Spirit Aid Q Barrowfield Community Q Clutha Trust Q The Swamp Q NHS – Scotland & North East England Q Refuweegee Q Social Bite Q Trussell Trust Q Fair Share Q Communities Together, North Lanarkshire

Based in Springburn in Glasgow, United Wholesale Grocers (UWG) is very much a community-driven wholesale business – so it’s hardly surprising that UWG has been involved in a plethora of fantastic charity and community initiatives over the last few months as it worked hard to support its customers and the communities they serve. Here are a few examples of some outstanding initiatives...

CLUTHA TRUST

UWG linked up with Alan Crossan and the team from the Clutha Trust who are committed to taking care of the most vulnerable people in and around the city of Glasgow. The Clutha Trust provides ‘Crisis Packs’ for a wide range of community and charity organisations such as Lights on G1, Gorbals Housing, Spirit Aid, Refuweegee, Barrowfield Community And The Swamp. UWG donated some 4,000 bottles of water for the Crisis Packs, a generous and very welcome gesture that helped vulnerable people right across the city.

NHS STAFF SUPPORT

Polmadie branch General Manager Kaleem and his team were delighted to get on board with the NHS Initiative www.slrmag.co.uk

to support their ‘Rest & Recreational Hubs’ at three of Glasgow’s hospitals: Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Royal Alexandra Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. The R&R Hubs are open 24 hours per day and have been created for frontline staff to have a dedicated area to breakout, chill and relax, away from all the hustle and bustle of their shift. Kaleem and the team delivered 3,000 cans of soft drinks and 4,000 bags of crisps between the three hospitals. Amaan Ramzan, MD at UWG, commented: “The current climate is extremely challenging as we all know, and it’s great to see so many people caring, sharing, giving and supporting everyone in so many ways. As we know the real heroes in all of this are the frontline staff of the NHS, who are giving up time with their loved ones and giving so much to others in the fight against the current pandemic of Covid-19.“

RBS PARTNERSHIP

UWG partnered with the Royal Bank of Scotland and donated 2,000 cans of soft drinks, 2,000 packets of crisps and 2,000 chocolate bars which were distributed between three fantastic organisations: Social Bite, Trussell Trust and Fair Share. These charities help some of the most vulnerable people in our country. JULY 2020 | SLR

COVID HEROES SUPPLIER FOCUS: COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS

TOUGH TIMES SEE RETAILERS SHINE It’s often said that crises can bring out the best in people. And for anyone that needs proof, look no further than the independent retail response to coronavirus. By Alison Adderley, Field Sales Director at Coca-Cola European Partners

I’ve been inspired by how resourceful, compassionate and resilient local stores have been in recent months – playing an even more invaluable role in their communities.

INNOVATION AND GENEROSITY

Since the beginning of the lockdown, we’ve seen countless examples of store owners thinking outside of the box to provide an essential service for local people – while ensuring the safety of customers and staff. Dennis and Linda Williams, from Edinburgh’s Premier 16

SLR | JULY 2020

Broadway, set up a local hardship fund, and donated £1,000 of their own money. Jawad and Asiyah Javed, from Day-Today Stenhousemuir, have created food parcels for the vulnerable and elderly in their community, as well as delivering free children’s meals and baby milk, and providing PPE and hand sanitiser to those in front-line roles. Natalie Lightfoot from Londis Solo Convenience in Glasgow has partnered with the local pub and coffee shop to create care packages, and is among the many Scottish retailers who’ve been offering a delivery service through the Snappy Shopper app. Snappy Shopper has been a big hit in Scotland, especially with Ross Macpherson and Mandi Duncan of Day-Today Doonfoot and DayToday Barassie, who by early May, were sending out 60 to 80 deliveries a day. What’s especially humbling about these stories (and many, many others), is that retailers have gone above and beyond to support the communities they serve, despite facing challenges themselves. www.slrmag.co.uk

COVID HEROES SUPPLIER FOCUS: COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

That’s why, as well as maintaining supply to the convenience channel of our best-loved brands, we’ve made financial and product donations to frontline workers and those who are vulnerable, and we’ve supported a series of industry initiatives. We signed up to the C-19 Business Pledge, joining over 300 businesses and organisations in helping to tackle the pandemic, with our customers and communities in mind. We also donated to the NFRN’s Covid-19 Hardship Fund, which has been awarding grants to members facing significant financial pressure.

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

But there have been many positives. A recent HIM report revealed that the convenience market is set to grow by 8% in 2020, with unaffiliated independents outperforming this with growth of 11%1. Nearly half of Brits have been shopping at local stores more regularly than they did before the coronavirus outbreak, partly to avoid crowds and queues at the supermarket, and also to support local businesses2. By understanding the latest consumer trends, retailers can convert the new customers gained during lockdown into loyal shoppers, long-term. www.slrmag.co.uk

THE POST-LOCKDOWN SHOPPER

Many households have taken a cut in income recently3, and so are increasingly interested in value for money4 – but they still want to treat themselves with products like sparkling soft drinks5. This is where price-mark-packs (PMPs) can come in as they offer shoppers visible value, reassuring shoppers that they can get the products they want, at an affordable price6. In May, we reduced the recommended price points for our range of PMPs across our cola on-the-go and larger pack portfolio, which supports this demand.

WORKING TOGETHER

Our field sales teams are now back on the road to support convenience retailers, with a focus on which products and pack formats are needed to meet shoppers’ needs. Once again, thank you for going above and beyond during this time. For more information about the support we have to offer, please visit www.cokecustomerhub. co.uk. [1] [2] [3]

[4] [5] [6]

HIM/MCA Convenience Report May 2020 Finder.com – Shopping in a Coronavirus World (May 2020) finder.com/uk/shoppingdeals#corona-paper IGD ShopperVista; Base: 532 shoppers 1-14 March 20, 377 shoppers 15-21 March 20, 147 shoppers 22-28 March 20, 247 shoppers 29 Mar-4 April 20, 285 shoppers 5-11 April 20 Ibid HIM Lockdown and Snack Up: How UK consumers’ snacking habits have changed this month – April 2020 HIM Focus on price-marked packs 2018

JULY 2020 | SLR

thank you A massive thank you to local retailers for supporting their communities.

COVID HEROES THE BIG THANK YOU TOUR

THE SUN REWARDS RETAILERS WITH ‘THE BIG THANK YOU TOUR‘

The Sun is celebrating the amazing work local retailers and other key workers have done during the coronavirus pandemic by organising a show-stopping Big Thank You Tour. The Sun, the UK’s most popular newspaper, has decided to recognise local retailers and other key workers for their outstanding efforts during the coronavirus crisis by organising a series of show-stopping music extravaganzas especially in their honour. In order to thank key workers for their efforts in serving communities across the UK at this unprecedented time, The Sun has teamed up with Virgin Radio UK to host The Big Thank You Tour. Key workers across the UK will be offered 35,000 free tickets for three very special arena shows in London, Manchester and Glasgow this autumn. The shows are scheduled for The SSE Arena, Wembley (Wednesday 28 October), Manchester Arena (Thursday

29 October) and The SSE Hydro Glasgow (Sunday 1 November) and it is hoped that many retailers will register for tickets. The unique Big Thank You Tour will be packed full of chart-topping talent – and very special guest appearances – to thank all key workers, from NHS staff and transport workers to newspaper delivery teams and independent retailers. Registration couldn’t be easier and you’ve got until the end of July to do so. Simply go to thesun.co.uk/thankyou and fill in your details to be in with a chance of you and your plus one attending one of these exclusive, moneycan’t-buy shows. It will definitely be a night to remember!

TO REGISTER FOR FREE TICKETS, VISIT THESUN.CO.UK/THANKYOU www.slrmag.co.uk

JULY 2020 | SLR

Thank you, to all our retailer

partners, for playing a key role in supporting local communities.

Find out more about our PayPoint Retailer Heroes here: paypoint.com/retailerheroes

COVID HEROES SUPPLIERS / PAYPOINT

PAYPOINT SUPPORT FOR SCOTTISH RETAIL HEROES PayPoint has been busy with a raft of initiatives to support local retailers in Scotland who xxx have continued to serve their communities over the past few months.

The implementation of a nationwide lockdown saw key workers lauded for their bravery, selflessness and hard work. Convenience retailers are an often-overlooked group within this demographic, which is why PayPoint recently announced a raft of initiatives to support those who have continued to serve their communities over the past two months. The measures include: a £25,000 contribution to the NFRN Covid-19 Hardship Fund, fee increase waivers, service fee changes, a new partnership with Deliveroo and a campaign to celebrate Retail Heroes. The NFRN Covid -19 Hardship Fund offers financial assistance to members struggling with cash flow during the coronavirus pandemic. The fund has raised more than £200,000 to date and PayPoint is proud to contribute a further £25,000. PayPoint is also introducing changes to its service fees and billing process. The first component of this is waiving the yearly inflation increase to service fees, which will remain consistent with last year’s amounts. This will be coupled with a permanent move to service fee billing in arrears, benefitting retailers’ monthly cash flows, and the option for those who had to close their stores to claim a service fee refund for the closure period. A new partnership with Deliveroo has brought with it added benefits for retailers. The collaboration allows retailers to apply for fast-track access to the Deliveroo system so members of the local community can order www.slrmag.co.uk

products to be delivered contact-free in as little as 30 minutes. The partnership has unsurprisingly proven popular with consumers and retailers alike, opening a channel for those self-isolating to get access to the items they really need right now. Finally, to recognise and reward individual retailers, PayPoint’s Retail Heroes campaign was launched at the start of May. It recognises those in the PayPoint network that have gone ‘above and beyond’ to serve their local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The winning retailers will be showcased across PayPoint’s social media channels, and will receive a certificate and a £500 donation to a charity of their choice. We are delighted that the first winner is a Scottish retailer. Amothen Kandasamy, who runs five convenience stores across Aberdeen, has been operating regular trading hours during the pandemic. Not only does Amothen help regular customers and those in need with free items such as hand sanitiser, bread and milk, he goes to even greater lengths to assist vulnerable people in his community. Once he closes his stores at 11pm he then makes 40-50 free-of-charge deliveries of essential items to the elderly, finishing work between 3am and 4am each night. On behalf of communities everywhere, we want to say a massive thank you to Scottish local retailers. If you would like to read about more Retail Heroes, please visit paypoint.com/retailheroes. JULY 2020 | SLR

COVID HEROES KEY STRATEGIES / HOME DELIVERY / SNAPPY SHOPPER

TRANSFORMING YOUR BUSINESS WITH SNAPPY SHOPPER Dundee-based home delivery app Snappy Shopper has been the driving force behind much of the growth of home delivery during the Covid-19 crisis and it’s not difficult to see why. We take a closer look at two case studies to examine how Snappy Shopper helped transform two Scottish businesses.

CASE STUDY 1: FAMILY CHOICE, HAMILTON

Omar Amir and his family run two stores in the Hamilton area, both under their own Family Choice brand which they’ve been using for almost 35 years. Omar explains how his journey began: “When lockdown kicked in we were already using Snappy Shopper and it was going really well, but lockdown caided us a lot of problems and we decided to close the store for a week. But we soon realised that all the people on the estate near the shop had nowhere else to go for their shopping and lots of them didn’t have transport. We also have a lot of elderly customers so we quickly decided to re-open to make sure our customers had access to the vital products they needed. There’s no doubt however that the driving force between the massive growth in our home delivery service is down to our driver Sean Boyd. He’s an inspirational character.” As well as being a driver for Omar, Sean leads the Helping 24

SLR | JULY 2020

Hands Hamilton support group and delivers essentials to the elderly for free. He even raises funds and takes donations to deliver essential boxes. Orders are placed through the Snappy Shopper app and delivered by the Family Choice team. Sean explains: “I wasn’t in a good place before I started delivering with Snappy Shopper. When I got this opportunity I used it to get me out the house whether it was trying to promote the service by delivering leaflets or actually delivering the shopping. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and our store tried to remain open as long as they could but closed due to the situation. People saw the store as a lifeline. There was a lot of panic and no one really knew how to react so I continued to reach out to people during the time the store was closed and still did people’s shopping from other stores to keep me busy. Helping people was helping me. “When our store opened back up www.slrmag.co.uk

COVID HEROES KEY STRATEGIES / HOME DELIVERY / SNAPPY SHOPPER

I continued to support my community and created my support group but fell back on the Snappy Shopper app for personal shopping as this was the best and safest option as I deal with a lot of older and vulnerable people. People then started to see Snappy Shopper as a lifeline and, for me, it was a great way to mix work with the support group, helping everyone that needs help. It just works. I can deliver a lot of orders per day as the driver and the way I see it is that’s alot of people or families that remained riskfree by staying at home. At its peak, we were doing over 350 deliveries a week. It’s astonishing, really. “The way I’ve used Snappy Shopper might have been different from other drivers or stores. I use it to support my community, which allows people to get their shopping delivered to their door step and I use this opportunity to drive about delivering care packages for people in need. Delivering Snappy Shopper is me doing my job and the full of Hamilton is covered so it means my support group can cover the full of Hamilton and I can take a two minute detour to show some support to someone who is struggling and still deliver the shopping in time. This supports me personally as well as everyone else.“ Hope this is what you were looking for Lewis, even if it was just snippets I have a bad habit of going into details.

of Nation Radio during the lockdown and she promoted the app several times throughout the week on her drive time show. “When we first launched the app we did deliveries for free but we found people abusing this and, to be honest, most people who do online shopping pay a delivery fee. We have never had any issues with people complaining about it.” So, what advice would Claire offer to retailers who are looking to grow their home delivery sales with Snappy Shopper? She explains: “If you have the hunger and desire then you will go far with this. You have to be constantly on it keeping your products up-todate. Our refunds on a daily basis are minimum if any at all and this is only

because as soon as an item is OOS then we temporarily remove it and same as soon as back in stock. “I have worked with the technical people to adapt categories for our customers to gain the full experience and feedback is brilliant. We have recently added a special offer category and the few items we have input into this category are flying off the shelf. We have also now added clock&collect as lockdown restrictions are potentially getting eased. This allows customers still to order online however still having the peace of mind they don’t have to go to crowded supermarkets and not have to wait for dedicated time slots days later to pick their shopping up. “However as I said you only get out of it what you put in.”

CASE STUDY 2: PREMIER STORES WESTWOOD, EAST KILBRIDE

Claire Fulton runs a busy Premier store in the Westwood area of East Kilbride and she has also found that Snappy Shopper helped transform her business under lockdown. She explains: “With the Snappy Shopper app we chose to focus on the local area as a whole especially during this lockdown period. Our main communications platform has always been our Premier Stores Westwood Facebook page as we do have a large following on that. “When we first launched the app, I contacted the East Kilbride News and they sent a photographer out and I also contacted Susie McGuire www.slrmag.co.uk

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tOP RANGES:

thank you key workers

COVID-19 SUPPORT FUND

We are proud to be contributing towards the SGFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New COVID-19 Retailer Support Fund. The fund has been established to provide direct financial assistance to retailers and their families affected by COVID-19. For more information and to apply, visit: scottishshop.org.uk

For merchandising advice and FREE display aids please contact

0131 343 7602 remember. ..

FROZEN IS AS GOO AS FRESH! D

Local Is The Way Forward | Opinion

Inside Business

TIME FOR BRANDS TO SHIFT FOCUS TO LOCAL

With independent retailers the undoubted stars of the show in recent months, it’s time that brands reworked their strategies to put much more emphasis on supporting local retailers, says Greg Deacon. BY GREG DEACON, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, NFRN

he way that independent retailers across the UK have pivoted their businesses to combat the impact on them and their customers during the coronavirus crisis has been nothing short of remarkable. We’ve seen retailers show real entrepreneurial spirit and retail excellence through home delivery, click and collect, in-store safety measures and more – and all these steps have been communicated clearly to their local communities. Through these impressive efforts, independent retailers have successfully increased consumer demand locally, providing essential items over the counter or by home-delivering to the communities they serve. We have witnessed the rebirth of the local shop. These selfless acts and the loyalty and commitment behind them will be remembered by customers everywhere, making independent local shops more attractive to communities everywhere. Logically, this should also make local retailing outlets more important to brands, offering them the chance to grow visibility and sales. The big question is, then, whether brands will indeed switch some more of their focus to local retailing. Regardless of whether they are big or small, brands will need to pivot their own channel strategies and recognise that what was done previously was inadequate, outdated, and ill-weighted.

www.slrmag.co.uk

Clearly, for manufacturers, winning with independents is the most challenging strategic play due to its highly fragmented, difficult to influence and, quite frankly, diverse network of stores. This has contributed to quicker and easier wins for brands through other channels. In today’s world, however, the question all brand leaders now face is ‘what will be the cost of inaction by not having a local strategy?’ My recommendations to suppliers everywhere are to recognise local shops, act now, pivot away and dispel previous myths and outcomes about the channel to move forward. Failing to recognise the emergence and importance of the local shop will contribute to a decline in distribution, visibility and sales, along with retailer advocacy over time. The latter contributes to a successful and symbiotic relationship that ensures your products are promoted and sold through a channel that is frequented, appreciated, respected and loved by thousands of consumers every day. Forget CTN, c-store, supermarket and forecourt as classifications. The defining word we all need to be focused on is “LOCAL”. Everything we now consider or do must be local and Covid-19 has accelerated this to the benefit of independent shops everywhere. Brand, retailer, consumer – it’s time to be LOCAL. JULY 2020 | SLR

Inside Business

Foodservice/Retail Boundaries

THE GREAT RESET

New research from IGD says the boundaries between foodservice and retail are no longer just blurred, they have broken down. Rhian Thomas maps out four post-lockdown scenarios for retail. RHIAN THOMAS, HEAD OF SHOPPER INSIGHT AT IGD

SLR | JULY 2020

www.slrmag.co.uk

Foodservice/Retail Boundaries

ovid-19 has caused a monumental shift in consumers’ food and drink habits. The boundaries between eating at home and out-of-home, once blurred, have now broken down, resulting in unprecedented changes to supply and demand of food and drink in the UK. In 2019, the split of consumer spend on food and drink was one-third (36%) in foodservice and two thirds (64%) in retail. In 2020, Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown measures and closure of all non-essential shops, pubs, restaurants and cafes, will have a dramatic impact on the balance of consumer spend in retail and foodservice. Our new ‘Eating In Vs Dining Out’ research, produced in collaboration with leading foodservice consultant Peter Backman, explores the impact of Covid-19, outlining four scenarios to help food retail and foodservice companies plan for the future. Each scenario addresses the possible path of the virus and performance of the economy – from a relatively manageable virus to multiple outbreaks, and an economic performance that quickly recovers to a hard-hit economy, slow to rebuild.

THE FOUR HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIOS ARE: The Great Reset: This most positive scenario, sees food and drink consumption largely shift to home. Retail sales remain high but flatten as lockdown restrictions gradually lift and people start to eat out again. Some changes in shopper behaviour become the norm, fuelling further development of digital channels. Decade of Drift: In this scenario, the virus is manageable, but the economy takes longer to recover and the financial impact on households and businesses is severe. Companies accelerate their cost-cutting and efficiency programmes to demonstrate value to consumers, resulting in lower levels of new product development. Technical Isolation: The path of the virus sees businesses and consumers turn to technology and digital services, which reshapes the retail offer. Online is widely viewed as the safest way to shop and investment is diverted from improving and expanding stores. Shopping is a functional activity rather than experiential www.slrmag.co.uk

Inside Business

and opportunities for premium services and price increases lie in areas of safety and hygiene. Globalisation reversed: This is the most severe scenario, combining bad outcomes for both the virus and the economy. Globalisation regresses, putting pressure on supply chains and businesses to find operational efficiency. The supply chain is extensively rebuilt. Ranges change, with some products becoming seasonal or disappearing completely. Covid-19 has resulted in the boundaries between in-home and out-of-home consumption breaking down further and faster than any of us could have imagined. The future is unpredictable; we don’t know what path the virus will take or how lockdown measures will affect the performance of markets in the medium to longer term. In this highly uncertain environment, it is crucial that retailers and suppliers can respond successfully and quickly to events as they unfold. Considering which changes in shopper behaviour will become permanent will help identify the solutions that you want your business to nurture. Retailers must prepare for the reopening of the out-of-home sector and the impact on your business. Suppliers should consider multiple views of the future that adopt different growth rates all while focusing on ways to support their retail customers. They should Identify parts of their business or brands that will perform well or are at risk, as a focus on value will put pressure on pricing and potential margins. As Peter Backman, co-author of the report, points out: “Covid-19 has been, and will continue to be, a great accelerator for the shifts between in and out of home consumption that have been emerging over the past 15 years. Current consumer behaviour is a catalyst for change, which is happening far faster than anything I predicted, just six months ago. As we move forward, every part of the supply chain will have to be able to adapt rapidly to this changing landscape. “Consumer demand will drive and shape the eating in and dining out markets more than ever before, so suppliers, foodservice operators and retailers will need to react, adjust and innovate to allow for evolving scenarios. The food industry has always been fast-paced; it’s about to get faster.” JULY 2020 | SLR

Inside Business

Open Letter | Wholesale Crisis

THE BETRAYAL OF INDEPENDENT WHOLESALERS The MD of the UK’s largest food and drink wholesaling group has written an open letter to government challenging them about the lack of financial support for wholesalers during the Covid-19 crisis and the struggle his foodservice members are facing.

An open letter from Darren Goldney, Managing Director of Unitas Wholesale, the UK largest group of independent food and drink wholesalers Dear Government, Betrayal: the action of betraying one's country, a group, or a person; treachery There simply is no other word for it. Independent wholesalers of this country that service hundreds of thousands of pubs, restaurants, care homes, hospitals, cafes, takeaways, schools and more are being betrayed. While betrayal can be unintended, whatever the root cause, it is the end result so far. Please explain how it can be right that multiple retailers such as Tesco, Asda and friends are reportedly receiving up to £3 billion in business rate relief from tax payers, while in many cases managing huge sales increases. Meanwhile, food and drink wholesalers supplying hundreds of thousands of independent small businesses whose sales disappeared over night after instructions to close, have received zero support. We were told you would stand by UK businesses but this support seems highly selective. You must act. Our group, Unitas Wholesale, is made up of 170 independent wholesalers. Our name is based on the principle of winning together with our key partners and stakeholders. The UK government should be one, but you are not standing with us. We reach millions of consumers, employ thousands of people and supply hundreds of thousands of small food and drinks businesses who we stand side by side with in a battle to survive. You have spent billions in the wrong places. This needs to be called out but most of all it needs to be corrected, and quickly. This week we’ve seen the first flow of job losses, because the business rate relief you’ve granted, sometimes needlessly for ‘the rich and the growing’ has not been given to where it was needed and where it would save jobs and businesses. As a result there is no breathing space afforded as our independent, often family owned, wholesalers work with outlets to reignite hospitality from July onward. No matter how we do this, sales won’t return quickly but will eventually. Heartbreaking decisions are forcing people out of jobs and this could be avoided by recognising the elephant in the room. You’ve spent far too much in the wrong place but two wrongs do not make a right. Give wholesalers the same business rates relief as you have others. The definition of betrayal above is interesting and I believe that when a government turns its back on an entire sector in favour of others, then it more than qualifies.

Darren Goldney, Managing Director Unitas Wholesale 18

SLR | JULY 2020

www.slrmag.co.uk

Product News & Media Watch

Ribena rolls out new Raspberry Rays Ribena has launched Ribena Raspberry Rays, a new on-trend raspberry-flavoured soft drink that is rich in vitamin C. It will be available from the end of June in cases of 12 x 500ml 100% recycled plastic bottles. Packs are price-marked at £1.09 or 2-for-£2. Plain packs (RSP £1.49) will also be available. The bottle calls out the ‘Special-Edition’ credentials of the launch and highlights the fact that Ribena Raspberry Rays is rich in Vitamin C, and that the bottle is made from 100% recycled plastic. Ribena worked with several leading retailers to design supporting in-store PoS materials and to hear their views on the drink ahead of its launch. The feedback on the taste was incredibly positive, and retailers spoke passionately about the impact that the new launch could have on their summer soft drink sales. Retailers seeking PoS materials should get in touch with their local Lucozade Ribena Suntory representative. In consumer testing, 70% of shoppers said that they would purchase a raspberry flavoured Ribena, and in taste tests, Raspberry Rays scored as Ribena’s best-tasting drink ever. Charlotte Flook, Head of Brand for Ribena at Lucozade Ribena Suntory, said: “Working alongside some incredible independent retailers was a fantastic way to incorporate feedback from people who are close to our consumers every day and know what will stand out in store. This partnership is so valuable, not only to improve our PoS in a genuine way, but to also build long-lasting relationships with our retailers. We are confident that our new PoS for Raspberry Rays will do a great job of introducing consumers to the new flavour and motivating them to try it.”

Pedigree Dentastix Chewy Chunx Mars Petcare The new product helps prevent plaque build-up throughout the day and is available in chicken and beef ﬂavours, with mini or maxi options for smaller or larger dogs. All are available in 68g packs with an RSP of £1.65. The launch is supported with TV and social media activity. Chewy Chunx contain less than 3% fat, with 15kcal per treat and no artificial ﬂavours or added sugars.

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Aquafresh Senses GSK Aquafresh Senses is available in two flavours – Energising Grapefruit, Lemon & Mint and Refreshing Watermelon, Cucumber & Mint – and invites consumers to “shake up their brush time routine and discover a refreshing twist on everyday protection”. Both flavours are available in 75ml tubes with £2 RSP. The brand has also launched Aquafresh Splash, a Strawberry & Mint flavoured toothpaste for children aged 3-8 years old.

Hotlines

Freddo Treasures Space Mondelez New Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo Treasures Space features a new space-themed design on pack and on supporting POS to ensure it stands out from the first Freddo Treasures series, Hunters. Also rolling out is Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo Treasures White. Both RSP at 90p per 14.4g pack but are currently on promotion at 65p. To find out more, telephone 0870 600 0699, email retailer.services@mdlz. com or visit deliciousdisplay.co.uk.

Wall’s Chicken Scotch Egg Addo Food Group Wall’s has expanded its healthier snacking range with its first Chicken Scotch Egg. The 113g product has been developed as a healthier alternative to the traditional porkbased snack, with 2.1g of saturated fat, 9g of fat, 12.3g of protein and 197 calories. It is made with 100% British chicken, onion, garlic, nutmeg and fresh herbs including sage, parsley and coriander coated in a golden crumb.

Mentos Xtra Strong Perfetti Van Melle Mentos has unveiled new ﬂavour Mentos Xtra Strong – now available in both single roll and multi-pack formats. Singles RSP at 60p and multipacks (4 rolls) at £1.29. Both will be included in the brand’s Me & You loyalty programme which gives shoppers the chance to win prizes by sharing their Mentos selfies. For further information, retailers should call 01753 442100 or visit perfettivanmelle.com.

Perfect British Cheeseboard Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses This selection of hard, soft and blue cheeses has been designed for convenience retailers who wish to tap into the trend for farmhouse cheese but have limited space in their chiller. The 155g pack (RSP £4) contains Blacksticks Blue, Butlers’ Sunday Best and Button Mill cheeses. Email matthew.hall@ butlerscheeses.co.uk. for more information or to order.

JULY 2020 | SLR

Summer Drinks

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CASHING IN ON SUMMER DRINKS It’s set to be an unusual summer, but one that will offer more than its fair share of opportunities for retailers to grow their summer drinks sales.

T LRS ADVICE LRS advises retailers to focus on three key areas: Q SKUs should be brandblocked with a minimum of two facings per ﬂavour, and more for a best-seller like Lucozade Energy, Lucozade Sport or Ribena Q Range should be reviewed regularly Q Stock up frequently

SLR | JULY 2020

hese are interesting times we’re living in, and it looks likely that the normal rules might not apply when it comes to ranging and merchandising in the vital summer drinks category. “This year, standard summer trends go out the window given the impact of coronavirus,” admits Matt Gouldsmith, Channel Director for Wholesale at Lucozade Ribena Suntory. “What’s most important now is that retailers pay close attention to the needs of their shoppers’ and adapt their soft drinks range accordingly.” This is particularly true when it comes to drink-later formats, which are growing by 8% with multi-packs driving growth of 9.4% as the nation continues to spend more time at home than they’ve done in their lives. “Our portfolio replicates this trend,” says Gouldsmith. “We’ve seen strong growth of 18.3% in Lucozade Energy’s drink-later portfolio, including 1L bottles and multipacks.

In fact, the top three 1L SKUs represent 21% of the brand’s total sales, meaning it’s increasingly important retailers have a larger format offering in-store for this demand.” Despite this not being a typical summer, hydration in the warm weather remains important, with soft drink sales typically increasing by +1.6% for every 1-degree temperature change. This makes it hugely important for Scottish retailers to have drinklater soft drinks ranges ready for consumers enjoying the warmer weather in their gardens or as part of picnics. Another key trend that looks set to continue, despite Covid-19, is the growth of lower-sugar drinks. The right range will drive sales from those looking for these options. Gouldsmith again: “This means retailers should ensure their chillers are stocked up on lower-sugar soft drinks such as Ribena Light and Lucozade Zero – now worth a combined £53.4m – to capitalise on the ongoing trend towards lower-sugar choices.” www.slrmag.co.uk

U K' S #1

J UIC E DRIN K

STOCK U P N OW Ribena is a registered trade mark. *IRI Value Data, 52 w/e 29.03.20. Light: 80% fewer calories than most regular soft drinks

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Summer Drinks

Flavours is another strong area of growth for the soft drinks category. “The Lucozade Energy flavours range has already contributed a significant £66.8m worth of sales to the energy segment, showing just how important it is for retailers to offer a diverse selection of flavours,” comments Gouldsmith. “Lucozade Energy is growing +8.3%, driven by flavours which are in growth of +42% year on year. On top of this, 23.8% of Lucozade Energy drink-later shoppers only buy flavours, showing how stocking a full range of flavours and formats can help retailers maximise sales. Two of the brand’s latest launches, Lucozade Energy Apple Blast and Lucozade Energy Watermelon and Strawberry Cooler, have been highly successful and they are now worth over £22m combined.” NPD is a key opportunity for retailers with consumers invariably keen to try new and exciting products, particularly from brands they know and love. “In terms of growth drivers, it’s important to remember shoppers want excitement when looking for a soft drink,” says Gouldsmith. “We are investing in ambitious innovations across our portfolio of leading brands to drive sales for retailers this summer and beyond. “Ribena is bringing a ray of sunshine to chillers with the launch of a brand-new drink – Ribena Raspberry Rays. The thirstquenching new flavour, rich in Vitamin C, is ideal for shoppers looking for a burst of summer sunshine from their soft drink. Available in 500ml bottles made from 100% recycled plastic, the new launch is sure to be a hit.” Ribena worked with a group of leading retailers to design supporting in-store POS materials and to hear their views on the drink ahead of its launch. “This year the UK’s biggest sport & energy drink brand, Lucozade, unveiled the launch of a new sub-brand to bring new shoppers to the energy category,” says Gouldsmith. “Sweetened with stevia, and with 4.3g sugar per 100ml, Lucozade Revive is designed to offer a different type of energy. It’s not a boost or a buzz, it’s a naturally inspired uplift that makes drinkers feel revitalised and back in the groove. Revive has natural fruit flavours, no artificial colours, and vitamins B3, B5, B6 and B12 to help reduce tiredness.” Lucozade Energy has also introduced a cool new addition to its £66.8m flavours range ahead of the summer season. Lucozade Energy Citrus Chill, a new lemon & lime flavour, is available in 380ml PMP and standard packs. 22

SLR | JULY 2020

Meanwhile, Lucozade Sport has launched a ‘Keep Us Moving’ initiative to support the nation’s fitness coaches, instructors and personal trainers by incentivising them to help the nation to stay active during the coronavirus outbreak. The initiative gives fitness experts across the country the opportunity to host online classes through Lucozade Sport’s Instagram TV channel and YouTube channel. The classes are available for free and all trainers are paid for each piece of content used by the channel in return for their expertise, with an initial £100,000 fund up for grabs. Also encouraging shoppers to take a positive approach during the pandemic is Diet Coke which has unveiled a new ‘Give Yourself a Diet Coke Break’ campaign. The campaign is inviting people to take a moment to refresh and be kind to themselves with a little break. Launched at the end of last month, the first phase of the

BARR SOFT DRINKS TIPS Adrian Troy, Marketing Director at Barr Soft Drinks, identifies key ways to drive summer sales: Q Chilled Drinks: the importance of offering chilled soft drinks in summer cannot be overlooked. Shoppers prefer their drinks to be chilled, with ‘drink now’ sales accounting for more than three quarters of all soft drinks sales in convenience. Q Availability & Choice: ensure that your soft drinks fixture is highly visible, well presented and restocked regularly during the summer months. If a product is selling out regularly increase the number of facings. Higher value Take Home products are also important for summer occasions like BBQ. Q Health & Lifestyle: we know that the way people live is changing – health is becoming more important and, especially with younger shoppers, we’re seeing an increase in demand for lower calorie products and a significant reduction in the consumption of alcohol. Offer a good choice of low-calorie products to cater for these consumers.

www.slrmag.co.uk

Summer Drinks

campaign will run for five weeks and feature on TV, radio and social media with out-ofhome advertising and on-pack activity set to follow later in the year. Simon Harrison, Vice President, Commercial Development at Coca-Cola European Partners GB, said: “Since the country went into lockdown, we’ve seen people and communities selflessly go above and beyond to support others. As we begin to see what the new normal might look like and begin the road to recovery, the new Diet Coke campaign aims to remind consumers to take a step back and have a break for themselves.” The new marketing campaign follows the recent launch of Diet Coke’s reduced recommended price points for its range of price-marked packs as the brand continues to evolve and adapt to current consumer demands. With many households taking a hit on income at this time and to tap into consumer appetite of value for money, 1.75l bottles of Diet Coke are now available in a £1.75 PMP and Diet Coke Sublime Lime and Diet Coke Twisted Strawberry 500ml bottles are available in a £1 PMP. The recommended prices on Diet Coke PMPs are intended only as a guide for retailers, and they are free to set prices as they wish. Plain packs are also available. The water category is another vital element of the wider soft drinks summer success story. Adrian Troy, Marketing Director at Barr Soft Drinks, comments: “Scotland’s £239m convenience soft drinks category continues to be one of the most profitable categories for retailers during the summer months. Summer is key to the entire soft drinks market and retailers need to ensure that their fixture is balanced to reflect seasonal category uplifts in order to generate maximum profits. “From June to August – the crucial period for soft drinks sales – shoppers purchase 15% more soft drinks than any other time of the year, with water, fruit drinks and other flavoured carbonates seeing the most benefit. “As the trend of health continues to grow and evolve, so www.slrmag.co.uk

does the range of products that are available to shoppers. However taste remains the number one reason for shoppers to choose a soft drink and it is essential that retailers offer a wide choice of flavours to satisfy their many different needs. “Water is a key category within the summer chiller, showing the biggest uplift at +34%.” Troy advises that, while it is important for retailers to offer trusted, quality plain water brands such as Strathmore, they also need to consider the growing number of consumers who are looking for healthier options, but are not prepared to compromise on taste. “Brands such as Rubicon Spring are the high taste, low calorie alternative that shoppers are increasingly on the lookout for – a bridge between the healthiness of

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water and the taste of carbonates and fruit drinks,” says Troy. “Fruit drinks is the second biggest growth area in the summer, growing at +19%, as shoppers look for thirst-quenching, fruity flavours. An improved fruitier tasting recipe has been introduced on the Rubicon Stills range, delivering a much better taste while remaining below the sugar levy. Rubicon continues to use the finest ingredients, handpicked from across the globe and the improved taste will be flashed on the front of packs to generate trial.” The third biggest growth area in the summer is flavoured carbonates, seeing a +15% uplift. Carbonates remain the backbone of the fixture, worth £213m and accounting for 67% of the Scottish convenience soft drinks category. It is one of the most important categories for retailers to get right and shoppers are looking for a good range of great-tasting choices. Troy concludes: “Flavoured carbonates provide choice for shoppers and Irn-Bru is a must-stock product for all retailers. IrnBru Xtra, delivering extra Irn-Bru taste with zero sugar, has delivered £13m of sales for Scottish retailers this year and offers choice within the fast-growing low-calorie carbonates sector.” Red Bull, the UK’s number one energy drink brand, has also brought a new taste to the market with Red Bull Zero. The new Red Bull Zero formula delivers a similar taste to the classic Red Bull Energy Drink but contains no sugars, giving consumers the choice to enjoy a zero-sugar product with a different taste than Red Bull Sugarfree, but the same uplift. Demonstrating its understanding of consumer needs and attitudes, the reformulated Red Bull Zero offers shoppers more choice for those moments where they’d rather have less sugar. Alongside diet offerings experiencing growth, Zero variants are growing +20.7% displaying growing demand for zero calorie options. Red Bull Energy Drink 250ml is, of course, a must-stock SKU as it’s the single most valuable soft drink in the UK. Red Bull Energy Drink 250ml is worth over £150m to the category and the number one single serve soft drink in the UK. JULY 2020 | SLR

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Snacks

UNLOCK SNACKING SALES KEY SNACKING FACTS Q 51% of shoppers say ‘ﬂavour’ is the No.1 purchase driver Q 37% of shoppers cite ‘brand recognition’ as important Q 22% cite ‘health’ as the most important factor Q 52% of consumers intend to make healthier snacking choices in the morning Q Indulgence (26%) and taste (36%) remain key drivers by the evening Q 54% say smaller sized packs help them control their calorie intake. Q 49% said that they would choose crisps or savoury snacks over a sugary option

There are some easy wins when it comes to growing your crisps, snacks and nuts sales with healthier options and varying pack formats vital, but never forget that ﬂavour is the most important purchase driver of all.

ver the past few years – coronavirus not withstanding – the large weekly shop has been in decline, with 90% of UK shoppers now visiting a convenience store more often. As a result, the convenience market has been flourishing, a trend accelerated by the current pandemic. This creates a huge opportunity for the convenience sector when it comes to crisps, snacks and nuts as Matt Collins, Trading Director at KP Snacks, explains: “Bagged snacks remain a vital driver of growth within convenience and demand shows no sign of slowing. Crisps, snacks and nuts are worth £3.3bn and over the last five years KP Snacks have delivered +£142m RSV in growth to the category which is almost one-third of overall category growth and the biggest growth contribution of any single supplier.” In 2019, KP Snacks delivered £50m of the £96m category growth (vs Pepsico’s £2.5m) and the KP Snacks portfolio is currently

SLR | JULY 2020

growing in value at +6.2%, ahead of the overall category at +2.7%. “Following on from the success of our largest NPD to date, McCoy’s Muchos, in 2020 KP Snacks launched McCoy’s Fiery Steak,” says Collins. “The launch was inspired by the iconic McCoy’s Steak flavour with a bold punch of heat to spice up the nation’s favourite snacking occasions. McCoys Fiery Steak are available in Grab Bag and PMP formats for example.” 2019 was also the most successful year ever for Hula Hoops. Sub brands Hula Hoops Puft and Hula Hoops Flavarings helped to move Hula Hoops from number five to number four spot in bagged snacks. Hula Hoops Flavarings, which launched in mid-2018 to extend beyond lunchtime into sharing occasions, joins a brand portfolio that has also extended into permissible snacking with Hula Hoops Puft which, at under 72 calories per pack, is one of the lowest calorie snacks in the market. www.slrmag.co.uk

Snacks

But what are the key factors driving growth? Collins explains: “The number one category driver is taste, and we are in the business of making great tasting snacks that serve a number of customer and shopper occasions, across all snacking segments (crisps, snacks, nuts, popcorn), delivered in all formats (singles, multipacks, sharing) and up and down the value spectrum.” PMPs are also important in convenience, with 83% of retailers saying PMPs sell faster than non-PMPs. Many products in the KP Snacks range available in PMP. Collins offers these tips to maximise sales: Must Stock Ranging: stock a strong core that covers the top selling lines which will deliver category growth – 60% of sales go through the top 50 best sellers. Make your fixture easy to shop: blocking similar type products together such as ridged crisps will make it easier for your shoppers to find what they need Drive impulsive purchases: 38% of shoppers buy something from a secondary sighting. Make use of impactful branded display and POS such as stackers and dump bins to drive basket spend.

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KP SNACKS MUST STOCKS Q McCoy’s: worth £132.4m RSV and growing in value +4.2% Q Popchips: worth £32.1m RSV and growing in value +10.9% Q Hula Hoops: worth £142.6m RSV and growing in value +10.5% Q Tyrrells: worth £48.7m RSV Q POM-BEAR: worth £29.6m RSV Q KP Nuts: worth £68.3m RSV and growing in value +8.8% Q Butterkist: worth £46.4m RSV and growing in value +4.8%

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JULY 2020 | SLR

UTC

THE FLY PISH PHENOMENON

With a heavy drinking career stretching back at least six decades, UTC will readily admit to having had to resort to a wee alfresco pee now and again when being caught short on the way back from the boozer – but even he was taken aback by a press release recently highlighting how ‘ﬂy peeing’ has officially become a thing under coronavirus. Waste management specialists BusinessWaste.co.uk have apparently witnessed a huge surge in outdoor urinating. The new phenomenon has allegedly been driven by the closure of public toilets. [The auld boy did mutter something about preferring to take his chances in the bushes than in a public lavvy in Glasgow, but we won’t go into that - Ed.] According to the release, there has been a huge spike in pee-filled bottles appearing along the country’s roadsides, as well as a mass outbreak of people draining the water off their spuds into people’s gardens and in public beauty spots. And we even have a genuine quote. Trucker Mark Taylor of Addingham tells us: “I’m old and my bladder isn’t as strong as it once was, but I haven’t been able to stop for a wee because most services have been shut. I’ve had to pee in my Lucozade bottle, but it tends to get a bit smelly in the cab, so I’ve thrown a few bottles out of the window.”

SOCIALLY DISTANCED CHRISTMAS

Coronavirus may have brought the world to its knees, but every cloud and all that. SLR Towers’ resident Scrooge couldn’t keep the smirk off his face as he read a press release recently bemoaning the fact that this year’s Christmas parties might have to be cancelled. A socially distanced Christmas, he proudly announced, was his idea of heaven. The release even came with a list of socially distanced Christmas party ideas which the auld boy took glee in reading out to his less anti-social colleagues: fancy dress conference calls anyone? Secret Santa by post? Microwave Christmas dinner?

SLR | JULY 2020

FLUSHED WITH SUCCESS

The auld yin had to doff his cop last month to the fine folks at discounter Aldi who added another award to the no doubt sizeable collection they’ve already got on their mantelpiece: it has been awarded the Fine To Flush standard by Water UK for its range of moist toilet tissues and toddler toilet wipes. Once it had been explained to UTC what ‘moist toilet tissues’ are, he was more than happy to salute the German retailer’s efforts. The flushable wipes apparently help reduce the risk of blockages and ‘fatbergs’ – large masses of fat and oils that form around non-biodegradable solid matter flushed down the toilet. According to Water UK, many products labelled as ‘flushable’ do not actually break down quickly enough when they enter the sewer system – but Aldi’s do. So that’s a weight off UTC’s mind.