Picks of the Week

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Coca-Cola Zero Sugar flavours get new look

COCA-COLA EUROPACIFIC PARTNERS UNVEILS NEW PACK DESIGNS FOR COCA-COLA ZERO SUGAR CHERRY AND COCA-COLA ZERO SUGAR VANILLA

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) is rolling out Coca-Cola Zero Sugar’s new-look packaging to its Cherry and Vanilla variants this month.

The design features black lettering and the CocaCola logo has been moved to the top of the label on bottles and to the top of each can.

The company said the new design was launched to “provide a simple and intuitive” navigation system across all Coca-Cola variants.

CCEP says the new and improved Coca-Cola taste and impactful new packaging design is helping to recruit new shoppers to the zero sugar colas segment.

Research has shown that Coca-Cola Zero Sugar’s new-look packs are easier for shoppers to find at the fixture, which means the Cherry and Vanilla variants – worth a combined £25m and up £4m on last year –will also gain from their redesign.

In addition, a continuation of the ‘Open That CocaCola’ campaign which launched earlier this year will target young adults from the middle of August. This will see more than one million Coca-Cola Zero Sugar samples delivered to festivals, via digital couponing, and when students return to university in September.

Martin Attock, Vice-President of Commercial Development at CCEP, said: “We know that our refreshed packaging designs help Coca-Cola Zero Sugar stand out on-shelf, and now that our flavours are included, the line-up looks stronger than ever.

“Flavoured zero sugar colas represent an exciting opportunity for retailers – if growth continues at the current rate, there’s scope for an additional £14m in sales this year.

“That’s why we’re distributing more than a million packs with our latest sampling initiative – supported by another £3m media investment to keep the full Coca-Cola Zero Sugar range front of mind with shoppers, this summer and beyond.”

Carling launches Instant-Win giveaway for football fans

THE GIVEAWAY WILL SEE 20 CUSTOMERS WIN AN AT-HOME MATCH-DAY EXPERIENCE BUNDLE WORTH MORE THAN £4,000

Carling has launched a new instant-win giveaway for football fans ahead of the new domestic season.

Twenty consumers will find golden tickets hidden inside special cans of Carling, which are designed to look and feel the same as regular cans, that can be redeemed for an at-home match-day experience bundle worth more than £4,500.

The tickets will be stashed in special Carling cans, inside promotional four-can multipacks across retailers nationwide. The special cans will still look and weigh the same as normal ones but, instead of containing beer, their tops easily twist off (no tools are required) to reveal a golden ticket inside for an instant surprise and an unexpected moment of delight for the lucky winner.

Winners can redeem the tickets for a prize that contains everything a football fan will need to enjoy the season ahead in comfort and style. This includes a 65-inch smart TV, soundbar, TV Sports Pass, £1,500 sofa voucher, and £200 takeaway voucher. On top of this, they will receive a one-year supply of Carling, a Carling football table, Carling beer fridge & Carling glassware fourpack for the ultimate football watching experience, best shared with mates.

Kevin Fawell, Off-Trade Sales Director at Molson Coors Beverage Company, said: “After a brilliant summer of football, anticipation is building for the new season and next year’s tournament like never before. Our new promotion captures that sense of excitement with an innovative mechanic that will keep shoppers guessing until the moment they open the can and provide an instant moment of delight for the winners.

“There’s nothing else quite like our Golden Ticket competition on the market and the prize itself is a one-of-a-kind package that we’re sure consumers will love. We’re confident this will help maintain the momentum of the nation’s football fever into the new season and beyond.”

The promotion will run for 20 weeks and gives shoppers the chance to win a prize every week throughout the remainder of 2021.

Wave of innovation from Ferrero

FERRERO HAS UNVEILED FOUR BRAND NEW PRODUCT RANGES ACROSS ITS KINDER, FERRERO ROCHER AND THORNTONS BRANDS

The Ferrero NPD team have clearly been busy recently as the chocolate giant has announced the launch of four innovative new products across its Kinder, Ferrero Rocher and Thorntons brands.

Kinder Cards

Ferrero is expanding its Kinder brand in the biscuit category with Kinder Cards now available. The UK launch will be supported by a £1.82m media investment, which includes a TV campaign. Kinder Cards come in single-serve packs containing two biscuits, for on-the-go consumption. It also offers shoppers with a treat for the whole family to enjoy during afternoon activities.

RSPs:

Kinder Cards T2 55p

Kinder Cards T2 PMP 55p UK exclusive

Kinder Cards T8 £1.80

Ferrero Rocher Chocolate tablet bars

Ferrero Rocher is bringing its iconic taste to the UK chocolate tablets segment for the first time. Ferrero Rocher chocolate tablet bars will be available in October. The 90g bars come in three varieties: white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate. The launch will be supported by a £2.55m campaign, including TV and in-store theatre. RSPs: 90p KINDER SURPRISE NATOONS

Kinder Surprise is launching a new licence for its Kinder Surprise eggs next month featuring a range of animals from North America. The new licence, called Natoons, will be available across both single and multi-pack Kinder Surprise eggs in convenience.

There are 16 different Natoons animals to discover, each with realistic features and ‘playabilities’. All 16 toys can be scanned by parents looking to unlock a set of activities for their children to complete on the app developed by Kinder, Applaydu. The Natoons range will benefit from a £3.2m media spend including a TV advert that focuses on the new range. In addition to this, Natoons will also receive support across multiple channels including BVOD, digital and in-store media. A dedicated suite of Natoons POS materials will be available. RSPs:

Kinder Surprise Natoons T1 (20g) 99p

Kinder Surprise Natoons T3 (60g) £2.56

Thortons Pearls

Ferrero UK is expanding Thorntons’ boxed chocolate range with the launch of Thorntons Pearls in two premium flavours: Hazelnut Delight and Salted Caramel Sensation. Available now, the range offers shoppers an ideal sharing treat.

Thorntons Pearls will benefit from support across multiple touchpoints including TV, shopper activations, social activity and sampling, to help make the launch unmissable to shoppers.

RSP: £4.50

Weetabix unveils its Back-to-School campaign

WEETABIX IS CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE CEREAL CATEGORY WITH FRESH INVESTMENT

Weetabix is returning to TV screens this autumn with a £2m creative campaign designed to encourage children and adults to have a healthy start to the day as they head back to school and work.

The campaign, which runs across August and September on TV and video-on-demand, shows various topical serving suggestions making reference to the easing of lockdown restrictions, including ‘goodbye rule of six a-bix’ and ‘festival moshing a-bix’.

The advert is the latest in Weetabix’s recent creative campaigns, which aim to inspire consumers with new, exciting recipes to show how tasty and fun the nation’s favourite cereal can be when paired with a variety of different toppings.

Gareth Turner, Head of Brand at Weetabix, said: “This latest investment reaffirms our ongoing commitment to driving category sales and brand awareness at what is always a key period for cereals. Here at Weetabix, we’re passionate about providing our consumers with the ‘Weetabix Advantage’ every morning when they sit down for breakfast. Weetabix Original is a low sugar cereal, and our entire Weetabix-branded portfolio is nonHFSS – so retailers can be confident we’ll continue to fully get behind our brands in the years to come.

“Landing ahead of the new school year, the campaign will present retailers with a golden opportunity to drive sales of Weetabix Original and other fun recipe ingredients and help the nation’s schoolkids, and their parents, get the healthiest start to the day possible.”

Weetabix Original currently features an on-pack football promotion in partnership with The national Football Associations, which runs until October, encouraging kids to get active and help the nation to embrace healthy breakfast choices. Weetabix is also the headline partner of The Football Associations girl’s participation programme, the ‘Weetabix Wildcats’, which helps girls aged 5-11 who want to get involved with football.

Doritos gives consumers the chance to win £20k

THE ON-PACK PROMO ALSO OFFERS SHOPPERS THE CHANCE TO WIN £200 EVERY DAY

Doritos has introduced a new on-pack promo across its leading Dippers products: Cool Original, Lightly Salted and Hint of Lime.

The promo offers shoppers the chance to win a grand prize of £20k plus an additional opportunity to win £200 every day.

To enter, shoppers have to share a photo of their nacho creations using the Doritos Dippers range on their Instagram feed, including #NachoYourWay and @DoritosUK in the caption.

Juliana Macedo, Doritos Marketing Director at PepsiCo, said: “With slightly lighter flavours than our standard range, they are perfect to complement dips and nachos with a hint of great flavour.

“The #NachoYourWay promotion aims to raise awareness of this great versatility and inspire the nation to have fun, get creative and show us their most elaborate and delicious creations with Doritos Dippers. We challenge you to Nacho Your Way to win.”

The dips category has benefitted from the lifting of Covid restrictions, as more people looking to get together with their friends and family for a barbecue or a big night in together.

Macedo added: “Our recent insight shows that at least four people usually enjoy these moments together, so we wanted to ensure our Dippers range catered for this by increasing the size of our share bags, in May 2021, from 230g to 270g.”

The Doritos Dippers promotion kicks off on 9 Aug and will end 17 Oct. It will be supported by a digital, social and influencer campaign.

Pernod Ricard campaign tackles binge drinking

THE BRAND HAS INTENSIFIED THE EFFORTS OF ITS RESPONSIBLE PARTY PROGRAMME TO COINCIDE WITH THE REOPENING OF BARS, CLUBS AND RESTAURANTS

Pernod Ricard has launched a global digital campaign through its Responsible Party initiative, aimed at tackling the issue of binge drinking.

The brand’s Responsible Party programme, which has been engaged in the prevention of alcohol misuse by young adults since 2009, has intensified its efforts to coincide with the reopening of bars, clubs and restaurants. The digital campaign is spearheaded by a 50-second film.

The campaign is based on the Responsible Party programme’s main drivers: to persuade young adults that there is no fun in excessive drinking and to empower them to make the right choices for themselves, thanks to a peer-to-peer approach.

Pernod Ricard said: “The campaign aims to connect with the Gen Z audience by not shying away from showing the unpleasant, embarrassing and harmful consequences of alcohol abuse. Featuring snapshots of what can happen when people drink to excess, the campaign appears to encourage them to drink more, before revealing at the end of the video the true message – drink more water.”

Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and Chief Executive of Pernod Ricard, said: “This ambitious campaign reflects the new digital dimension of our Responsible Party programme. By addressing young adults with codes that are specific to them, we will expand the reach of our message across many countries in an impactful way.”

The Responsible Party programme launched its first digital prevention campaign, ‘Sharing Good Vibes’, at the start of the pandemic in April 2020, to continue raising awareness at a difficult time. Over a six-month period, the campaign reached six million people in 30 countries.

Pernod Ricard is not the only drink manufacturer trying to prevent alcohol misuse. In June Accolade Wines and Campari Group UK funded Community Alcohol Partnerships which plans to extend its work programme to reduce alcohol harm among young people and improve their health and wellbeing.

PVM’s biggest-ever Halloween campaign

THE CONFECTIONERY BRAND WILL ALSO ADD TWO NEW CHUPA CHUPS LINES

Perfetti Van Melle (PVM) is set to launch its biggest-ever Halloween campaign. The ‘All Wrapped Up’ campaign, which will run from September across Fruittella and Chupa Chups, includes £1m of multimedia support and new product launches to drive awareness during the event.

The first of these, new Chupa Chups Sour Lollies, contains 10 individually-wrapped cherry-, apple-, and lemon-flavoured pieces, providing shoppers with a trick or treat option.

The second launch, which builds on the growing trend of portion-controlled pack formats, is a 300g tub, containing 32 individually-wrapped favourites such as Classic Lolly and Mini Lolly. The recyclable plastic tub is in the shape of the Chupa Chups logo.

The PVM field sales team will support the launches with visits to selected outlets that will be creating festive in-store displays using Halloween-themed POS.

The confectionery giant will also be raising awareness of Fruittella through a series of Spooky Sunday videos that encourage consumers to get involved in seasonal activities such as pumpkin carving and costume creation. The content will then be amplified on Pinterest.

PVM will partner with TikTok influencers for the Chupa Chups Charm challenge, which will see lollies transformed into metaphorical wands that once tapped on screens will let users engage in before-and-after Halloween makeup and costume transformations, using the hashtag #ChupaChupsHalloween. Broader content awareness of the content will be generated through Snapchat advertising and interactive in-app filters.

In addition, vinyl-wrapped POS digital displays at key grocery locations will act as final prompts to purchase for the full campaign duration.

Jas Ghag, Senior Category and Insights Executive at Perfetti Van Melle, said: “Halloween continued to be the most important season for confectionery last year, that’s why we’re starting our activity in September and investing heavily through our above the line ‘All Wrapped Up’ campaign, including new product launches and in-store support for retailers.”

Back to school

Quorn Foods will be targeting record Back to School growth with a major multi-channel marketing push, including a new TV ad, on screens from 23 Aug. The campaign will continue throughout Sep and Oct with Quorn Nuggets as the hero SKU.

Dead heads

Dead Man’s Fingers has released three new limited-editions for its Spiced Rum. The 1.75 litre bottles come in three different flaming skull designs. They launch ahead of a £250k consumer awareness campaign that will visit 12 UK cities.

Boxing clever

Haribo has invested £4m in a new ad for Tangfastics which features two boxers who come face to face during a weigh-in and – as usual for the brand – speak using children’s voices. Launched on Mon, the 20- and 30-second slots run until 31 Oct.

Boney beer

Beavertown Brewery has launched a new 4.4% lager Bones, described the company as “simple and immensely drinkable”. Bones is available in 330ml cans on the Beavertown web shop and has already been listed in selected independent stores across the UK. RSP: £2

Cherry pickers

Fry’s has launched new limited-edition Turkish Delight multipack in cherry flavour. The brand believes the new flavour will help retailers to tap into the growth of adult multipacks. Fry’s Turkish Delight Cherry will be available from August in a multipack of 3 x 51g bars. RSP: £1.49

Toast to coast

Peroni Nastro Azzurro is rolling out an on-pack promo across key multipack formats offering three UK winners a luxury five-star two-night trip to theAmalfi Coast for two adults. The ‘Win the UltimateAmalfi Experience’on-pack will run until 31 Dec 2021 across a range of multipack SKUs.