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With Christmas on the horizon, now’s the time to check you’re stocking the latest confectionery innovations and brand extensions alongside the fun, novelty items and gift boxes that are sure to create a buzz in-store
T
he Irish sweet tooth may well be legendary but it’s certainly not just the stuff of legend! Per capita consumption of chocolate confectionery is still very high in Ireland compared to Western Europe as a whole, Euromonitor reports. In fact, after Germany and Switzerland, Ireland is the third largest consumer of chocolate in the world. The healthy snacking trend has nevertheless seen big players introduce low-sugar versions of chocolate confectionery. The rise of veganism has also led manufacturers to develop options suitable for vegan and vegetarian customers, as well as gluten-free options for coeliacs. And with Christmas just around the corner, manufacturers have been working hard to ensure their festive portfolios can still generate excitement and emotional engagement in what has been a particularly tough year for consumers, not to mention options for the rise of the ‘working from home’ coffee break occasion and indulgent, little pickme-ups.
Outperforming the market While the past few months have proved challenging for the total confectionery market, Nestlé has continued to outperform the market and drive value sales growth. This has been achieved through strong growth across take-home formats and new product innovation across single packs. Earlier this summer, Nestlé introduced a completely new way for consumers to enjoy the colour and fun of Smarties, with the launch of Smarties Bites, discshaped milk chocolate sweets each containing mini Smarties and available in both a single and sharing bag. Maria McKenna, marketing manager, Nestlé
ShelfLife September 2020 | www.shelflife.ie
Ireland Confectionery describes it as ‘Smarties reimagined’ and a tasty new way of enjoying this well-loved brand. Within sugar singles, Rowntree’s Fruit Gums have relaunched from a tube into a bag format with softer fruit shaped sweets included within the mix.
Smarties Bites are disc-shaped milk chocolate sweets each containing mini Smarties; a completely new way to enjoy the colour and fun of Smarties
While Nestlé Confectionery’s number one brand KitKat first launched a chunky variant in 1999 it has, over the years, seen KitKat Chunky frequently innovate to deliver exciting flavours including Peanut Butter, Hazelnut, Coconut, and Salted Caramel Fudge. This month sees the return of two of the brand’s most popular flavour variants – KitKat Chunky Cookie Dough and KitKat Chunky Mint. KitKat Chunky Cookie Dough features a crisp wafer finger coated in a thick layer of cookie
KitKat Chunky Cookie Dough features a thick layer of cookie dough filling with chocolatey pieces
dough filling with chocolatey pieces, all covered in a layer of thick KitKat chocolate. Meanwhile, KitKat Chunky Mint features a crisp wafer finger covered in moreish mint flavour milk chocolate. KitKat Chunky Mint is a limited edition and with just one production run planned, the brand advises retailers to stock up while they can. The KitKat brand will be celebrating the ultimate collection of Chunky flavours with an outdoor and social media and broadcast campaign that will also include KitKat Chunky Milk and KitKat Chunky Peanut Butter. Prefilled displays will be available to highlight this campaign in-store. New for Christmas 2020, the KitKat Santa is a novelty shaped chocolate single that doesn’t just taste delicious, but will no doubt be in high demand as it is also gluten free. Within the biscuit category, KitKat is launching two new flavours to its two-finger range – KitKat Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and KitKat Honeycomb, both of which are sure to prove popular, especially with the increase of the ‘working from home’ coffee break. Munchies are already one of Nestlé Confectionery’s most popular sharing bags no doubt due to new variants such as the Munchies Cookie Dough and Munchies Chocolate Fudge Brownie and launching next month the Munchies White Chocolate variant. Aero, a brand renowned for its unique bubbly texture continues to see double digit share growth YTD and this is set to continue following the recent launch of the rather indulgent Aero Caramel sharing block. White chocolate fans will also welcome the arrival of a Milkybar Cookies & Cream sharing block from the leading white chocolate brand.
Aero has also extended into gifting with Aero Bliss, a box of individually wrapped, smooth milk chocolates filled with a cocoa, salted caramel or praline aerated centre and delicious chocolate pieces. Fans of Quality Street will no longer have to wait until the festive season for a taste of their favourite treat as Nestlé has launched a new premium gift offering - Quality Street Intrigue. These individually wrapped chocolate truffles take the essence of Quality Street and have added a contemporary twist. With two variants, Salted Caramel and Chocolate Praline, these make the perfect gift whatever the occasion. Prefilled displays and point of sale material are now available to drive additional in-store visibility. Quality Street will be supported with an extensive advertising campaign across TV, outdoor, social and digital in the run up to Christmas. Other new news in Nestlé’s seasonal range includes the After Eight Gin & Tonic & Mint limited edition, a ‘spirited’ take on the number one after-dinner mint. With such a focus on bringing new news to the confectionery market, Nestlé Confectionery looks set to continue driving value share growth into the category.
Nestlé’s new premium gift offering, Quality Street Intrigue, features individually wrapped chocolate truffles
