Better Wholesaling Insight - September 2021

September 2021

In-depth analysis, insight and advice for convenience and foodservice wholesalers

The ultimate guide to Christmas and other occasions

Increase your profits

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CONTENTS LEADER A landscape of opportunity ready to take advantage of

Paul Hill Editor

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ith the pandemic now (hopefully) in the rearview mirror, the wholesale industry needs to be primed for each profitable occasion that comes its way.

Research has shown that the UK public is ready to spend and celebrate more than usual now that normality has resumed, with wholesale set to play a key role in this. As a result, it will see the financial benefits if strategies are executed correctly.

Whether it’s major events, such as Christmas and Easter, or the less

EDITORIAL

publicised occasions such as Bonfire Night and Diwali, the channel has a huge chance to substantially increase profits if planned properly in advance.

This report sees Better Wholesaling Insight partner with the likes of b2b.store, KAM Media and TWC to analyse and dissect pieces of data and research that shows what wholesalers should be doing, when they should be implementing it and how they should go about doing so. We’ve also spoken to some of the key players in the industry in an attempt to find nuggets of advice that you’ll hopefully be able to take away and implement in your operations as well.

Furthermore, our annual What To Stock guide makes a return. This uses the latest convenience store sales data to tell you what products to stock in your depot, with a top 25 bestselling list featured in this issue for nine of the most important categories in the sector.

Over the coming weeks and months, I plan to travel around the UK, visiting the most innovative and forwardthinking wholesale operations.

Please get in touch if this interests your business.

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Editor Paul Hill Editor in chief Louise Banham Head of design Anne-Claire Pickard Production editor Ryan Cooper

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Contributors Tom Fender, David Gilroy, Tom Gockelen-Kozlowski, Rob Mannion, Charles Smith

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Better Wholesaling Insight's publisher Newtrade Media cares about the environment.

Better Wholesaling Insight is published by Newtrade Media Limited, which is wholly owned by NFRN Holdings Ltd, which is wholly owned by the Benefits Fund of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents.

Reproduction or transmission in part or whole of any item from Better Wholesaling may only be undertaken with the prior written agreement of the Editor. Contributions are welcomed and are included in part or whole at the sole discretion of the editor. Newtrade Media Limited accepts no responsibility for submitted material. Every possible care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information.

REPORT P4-5: Gilroy viewpoint A complete guide to successful trading P6-7: Data & insight KAM’s research shows the hunger for each occasion P8-9: Data & insight TWC offers insight on how to optimise sales P10-11: Data & insight B2b.store on maximising digital frameworks for profit P12-14: Case studies Learnings from across the industry P15-16: Tips & summary Seven ways wholesalers can increase success CATEGORY ADVICE P17: Industry spotlight What is True Commerce up to in the wholesale world?

P18-19: Sustainability project JTI discusses its work with wholesalers and the environment P20-21: Working Together Project British Lion Egg discusses the benefits of its scheme P22-42: What To Stock Our annual guide on the bestselling products P25: Industry spotlight Finding out all the latest wholesale news at Qnetex P30-31: Industry spotlight Ferrero discusses its planned seasonal work P35: Industry spotlight Mars Petcare explains its plans for a post-Covid-19 landscape P45-49: Sector review An in-depth overview of the Halloween and Bonfire period

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S E E Y OUR S AL E S

e l k r a p S

WI TH

STOCK UP N O W

Please drink responsibly. For more information please visit www.drinkaware.co.uk Available at your local Unitas Wholesale member depot. To find your nearest depot visit www.unitaswholesale.co.uk

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REPORT Gilroy’s Viewpoint: Seasonal trading will often make or break a business, and it’s time for wholesalers to be ambitious

David Gilroy is the founder and managing director of Store Excel

“A

re you hanging up a stocking on the wall?”

Recognise that lyric? It’s the opening line to Slade’s bestselling single ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’. Released in 1973, it was a massive seller and has hit the Christmas charts every year since. It reportedly returns more than £500,000 a year in royalties. Written by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea, this is the gift that keeps giving. For wholesalers and their customer base, Christmas is the gift that keeps giving.

The October-to-December season is referred to by many as the “golden quarter” for good reason as it is when substantial profits are made.

In my view, this is the one of two major trading seasons in the year. The other being summer: May through to August. Not to be confused with events such as Mother’s Day, Halloween and so on, seasons require some serious long-term planning at all levels and can

make or break a business. So, here’s my A-plan for a successful seasonal trading with a nod towards Christmas.

I’d like you to think of this A-plan as a series of concentric circles. Right at the heart of it is the one element you cannot hope to be successful without – stock availability. No stock – no sales.

It is a simple as that. Worse, you will drive your customers to shop elsewhere and they may not come back.

I have always advocated taking the seasonal stock in early and bulking up ahead of the sales curve. This year is going to be exceptionally difficult given HGV driver shortages, shipping cost inflation and the tight labour market.

Stock this season is almost certainly a better investment than money in the bank. Quick decisions are needed, and planning and selecting the seasonal ranges are key. The majority of the nonfood suppliers finalise their assortments early in the year with Christmas confectionery and biscuits sorted by May. Stock projections and order placements need to be carefully calculated and it is good practice to have this done by no later than the end of June. Leaving it too late will lead to a degree of distress purchasing and a loss of sales.

You can also amplify the many ‘hidden gems’ in the existing range, which experience a substantial sales uplift.

Products such as gravy mix, breadcrumbs, salad dressings, parcel wrap, disposable tableware et al offer great profit returns and are relatively low risk as they continue to sell all year round.

A poorly planned season can be a horrible experience, with the unexpected driving you throughout, resulting in a lot of knee-jerk reactions and rework,

This year is going to be difficult given HGV driver shortages, shipping cost inflation and the tight labour market

which in turn causes higher overheads.

A well-planned Christmas can be a joy.

I’ve experienced both over the years.

This is why the activation plan is the next layer of the A-plan. Only 330 days to Christmas.

The planning starts no later than February when what was learned from the previous year is reviewed and taken into account for this year’s campaign.

What worked and what didn’t? What are the patterns and trends for this coming season? How does all of this impact on volume projections, transport, warehouse capacity, space planning, merchandising and the labour plan?

The operational activation plan stands behind the marketing plan ensuring that promises made to customers are kept. Bear in mind that Christmas trade transitions, from creative baking merchandise uplifts in September through to grocery, alcohol, frozen and fresh food peaks from early December, all punctuated by significant events along the way such as Halloween and Diwali.

Attitude equals authority. The one

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begets the other. This is the next A-plan layer. Confidence is infectious and Christmas should be executed with intent. Establish seasonal authority right from the get-go. Launching early bears fruit and I’d advocate making a big Christmas merchandise statement from mid September. Make it huge with inspirational bold displays to get customers thinking about their own Christmas plans. The marketing should also start early, setting the Christmas agenda from the onset of autumn.

Customers will check you out before buying and pre-sales of seasonal goods are a great way to predict demand, stimulate some movement and de-risk the stock take-on. Checking out the growth curves and peak weeks for each category will inform the timing of deliveries.

Especially this season, given all the potential problems ahead, capturing the stock has to be the priority.

Creating a seasonal atmosphere around the business sets the tone for the entire trading period. This is the next layer of the A-plan. Christmas is incre-

mental transitioning through the season to full volume by early November. By this stage, the point of sale theming should be in place, all the additional ranges merchandised, marketing firing in all directions and the stock displays bold and ambitious. All touch points should be ‘seasonalised’ and it has to feel ‘a lot like Christmas’ all around the warehouse and across the outbound marketing. Atmosphere creates fun, a feeling of involvement and is a contributor to success.

Historically, wholesalers have distributed brochures and flyers to advertise their seasonal offerings. As with all the components of the A-plan, planning and timing are everything.

The industry is well practised at this, but paper-based communications can be inflexible. I would urge an all-channels approach to marketing by harnessing the power of electronic media. As set out by b2b.store in this edition of Better Wholesaling Insight, mobile apps enable much shorter promotional leadtimes, personalised customer engage-

ment and a greater speed of response during the campaign. Pre-sells can be managed more effectively, slow product take-up can be stimulated, fast sellers identified early and non-responding customers located and incentivised. So, get digitised for Christmas.

People are always at the heart of a successful Christmas. Effective labour modelling and training cannot be overemphasised, but just as importantly, colleagues need to feel involved and excited about the journey ahead. They are going to be asked to work extra hard and will probably put in some long hours for the greater good. An altogether approach should be planned for. I would advocate sharing some elements of the plan including sales or volume targets (without giving away commercially sensitive information). Regular communication covering successes and areas for improvement along the way will secure buy-in. It is worth considering some competitions and small rewards for individual contributions and business achievements. I have found that this always works well, it gets people buzzing and brings an element of fun into what could otherwise be an arduous slog. I would certainly rule in regular updates with supply partners who have invested time and resource into your business.

Finally, it is vital to review and record the learnings from the seasonal campaign at the end. I would strongly recommend that notes be written up before memories fade and the autopsy for Christmas be compiled and finalised by mid-January ready for the next campaign ahead.

‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ was written and recorded in the summer of 1973 for a planned release in early December.

The production team decorated the recording studio for Christmas to create the seasonal atmosphere and inspire the band. Although the campaign was carefully planned, volume sales still exceeded all targets.

The rest is history, and it registered as Slade’s biggest-ever number one, selling well into February. Will you be riding a red-nosed reindeer to success this year? It’s Christmas! l

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REPORT KAM Media has taken a deep dive into statistics and data for each profitable period Paul Hill

Christmas with a bang In terms of the biggest spending calendar occasions in hospitality venues, Christmas and New Year's Eve come out on top, and they attract some of the biggest party sizes. Lockdown restrictions meant the majority lost critical trading time last year, so wholesalers will be pleased to hear that the British public is excited about this Christmas. One in three intend to make more of an effort than normal, and one in five have already begun making plans.

Assuming Covid-19 restric-

tions remain lifted, one in 10 intend to visit a pub or restaurant on Christmas day – this is the same proportion as pre-Covid-19, suggesting we can expect similar footfall levels on the big day itself. The story is the same for New Year’s Eve, with 22% intending to celebrate out of the home – that’s back within a couple of percentage points of pre-Covid-19 levels.

What if restrictions do reappear? One in four consumers would consider ordering a takeaway to eat at home should venues be forced to close. One in five would order a ‘cook at home’ meal kit. This year a higher proportion of operators will be well prepared to offer takeaways, deliveries and even ‘cook-athome’ meal kits as the ‘hospitality at home’ trend continues to grow.

Wholesalers will be pleased to hear that it looks set to be an especially bumper Christmas for them.

Nearly one-third intends to spend more on food to eat at home compared with a normal pre-Covid-19 Christmas (only 6% said less).

Twenty-seven per cent will spend

The festive period continues to be an absolutely critical event within the convenience retail and hospitality calendars

more on alcohol to consume at home. One in four will be hosting friends and family at their homes more often. All this suggests increased opportunities for convenience retail this Christmas as many shoppers prefer to shop locally where they can.

Halloween Following a quiet event in 2020, trick-or-treating is firmly back

on the agenda for many families.

According to research KAM Media conducted with Perfetti Van Melle, 58% of shoppers with children under 12 are looking to take part and 61% will buy treats to ensure they are ready for the potential visitors.

In fact, 38% of those who usually celebrate Halloween intend to spend more money on celebrating this year compared with normal,

KEY OCCASIONS

1 in 3

UK adults (who celebrate Xmas) intend to put more effort into Christmas celebrations this year compared with preCovid-19

1 in 5

have already started planning Christmas.

7% have already got reservations for the Xmas period. 17% have already invited people over.

1 in 10 1 in 5 intend to visit a pub/restaurant on Christmas Day

1 in 3

intend to spend more on food to eat at home versus normal

intend to visit a pub/restaurant on NYE

27%

intend to spend more on alcohol to drink at home

1 in 4

will be hosting friends and family at their homes more often

Source: KAM Media

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e’ve all missed out on a lot over the past 18 months in terms of celebrating, with endless cancellations and diluting of plans. But according to KAM Media’s latest research, one in four consumers intend to celebrate missed occasions now that restrictions have lifted. It seems people are ready and raring to get out and celebrate again, albeit with a few changes.

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The celebrations keep coming…

The festive period continues to be an absolutely critical event within the convenience retail and hospitality calendars, but there are a lot more, which an impressive number of UK adults intend to celebrate this upcoming year.

Easter weekend, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and even pancake day will all provide Brits with an additional reason to celebrate this year. And assuming Covid-19 restrictions allow, celebrate they will. l

THE PERCENTAGE OF UK ADULTS WHO INTEND TO CELEBRATE THE FOLLOWING EVENTS THIS YEAR

91%

Christmas Day

70%

Mother’s Day/ Father’s Day

85%

Boxing Day

65%

Pancake day

85%

New Year’s Day

62%

Valentine’s Day

84%

New Year’s Eve

55%

Halloween

72%

Easter weekend

Source: KAM Media

and convenience retailers are prepared for this – more than one-third of retailers will increase their Halloween confectionery space this year, while 90% will have a dedicated, themed range in store. It’s not just sweets – 22% intend to decorate their house, 24% will carve a pumpkin and 15% will buy a costume.

This all represents a strong sales opportunity for the 90% of wholesale customers who told KAM they were planning to actively engage with Halloween in their stores, and wholesalers will need to be well prepared for high demand. And remember, this will be the last Halloween not affected by incoming HFSS regulations.

The industry needs to capitalise.

Halloween is also a slowly growing occasion for hospitality operators, with increasing numbers focusing marketing spend on the occasion and an impressive one in five of those aged 18-34 intending to visit a pub or restaurant to celebrate Halloween this year.

For more information from KAM Media, please visit kam-media.co.uk

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REPORT As we look ahead to the festive season, TWC Trends offers insight on how wholesalers can optimise sales Tom Fender is the development director at TWC

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holesalers need to get ahead of Christmas as soon as possible to capitalise at the optimum time. While it may feel as if we have only just said goodbye to summer, it’s important to extend the trading period around seasonal activity by building up features, and focus on the ‘shoulders’ of the season.

It seems those Christmas lights come on earlier each year, but our research through TWC Trends has shown that last year, 38% of consumers started Christmas shopping as early as October – some even before.

Whether people are buying gifts, food or alcohol, the season

is starting earlier, with around 19% of consumers buying food more than two months before the big day.

This year, as driver shortages bite, consumers are likely to be even more cautious, planning further ahead and buying products with longer shelf lives.

Rather than starting to promote Christmas stock at the start of December, do as the multiples do and start to work up Christmas. For example, start selling products immediately after Halloween and through November and December. For wholesalers, this could mean bringing forward Christmas displays to support retailers’ needs.

Seasonal trading should

not just be about fulfilling a last-minute emergency purchase mission, but stocking the right seasonal products for planned purchases as well. Now is the time to trade up and upsell.

Stand out from the crowd – be different Forty-three per cent of consumers said they will normally trade up around the Christmas period, which leaves opportunity for retailers to do something a little bit different, and for wholesalers to be creative in their thinking and buying.

It’s difficult to compete linefor-line against the retail multiples at key trading periods, so wholesalers should consider ways to make a point of difference.

Seek out products that are differentiated from standard seasonal lines, but still meet key shopper missions such as gifts, treats, meal solutions and big nights in, and consider linked promotions to drive up basket spend over seasonal periods.

Products do not necessarily have to be the cheapest, but simply need to represent fair value and meet a clear consumer need state. It’s not just about promotions, it’s also about having the right range.

Finally, think about feature and focus. Seasonal lines need to have high visibility and disrupt customers’ shopping habits; drive footfall to a display of seasonal lines, encourage browsing and then use promotions on

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a few lines or linked deals to nudge products into baskets.

As community convenience remains an essential service within many towns and cities, the weeks between now and Christmas surely mean there is strong opportunity for growth, and innovation based on the right products, the right service and the right prices from the wholesalers and their customers’ outlets. l For more information from TWC and TWC Trends, please visit twcgroup.net

All infographics provided by TWC Trends

Consumers want to shop local The UK has the most advanced e-commerce market in Europe.

According to the most recent figures from the UK Office of National Statistics, the nation’s e-commerce revenue in 2019 amounted to £693bn, with wholesale and manufacturing the

two biggest industry sectors that generated the highest e-commerce sales in the same year, and this has intensified since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Changing consumer shopping behaviours, however, show that while online ordering has increased, so has the desire for shopping locally, with 28% of consumers saying they intend to shop more locally for food and drink at Christmas.

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REPORT

B2b.store explains how wholesalers should be maximising their digital frameworks to drive seasonal sales Rob Mannion is the founder and chief executive of b2b.store

T

he days may be getting shorter as we head into autumn, but a host of special events and festivals brighten up the descent into winter, with Halloween, Diwali and Bonfire Night all still to celebrate before the run into Christmas ramps up in earnest.

Each occasion represents a valuable opportunity for wholesalers to drive sales, with suppliers creating event-specific product lines and offers to make sure they grab their share of the festive market.

Historically, wholesalers have advertised their seasonal offerings in brochures, posters and physical mailings weeks ahead of sales campaigns starting. Even with the

shorter lead times offered by digital, this requires a lot of advance planning, pricing commitments and some considerable estimation of market conditions – no easy feat, given the upheaval experience across the sector over the past 18 months.

The growing adoption of digital commerce, however, is revolutionising seasonal wholesaling,

allowing wholesalers of all sizes greater flexibility to manage campaigns in real time, drive customer engagement and fully immerse suppliers in their campaigns.

In short, while relying on printed materials is essentially a two-dimensional, relatively inflexible approach, going digital enables wholesalers to combine the three dimensions of active

The growing adoption of digital commerce is revolutionising seasonal wholesaling

campaign management, engaged customer management and fully immersed supplier involvement in each campaign.

At the heart of this revolution is the greater speed of response offered by digital over analogue marketing techniques.

For example, digital platforms allow wholesalers to set up promotions and introduce new seasonal ranges in just a few clicks, with no need to commit to pricing until hours before outbound communications take place. This ensures that campaigns can be amended right up until the last minute, enabling a more profitable and accurate offering.

This looks like being a particular benefit given the current

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supply chain issues affecting the industry, which means it’s entirely feasible to sign off a brochure campaign in September or October, only to find that the key product of that campaign isn’t actually available when the promotion goes live.

Speed of analysis also comes into its own when it comes to digital commerce, enabling wholesalers to identify appropriate course corrections during digital campaigns.

For example, early recognition of products outselling their targets or products showing signs of sticking that need a further boost.

New and different products can be introduced quickly into digital seasonal promotions, allowing wholesalers to balance stock and optimise sales for maximum profitability.

This responsiveness brings cost benefits, too, allowing wholesalers to promote products, highlight key campaigns and repeat adverts continually at lower cost and with shorter lead times than more traditional methods.

The other key benefit at the heart of digital wholesaling is the real-time insights available that

can be used to inform commercial strategy and operational management. For example, presales can be managed digitally, enabling lower-cost demand forecasting to manage supplies.

Promotions can also be tailored and targeted at specific customers, with those buying big being more responsive to up-sell promotions while those not usually buying seasonal products could be encouraged to try smaller quantities.

Subsets of ranges can be introduced in a phased manner to highlight and drive sales at different stages of a campaign, and products can also be presented in more contextual settings to bring them to life and encourage complementary purchases.

For example, as a part of a meal setting, a promotion around cocktails or a party-time theme.

Suppliers can also be actively involved with these promotions, opening up new revenue streams while allowing them to inject their own creativity or national messaging into your digital marketing campaigns.

While autumn presents a series of seasonal promotion opportunities, there is no reason wholesal-

ers can’t run a series of different campaigns simultaneously.

Christmas campaigns can begin as early as September for home baking, before graduating to drinks and grocery in October/ November and then frozen and fresh food as December progresses, with Halloween, Diwali and Bonfire Night campaigns taking place alongside.

The key to success lies in mon-

itoring the campaign data to track engagement and tailoring promotions to meet your changing commercial goals and customer behaviour.

All in all, the flexibility of digital means it’s now possible to plan seasonal campaigns over a period of months while maintaining the ability to adapt to changing circumstances quickly, easily and at low cost. l

For more information from b2b.store (formerly known as RNF Digital), visit b2b.store 11

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REPORT

Lessons from the industry Leading figures from across the industry give their take on how their operations capitalise on profitable periods throughout the year Paul Hill

Dawood Pervez Managing director, Bestway Wholesale

At Bestway, we work from a 12-month rolling marketing calendar that highlights key occasions, events and activities that are relevant to our customers to drive footfall and sales. The calendar also includes new product developments from our suppliers and based on insights and trends. The methods we use include a combination of segmenting our customer data – based on KPIs, targeting KPIs (for example a distribution drive to attract new customers through personalised offers); in-depot displays and sampling to build theatre; staff and customer incentives; as well as digital content to promote offers.

We have learned over the years which campaigns work best for us, and our customers, in terms of growing profitable sales. These also include occasions such as Ramadan and Diwali as many of our retailer stores are located in demographic areas that heavily celebrate these occasions.

Debbie Harrison Joint managing director, Pricecheck

We’ve recently invested in an in-house business intelligence team who analyse data, which in turn helps us to identify trends. This data then influences the wider trading team, so we know we’re promoting and sourcing the right products at the right time. We also ensure we look much further than traditional key events, and as an example we have recently promoted everything from Black Friday to National Candy Month.

As an international distributor, we also ensure that we celebrate our global customers, too, by understanding key events in their country’s calendar. As we trade with more than 80 countries, we’ve found we’re able to capitalise on trends throughout the year.

Exporting has enabled us to mitigate some of the natural peaks and troughs of our domestic market, which ultimately means we can extend the lifecycle of products and trade year-round in goods perceived to be seasonal – it’s always summer somewhere.

Additionally, we’ll work with relevant suppliers to create a marketing campaign around key periods that combines on-site advertising, direct marketing, social media and other aspects of digital marketing. For instance, we distribute a weekly mailer that aims to highlight relevant products and categories as well as using the opportunity to educate our customers on those all-important trends. Through collaborative marketing, we also work with brand partners on joint business plans.

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Justin Slawson

Justin Birchall

Joint managing director, Mevalco

Managing director, Birchall Foodservice

The actions we take to capitalise on profitable periods throughout the year is focusing on seasonal specialities – for example, carabineros prawns during barbecue season, suckling pig at Christmas and lamb at Easter. We work closely with our restaurant and hotel customers on their menu planning to make sure we can deliver these products in the quantities they need.

We also work very closely with our suppliers during these periods as many of the products we have to order up to one year in advance. There are lots of conversations around quantities we can order from our suppliers to match the demands of our customers in restaurants and hotels. Some products, such as acorn-fed pork, has finite availability, so we need to be sure how much we’ll need a long time in advance. Education and talking to our customers and explaining about particular products is important as these can only be acquired at certain times of the year. We also work with our customers closely in regards to their menu planning to ensure we can deliver what they want at certain times of the year. It’s a close working partnership between us and our suppliers, and us and our restaurant customers.

It’s all about planning and having the right team available to make the most of these periods. When looking at Christmas, we start the planning process in March, when we analyse what went well and what didn’t go well during the previous festive campaign. The heads of our marketing, sales and buying teams then come together to decide on the offering in our next Christmas brochure based on previous successes and current or upcoming trends.

We then bring together the rest of our sales, buying and marketing teams in the early summer at a dedicated two-day sales meeting to officially launch our Christmas offering and make sure everybody understands the campaign.

It’s important to get everybody focused for profitable periods throughout the year. We find having dedicated days for certain periods – such as a two-day Christmas sales meeting with suppliers – helps to get everybody on the same page.

Paul Hargreaves Chief executive, Cotswold Fayre

We work in close partnership with suppliers throughout the year and make recommendations on products for the following year based on sales on the same season from the previous 12 months.

In 2020 and 2021 we have had to cancel our travelling Christmas roadshows, but hopefully we will be back to these in 2022. For these, we set up a large showroom in a hotel wedding suite with all the Christmas products in catalogue order around the room and around 20-25 suppliers also present, tasting and talking about their products. This way, the retailers have the best of both worlds – a degree of connection with the producers with the convenience of having all the stock delivered in one delivery. Close collaboration with our suppliers is important here.

While much of the all-year-round sales come via our website and catalogues, it is more important with seasonal events, such as Easter and Christmas, to get samples of the products in front of customers. The visual appearance and product merchandising are more important at this time than any other, and it is important for retailers to see these either at events, or by the sales team taking samples around.

Tom Gittins Managing director, Confex

Confex wholesalers are busier during the summer. As the warmer weather kicks in, so do sales of soft drinks, which is our biggest category as a buying group. To be able to capitalise on the summer rush, we work with our suppliers to ensure continuity of supply during these busy periods. Forecasting and an element of building up a good stock holding go into planning, so Confex wholesalers can ensure they keep up with spikes in demand while maintaining high service levels. Seasonal is also another time when Confex wholesalers tend to increase sales, and it has been great to see the development of seasonal occasions reflecting the diversity of the UK population, including Diwali, Ramadan, Eid, Veganuary and LGBTQ+ month.

With the launch of our data insight service we will be able to analyse seasonal sales out data for the first time, which will be integral in helping to shape our joint business plans with suppliers.

This year saw Confex employ its first full-time digital and social media executive, who has put in place a digital media plan across the year with our key suppliers. We are also co-ordinating a project with suppliers to include bestseller information within our member dashboard. This will include seasonal must-stocks along with detailed core ranges for different user types. Confex will then be able to provide its wholesalers with this information whenever they open a supplier account, ensuring correct ranging and products that fit the needs of individual businesses.

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REPORT Steve Whitwam

Kate Bancroft

Commercial director, Harvest

Marketing manager, Country Range Group

We try to forecast for uplifts in volume where we can, but this proved difficult this year due to the changing patterns of eating habits during the pandemic.

We are working with suppliers to understand new products and trends that will fit in to the seasonal cycle, and build marketing plans with them to drive new products into the market.

In recent months, the most successful focus areas we have had have been product drives around vegan dining. We have worked with suppliers to launch products with sales focus days in telesales and, at the same time, linked in to social media, email marketing and print marketing in our monthly promotions brochure.

We have had similar success with soft drinks following the same pattern. We always see the best success when suppliers are willing to invest in the product launch and work with us to achieve growth.

It’s imperative that we help our customers capitalise on key profitable periods throughout the year by ensuring they can keep their offering fresh, exciting and on-trend. If they are successful, so are we. Every month now offers a myriad of opportunities for our customers to be imaginative with specials, new dishes and events, so creativity in the kitchen is certainly not just for Christmas. It could be Veganuary, Mother’s Day, Easter, summer barbecues, Halloween or something else. Our job is to ensure caterers have all the tools and inspiration to make every month a profitable one.

The Country Range Group is constantly in conversation with its suppliers to find ways to make running a foodservice business easier for our customers. We’re always looking to add on-trend and on-target products to our portfolio and work very closely with our suppliers to do this.

Our successful virtual business development days have been key to improving communication with suppliers and offering opportunities to new businesses that can benefit our customers.

Gary Lunt Advisory director, NBC

We and the members of NBC supply a wide range of trade channels, so we have to be diligent and flexible with our sales and marketing plans throughout the calendar year. There are obvious consumer-based events, such as Easter and Christmas, where the emphasis is on supporting brands and retailers to activate activity that maximises revenue opportunities. There are also seasonal trends that can have a major effect on consumer behaviour for particular product categories.

To make sure we and the members of NBC maximise every single opportunity, we set out our a plan through a systemic promotional calendar to cover all known macro consumer-based events.

We overlay this with specific channel-based activity and with specific supplier partner activity, which provides us with the necessary tools to support members.

A simple example of working in partnership with our supplier partners would be Halloween. By working to a schedule and with the bespoke brochure facility we have for members, Jason Langmead, chairman of Jersey-based member company VWT, was able to compile a great programme of offers for his customers with excellent activation. We have also recently agreed a launch programme for a healthy-snack company based on the timings of back to school so our members that supply for catering contracts in schools get their timings spot-on.

Anita Oakhill Marketing controller, Unitas Wholesale

As a group, we support our members and their retailers with category advice in the form of our Plan for Profit initiative. Through this activity, we provide seasonal advice around the confectionery category that includes core range guidance, product development and best-practice merchandising advice.

During 2021, Unitas Wholesale also introduced a series of mini category guides that target specific categories, including confectionery. These also provide advice and guidance for retailers on how to make the most of seasonal activities.

We work closely with our supplier partners when developing the Plan for Profit and Focus On guides. Suppliers provide category insight, statistics and product data which supports us in developing the guides for independent retailers to either pick up in depot or download from the Plan for Profit website. Supplier information is key to providing retailers with information to support retailers in their product selection, space planning and merchandising.

We also provide tips and advice in terms of the types of product to select for seasonal activity, which offer low-risk alternatives, ensuring retailers are not left with stock of products they are unable to sell outside of the seasonal period. l

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REPORT

Seven ways wholesalers can achieve profitable success during important periods Charles Smith Charles Smith is a journalist with experience writing for the UK’s grocery and foodservice wholesale industry

1. Maximise excitement in peak sales times by working with active brands

Wholesalers should work closely with brands in depot and online to capture the excitement around major events and seasonal peaks, says Darren Goldney, commercial director at Pricecheck. “Our services menu lets suppliers select appropriate services for their brands, and build bespoke joint marketing plans. We also offer on-site advertising for our supplier partners to promote their brand or NPD to our web customers,” he says. “We can further extend this with promotion across social media or inclusion in mailers to our customer database. Our inhouse reworking team also supports partners with bespoke requests like gift sets for seasonal events such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day.”

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REPORT 2. Follow the money by highlighting the latest trends

Consumers enjoy heritage brands and other favourite treats in peak sales periods, says Tom Gittins, managing director at Confex. But smart wholesalers should also highlight what’s trending at these times.

Vegan and vegetarian are must-stocks across hospitality, especially with younger consumers being into healthy, sustainable and ethical choices.

Plant-based is also enjoying strong success, says Michael Organ, head of purchasing at Savona Foodservice. Healthy living in general is front of mind for more consumers now, says Goldney. It’s driven by greater awareness of healthier lifestyles and the national food strategy.

Vaping’s another strong performer, as consumers seek alternative sources of nicotine.

3. Engage customers digitally: recruit and reconnect to win

Digital is the future of customer engagement in busy sales periods.

Confex members’ digital strategies include recruiting customers via social media and competing with Amazon resellers with D2C microsites and apps, says Gittins.

Dunsters Farm used digital to offer B2C in the pandemic, says Tom Curtin, head of systems and ops. They’ve parked B2C now delivered demand has fallen and their core B2B business has returned. But that involves digital, too. But general wholesaler Robinsons on the Isle of Man is a different story following the additon of D2C to its operations during the pandemic, and it now forms part of the regular delivery route.

4. Strengthen the seasonal opportunity by offering different routes to market It’s important for wholesalers and suppliers to think beyond the basic wholesale service at times of opportunity, says Goldney. “Our diverse customer base means we can offer different and alternative routes to market. We can place products in white space, with care and control. These are simple solutions for end customers, with fewer points of contact and extra distribution gains for brand owners, for minimal work,” he says.

Meanwhile, Confex introduced a ‘digital supplier of the month’ award two years ago, says Gittins. They employed a dedicated social media resource at Confex head office in January and are seeing increased brand exposure across all channels.

It’s important for wholesalers and suppliers to think beyond the basic wholesale service at times of opportunity

We’re encouraging members to collaborate ever more closely around range and sales forecasting

5. Build on what you know through the analysis of past data to forecast demand

Wholesalers’ sales data is one of their greatest assets. Confex is creating a members’ data service in conjunction with TWC, says Gittins: “The vision is that members can use their data to develop their business, and share knowledge across the membership. From there we can identify range gaps to shape future business growth strategies, both internally and with suppliers.”

“We’re encouraging members to collaborate ever more closely around range and sales forecasting,” says Anita Oakhill, marketing controller at Unitas Wholesale. “In this way we can adapt our orders to target available SKUs and help suppliers provide our requirements.

We’re ringfencing seasonal SKUs for specific members.”

6. Ensure the customer’s experience by investing in people

The pandemic has prompted wholesalers to streamline operations and reduce operating costs through technology and more efficient distribution. But faced with a skills shortage, wholesalers mustn’t leave themselves exposed at busy times, warns Mike Morgan, managing director at Savona Foodservice. “Hopefully, foodservice wholesalers have used the down-time to refine their processes to improve service accuracy and remain close to customers. But they should also invest in key staff,” he explains. It’s also the same picture in cash and carries.

Even with more than 1.6 million unemployed, finding the right calibre of people is extremely difficult, costly and carries risk. Spending a little now can save a lot in future.

7. Safeguard stock position by making depots easier to deliver to

Last but definitely not least, wholesalers must make it easier for suppliers to deliver to depots at busy times. That’s the verdict from Dean Attwell, co-founder and chief executive of multi-temperature logistics company Oakland International. He says: “In our experience, independent wholesalers can be as challenging to deliver to as large retail DCs. Vehicles kept waiting and relatively small delivery drops are a major issue, especially at peak times. There isn’t the margin or the time to deliver to awkward locations. Those wholesalers who have a poor reputation for vehicle turn-round times will unfortunately be deselected by logistics operators with limited resources.” l

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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

In partnership with

TrueCommerce Andrew Robathan, director of e-commerce, TrueCommerce BWI: What solutions do you provide to the wholesale sector?

AR: TrueCommerce specialises in digital commerce, providing solutions that help leading wholesale organisations manage and process 100% of their digital transactions regardless of the sales channel.

The company’s suite of interconnected applications cover EDI, e-commerce, marketplaces and PDF order conversion through to product information management and the packing and shipping of the order.

All of this is underpinned by TrueCommerce’s unrivalled integration expertise. In this spotlight, TrueCommerce will be focusing on its award-winning B2B e-commerce solution.

10.5% average sales increase and 11% average reduction in customer churn when using TrueCommerce

What are the benefits of your product?

The benefits are many and varied. The e-commerce solution has How can it be incorporated into advanced promotional capabilities existing wholesale operations? and wholesalers now find buyers will TrueCommerce’s clients in the shop rather than just transact, meanwholesale sector use its B2B e-coming they tend to order more lines than merce platform as an all-encompassthey do through other sales channels. ing, online customer portal.

These orders are at a higher marThrough the application, gin, coupled with self-service their customers can place options, which handle the orders that will flow issuing of invoices and seamlessly into the credits, processing wholesaler’s ERP, returns and paythey can research ing invoices. This The improvement products, check cussignificantly reduces in margin gearing tom pricing and live cost while making stock levels, consume wholesalers easier to copy invoices, credits and trade with, increasing their see statements. customers’ loyalty.

The solution is highly configurable, and can be set up to allow the subHow much slack is there in a mission of quotations, return requests typical wholesaler’s operations, and general customer-care enquiries. and how much of an efficiency gain

6.4%

This has been a unique time for wholesalers – why should they invest in a new system now?

An online ordering solution is no longer a differentiator, it’s a pre-requisite. When we talk to prospective clients, we occasionally encounter an objection (normally from a member of the senior team) that their customers like to order face-to-face or their industry prefers to work online. Almost without exception, these businesses are losing customers and market share to forward-thinking competitors that are embracing the new generation of buyers whose primary interaction is now online.

What changes will UK wholesale see in the next two years as the world starts to recover from the economic shock of the past 18 months?

Businesses have to trade in many styles, whether that is B2B, B2C, drop ship or via marketplaces, and there has never been a more important time for wholesalers to demonstrate their value above the wheels and warehousing with technology such as AI helping to provide a competitive advantage. Online is now the dominant sales and service interface – it is critical for UK wholesale to review and invest in their digital strategies and be prepared. l

*statista.com/study/44442/statista-report-b2b-e-commerce

FAST FACT

is possible through embracing the right technology?

There is a huge amount of opportunity. Looking at order capture as an example, we see a huge demand for online ordering within most wholesalers’ customer bases.

The demographic of the buyer is changing and there is now an expectation that wholesale business will offer a good online ordering experience.

However, a recent survey* shows that despite 64% of B2B buyers researching purchases online, only 38% can complete the purchase online.

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SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT

Creating an energyefficient future Paul Hill

Chris Gallagher

Managing director, United Wholesale Scotland

Colin Smith

Chief executive, Scottish Wholesale Association

Dipak Carrera

General manager, Dhamecha

Ed Merrett

Wholesale, convenience & gas sector lead, JTI

James Bielby

Chief executive, Federation of Wholesale Distributors

Paul Hill

Editor, Better Wholesaling Insight

Richard Booth

Director of trading, Bestway

Ruth Forbes

Head of responsible business projects, JTI

Zahir Fazaldin

Property & transport controller, Bestway

With normality slowly returning to society, sustainability is back on the agenda of businesses across the UK. One such company is JTI, which last year published its UK environmental plan. This included a commitment to net zero carbon by 2030, 20 years ahead of the government’s deadline, as well as ambitious targets to reduce its waste, energy and emissions.

The tobacco manufacturer recently sat down with a number of wholesalers and associated trade associations to better understand where the wholesale sector is on its path to greater environmental sustainability.

JTI’s ambition has been to find out about what progress has already been made, future environmental plans and to understand how it can help support its wholesale partners from an environmental perspective.

Ed Merrett, wholesale, convenience & gas sector lead at JTI, said: “Sustainability is of increasing importance to JTI; last year we published our ambitious UK 2030 Environmental Plan. Alongside setting environmental targets for our own operations, we understand that one of the best ways to further reduce our environmental impact is to work with our supply chain and our customers – including the wholesale sector – to support their own journeys to becoming more environmentally sustainable, and that’s why we were delighted to instigate these workshops.”

Prior to the roundtables, Better Wholesaling Insight conducted some sustainability research in partnership with JTI to discover wholesalers’ attitudes, and investments in sustainability as well as the challenges they face. This included the largest-ever sustainability survey in the sector, representing 423 depots – around 10% of the UK total – with 37.7% believing they have a strong sustainable plan in place and have invested heavily in the past 18 months, with only 7.5% saying they don’t see it as a priority for their business.

“It has never been more important for companies to think and act sustainably,” says Ruth Forbes, head of responsible business projects at JTI. “Reducing our environmental impact is a journey we share with our employees, suppliers and customers – only by acting together can we ensure maximum impact, and that is why we

wanted to hold these discussions. We wanted to hear, and then share with a wider audience, the steps wholesalers can take to improve their environmental impact.

“At JTI we are working to reduce the environmental impact of our product portfolio. This new approach has seen our tobacco business committing to reducing its packaging (including plastic), ensuring it’s 85% reusable or recyclable by 2025, rising to 100% by 2030.”

“We’ve installed LED lighting throughout all of our depots after testing it in one location initially and it’s worked really well,” explained Dipak Carrera, general manager at Dhamecha, in the first roundtable. “We are constantly evaluating our sustainability objectives and have done things such as increasing recycling rates and reducing our waste.”

These findings from Carrera tie in with the survey results, with ‘increased recycling rates’, ‘energy-saving measures’, ‘reduction in waste sent to landfill’ and ‘cutting down on deliveries’ cited as the four most-popular sustainability initiatives for wholesalers.

However, like all industries, wholesalers encountered issues in their quest to become more energy efficient, with the high cost of sustainable investments (75.5%) and lack of environmentally friendly substitutes (52.8%) the two most popular answers in the research.

Meanwhile, 49.1% of the survey said there was not enough demand from retail customers. This is a stat echoed by Zahir Fazaldin, property and transport controller at Bestway, in the roundtable: “There needs to be more education and work across the entire supply chain for it to properly work.” Bestway trading director Richard Booth added: “It’s also fair to say the entire supply chain is environmentally conscious, but it can sometimes be further down in a list of priorities, especially after the past 18 months.”

United Wholesale Scotland (UWS) was also involved in the discussions, and the Glasgowbased company’s managing director, Chris Gallagher, explained how it takes a proactive approach to sustainability. “Esos Phase 2 and 3 are key result areas for UWS and we hire external consultants to measure how we’re doing.”

UWS appointed The Energy Hub as consultants to complete its evaluation, which led to a report that offered the wholesaler KPIs and a research plan, as well as next steps and key information of what was required to become more energy efficient. “This report then helps us to easily track our progress,” added Gallagher.

A few of the changes UWS has made to its operations include motion sensors and LED lighting, replacement boilers, timings on its

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In partnership with

blow heaters and new electric forklifts, as well as the optimisation of vehicle routing and new DAF trucks with Euro 6 engines – models that are claimed to be the most efficient within the industry.

“We’re aiming to become one of the most sustainable wholesalers in the country, but we’re aware we’re lucky in that we have the workforce and size to track our progress. It’s my belief that certain smaller wholesalers may not have this and will need further help and guidance in the future to become sustainable,” added Gallagher.

UWS is a member of the Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA), and its chief executive, Colin Smith, explained how it is also taking a proactive approach to sustainability after recently completing the first phase of a long-term project that aims to encourage the Scottish wholesale industry to become greener and more sustainable.

With the aim to decarbonise the wholesale food supply chain and achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, the SWA will focus on distribution fleets – with a particular focus on hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) and electric vehicle (EV) technology in this first phase of the decarbonisation of the wholesale industry project. It has recruited a graduate from Strathclyde University for an initial 12-week placement to carry out the first phase.

“We’re hugely excited to be driving this vital project,” said Smith. “While there are various decarbonisation projects in place in Scotland, the SWA – through our Decarbonisation of the Wholesale Industry Project – has the opportunity to be the first organisation in the UK to investigate and implement the private commercial use of HFC technology and/or EV technology at a sector-wide level.

“As a result, the Scottish wholesale industry could become Scotland’s first ‘commercial testbed’, particularly for HFC. Carrying out this project on an industry scale will generate bigger benefits to our members than if they do it alone – not only in time and cost savings, as we are conducting the research on their behalf, but also in hopefully being able to attract funding.”

Now in the middle of its second phase, the SWA will examine emissions generated from buildings, including warehousing, cold storage and offices, and the energy consumed by them. A questionnaire has been sent out to the membership, and the results, combined with those of phase one, will enable the SWA to calculate the carbon footprint of the wholesale sector in Scotland. “All of this gives SWA a baseline and allows us to draw a route map to net zero for our sector, which we will then

STATS

64.2% cited cost saving as the biggest business value they’ve seen from their sustainability investments.

37.7% believe they have a strong sustainable plan in place and have invested heavily in the past 18 months.

Only 7.5% of wholesalers asked don’t see environmental sustainability as a priority for their business.

‘Increased recycling rates’, ‘energy-saving measures’, ‘reduction in waste sent to landfill’ and ‘cutting down on deliveries’ were cited as the four most popular sustainability initiatives for wholesalers.

Source: Newtrade Media – Sustainability In Independent Convenience Retail & Wholesale survey

present to the Scottish government and its agencies,” said Smith.

South of the border, James Bielby, chief executive of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD), also takes an interest in sustainability. “We fully accept and endorse our sector’s role in delivering the necessary actions needed on sustainability. We have a sustainability committee whose role is to talk legislation and policy such as DRS and packaging reforms and how best we can represent the industry in government,” he stated.

With the FWD and SWA taking alternative approaches, but both putting a major focus on sustainability, it shows the wholesale industry is on a clear path to a more energy-efficient future. With this information, along with the discussions it had with Bestway, Dhamecha and UWS, JTI is now better set to understand and support its wholesale partners from an environmental perspective.

“I feel really excited about everything shared during our discussions. For me, I’ve learnt that JTI needs to be a bit louder about the environmental progress we’re making, especially as it relates to our wholesale partners,” concluded Forbes. l

FIVE WAYS TO IMPROVE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF YOUR WHOLESALE OPERATION 01 Resourse efficiency – Regularly re-evaluate lighting, heating, water and alternative energy sources.

02 Waste management – Look into your waste-reduction measures as well as how you can increase recycling and reuse.

03 Transport – Be on the lookout for more energy efficient delivery vehicles and routing-optimisation tools.

04 Expert advice – It doesn’t have to be expensive to hire an energy consultant who can conduct an audit and develop a plan to help you become more energy efficient.

05 Supply chain – Research your suppliers to check they hold the same sustainable values as your business.

Watch video highlights at betterwholesaling.com/creating-an-energyefficient-future 19

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WORKING TOGETHER PROJECT

Working Together

A CRACKING SUCCESS Paul Hill finds out how the British Lion mark on eggs is giving foodservice wholesalers peace of mind when it comes to food safety Health and safety has always been a key priority for foodservice wholesalers and the selling of eggs and egg products carries extra prominence in this area. There was a time when the safety of eating eggs brought a lot of negative attention to the public, with sales and confidence in the category down at an alarming rate.

However, since its launch in 1998, the British Lion mark has effectively eradicated salmonella from UK eggs and, as a result, has given the wholesale industry the confidence in selling eggs to its foodservice outlet customers who then serve the UK public.

“The mark means the eggs and egg products have been produced to the highest standards of food safety, which cover all systems and stages of production,” said independent food safety expert Sterling Crew, who was in Southampton at Harvest Fine Foods to discuss the legacy and importance of the Lion mark with the wholesaler.

“British Lion eggs can safely be served and eaten runny, or even raw, by vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, elderly people and infants. This gives foodservice wholesalers peace of mind when selling eggs to their customers,” explained Crew.

Steve Whitwam, commercial director at Harvest, added: “It’s fantastic to have Sterling here today as well as representatives from British Lion eggs to find out more about what the mark means for food safety. It is a huge priority for us that not only do we sell the highest-quality products, but also the safest, to our customers.”

Meanwhile, Phil Clark, category development manager at Harvest, was able to cook up some poached Lion-marked eggs for those in attendance. He said: “At Harvest, we source our British Lion egg products from our buying group Country Range and then sell them onto foodservice outlets. The Lion mark allows you to create dishes with runny or softly cooked eggs, such as these poached ones, safe in the knowledge that the eggs have passed stringent tests.”

The Lion mark is also important for pasteurised eggs as well as shell eggs, and there is a common misconception that non-UK processed eggs can offer similar guarantees of food safety to those produced within the British Lion scheme. “When you move away from the controls and guaranteed standards of the British Lion mark, the risk becomes greater,” added Crew.

“There is also a further misunderstanding that pasteurised eggs are always safe. When, in fact, feed contamination, insecticide contamination and inadequate heat treatment have been linked to a number of food safety issues involving non-UK pasteurised egg in the past few years.”

Foodservice wholesalers should also be aware that the independently audited Lion code covers the entire production chain, incorporating food safety controls above those in current UK and EU legislation. It means that all British Lion eggs are laid in the UK by hens vaccinated against salmonella, which must be accompanied by a passport certificate, with all movement fully traceable.

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In partnership with

BRITISH LION EGGS • Guaranteed British • Hens vaccinated against salmonella • Full traceability of hens, eggs and feed • Stringent feed controls • Increased hygiene controls and salmonella testing • Cool chain starting on the farm • Freshness guarantee – best-before date stamped on the shell • Independently audited to the ISO 17065 standard

FACTS

The Code of Practice covers the entire production chain This scheme has effectively eradicated salmonella from UK eggs EXPERT VIEWPOINT Sterling Crew Independent food safety expert

“The British Lion is one of the UK’s most successful food safety schemes, with more than 90% of UK eggs now produced under it and more than 130 billion British Lion eggs sold since its launch in 1998.”

WHOLESALER VIEWPOINT Steve Whitwam Commercial director, Harvest

“It’s been great having British Lion eggs here to explain why our eggs are of the highest level in quality and safety. We will now be using this information to educate our customers who run a variety of foodservice outlets such as cafés, restaurants and takeaways.”

For further information, please contact: British Egg Industry Council, 22 City Road, London, EC1Y 2AJ. 0207 608 3760. egginfo.co.uk 21

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WHAT TO STOCK

What To Stock 2021 Paul Hill

B

etter Wholesaling Insight’s annual What To Stock guide uses the latest data to tell you what products to stock in your depot and give your retailer customers the best returns in their stores.

There can’t be many markets across the globe that enjoy the same levels of innovation in the FMCG sector as the UK. Barely a day goes by without a manufacturer announcing its latest range of NPD, be it a new flavour, pack format or brand.

However, wholesalers and their retailer customers only have a finite amount of space, so the need to stock only those products that guarantee sell-through and a tidy profit is paramount.

With the coronavirus pandemic affecting the channel on a level never seen before, it is now of the utmost importance that you weed out slow-selling lines as you look to get more from less – but less can be more if the products on depot shelves are the ones consumers are buying.

Are you certain you’re on top of what the bestselling muststock lines are? If not, this year’s guide is an invaluable tool. Our easy-to-digest tables look at nine

key categories in FMCG – chocolate bars, crisps, sugar confectionery, mints, petcare, bottled water, sports & energy, cigars and tobacco accessories.

The data used in this guide comes direct from Better Wholesaling Insight’s partner title, The Retail Success Handbook, and data provider The Retail Data Partnership (TRDP).

Data on pages marked as ‘key brands’ are supplied by TRDP. Sales figures are taken nationally from 3,451 independent convenience stores. Bestselling brands are identified by sales value through TRDP’s estate in 2020.

TRDP also identified the average sales that each retailer stocking the brand generated from it last year.

Within each brand, TRDP also identified its bestselling SKU, the average price it was sold at and the average margin it generated retailers.

We then analysed these numbers to identify the biggest opportunities for wholesalers, in order for them to display the most profitable options in depots.

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14/09/2021 15:20 14/09/2021 11:44:21

WHAT TO STOCK

Data supplied by

Chocolate bars Readers of our sister titles RN and Retail Express will know Cadbury Twirl Orange has been a game-changer for the retailers stocking it in recent years, and our data shows how big an opportunity it is.

The bar’s £3.28 average weekly profits per store almost triples that of its closest

competitor, Snickers Duo 83g at £1.13.

Twists on established favourites seem to do well in chocolate bars – Kinder Bueno delivers the third-highest average weekly profits at 99p, closely followed

by Kinder Bueno White at 92p, showing it’s worth having both in your depot.

Mars Duo’s rise from 17th to eighth

TOP 25

TRDP 2020 rank

Average % of price UK stores 2021 sold in

62p

91.8%

£1.01

76.0%

82p

77.6%

▼

62p

86.2%

£1

75.2%

6

 

98p

77.3%

Cadbury Twirl 43g

4

▼

58p

93.7%

8

Mars Duo 79g

17 ▲

98p

77.0%

9

Nestlé Milkybar White 25g

13 ▲

54p

89.3%

10 Cadbury Crunchie 4x26.1g

20 ▲

£1.01

73.6%

11 Cadbury Starbar 49g

12 ▲

58p

90.6%

12 Cadbury Wispa Gold 48g

9

▼

60p

83.9%

13 Mars 51g

14 ▲

60p

94.4%

14 Cadbury Wispa 36g

7

▼

61p

92.2%

15 Snickers 48 & 50g

11 ▼

61p

94.0%

16 Kinder Chocolate 8x12.5g

–

£1

61.5%

17 Twix Xtra 75g

16 ▼

96p

70.4%

18 Cadbury Double Decker 4x40g

23 ▲

£1.01

72.8%

19 Cadbury Crunchie 40g

19 

59p

91.0%

20 Bounty Milk 57g

22 ▲

62p

92.5%

21 Nestlé KitKat Chunky 4x32g

–

£1.01

57.8%

22 Cadbury Boost 4x34g

–

£1

65.2%

23 Fry’s Turkish Delight 51g

–

82p

74.8%

24 Nestlé KitKat 4-Finger 42g

18 ▼

55p

92.4%

25 Cadbury Boost 49g

15 ▼

58p

91.7%

1

Kinder Bueno Milk 43g

1



2

Cadbury Twirl 5x21.5g

3

▲

3

Cadbury Twirl Orange 43g

–

4

Kinder Bueno White 39g

2

5

Cadbury Wispa 4x25.5g

5

6

Snickers Duo 83g

7

▲ RANKING UP FROM 2020 0-30%

▼ RANKING DOWN FROM 2020

31-60%

61-90%

90%+

for overall sales points to it growing in popularity with shoppers, yet despite average weekly profits of 68p, it’s only available in 77% of wholesale customers’ stores.

Overall, though, variety remains key – with options from Mars, Cadbury, Nestlé and Ferrero all profiting retailers.

TOP 3 1

Kinder Bueno Milk 43g

2

Cadbury Twirl 5x21.5g

3

Cadbury Twirl Orange 43g

RANKING SAME AS 2020

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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

In partnership with

Qnetex by CSD FAST FACT Peter van der Merwe, chief executive officer, Qnetex BWI: What is the biggest or most common mistake that wholesalers make?

PvdM: Not prioritising getting a single view of their entire business.

It’s easy for teams to get so focused on their own processes that they end up working separately, using completely different systems and recording data in different ways and in different places.

That makes it almost impossible to share information across the business and get clear insights into how efficient the company is as a whole, though, so spotting problems and opportunities is much harder.

Within six months of deploying Qnetex at both depots for a new customer, their operational error rate fell from 10% to 3%

been exacerbated in some instances How can wholesalers understand by the ongoing nationwide driver their customers better and why does shortage. How does your solution this matter? help wholesalers manage food waste The visibility issue is key here, too. for their customers?

Most customers will have more than Ultimately, you best help your cusone touchpoint with you (it might be tomers avoid wastage by making sure a website or app, or by phone, email, the food you bring them is as fresh social media, in person and so on). as possible and that it arrives exactly If your data is spread out, however, when they need it. it’s hard to build up a clear That means you need to have picture of their overall excellent stock control and behaviour and interacwarehouse management tions – so relationships and tight delivery The number of are often weak and processes. years Qnetex has loyalty is low.

Qnetex gives you all been supplying You need to look the insight you need foodservice at the whole journey for your purchasing in software your customers are on, a single glance – from not just single interactions, historical and forecasted which means bridging the gaps sales to current stock figures and between different information silos. expiry dates.

It’s also set up to record a high Food waste can be a big problem level of detail (and flexibly handle for foodservice outlets, and has non-standard data), which minimises

31

problems such as misplaced stock, lost orders and incorrect picking.

With everything from automated route-planning to vehicle tracking and real-time journey dashboards, it hugely reduces delays and errors with deliveries.

How much slack is there in a typical wholesaler’s supply chain, and how much of an efficiency gain is possible through embracing the right technology?

It’s not about how much efficiency you can gain using the right tech – it’s that you can’t gain any without it.

Most wholesalers hold three-to-four weeks’ worth of stock, to cope with supply disruptions and so on.

Increasingly, though, businesses are seeing the huge benefits of just-intime (JIT) stock control, such as more warehouse space, less wastage and better cashflow.

JIT is only achievable if you can manage purchasing processes and supplier interactions extremely quickly and flexibly – and that’s almost impossible without the technology to automate and digitalise those processes.

One dilemma with new technologies is how well they fit with an existing system. How easily does your software fit with an existing wholesaler’s delivery IT? Most of our customers only need to integrate Qnetex with one or two other systems, as it brings together most of the key elements of your business (from purchasing and warehousing to sales and deliveries) in a single ERP. When they do need to connect it with other bits of software – such as Sage Accounting or Phocas BI, etc – we’ve never run into any problems, it’s built to be very accessible.

The same goes for the standalone elements of Qnetex, such as our warehousing software Qstock or our ePOD solution Qdrop. l

25

p27 Qnetex Industry Spotlight.indd 25

16/09/2021 16:57

WHAT TO STOCK

Data supplied by

Crisps Undoubtedly wholesale offers play a big part in the crisps category, with the top three sold in the majority of UK stores.

Yet there are many more crucial lines bringing wholesale customers strong sales and profits.

Hula Hoops Big Hoops BBQ Beef continues to perform well, delivering highest

sales for retailers overall, followed by Cheetos Twisted Flamin’ Hot. The top traditional Walkers flavour, Cheese & Onion, has seen a rise of six places since last year. Meanwhile, the Walkers Classic Variety 24-pack has had huge growth since 2020, going up 14 positions.

TOP 25

TRDP 2020 rank

Average % of price UK stores 2021 sold in

98p

88.7%

99p

89.3%

▲

£2.06

91.1%

6

▲

99p

86.9%

Doritos Chilli Heatwave 70 & 80g

3

▼

98p

91.8%

6

Doritos Tangy Cheese 70 & 80g

4

▼

98p

92.1%

7

Walkers Quavers Cheese 45 & 52g

5

▼

98p

90.4%

8

Nik Naks Nice ’n’ Spicy 85 & 95g

8



98p

85.7%

9

Pringles Texas BBQ 200g

14 ▲

£2.05

89.8%

10 Walkers Wotsits Really Cheesy 50 & 56g

10 

99p

88.9%

11 Walkers Monster Munch Pickled Onion 60 & 68g

11 

99p

89.0%

12 Walkers Ready Salted 65 & 75 & 80g

12 

99p

86.9%

13 Walkers Classic Variety 24x25g

27 ▲

£3.24

63.9%

14 Pringles Salt & Vinegar 200g

21 ▲

£2.07

89.5%

15 Walkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli 65 & 73g

9

▼

99p

86.5%

16 Nik Naks Rib ’n’ Saucy 85 & 95g

18 ▲

98p

77.5%

17 Happy Shopper Onion Rings 70 & 75g

13 ▼

52p

80.4%

18 Skips Prawn Cocktail 40 & 45 & 50g

19 ▲

98p

82.9%

19 Walkers Monster Munch Roast Beef 60 & 68g

20 ▲

99p

85.8%

20 Doritos Cool Original 70 & 80g

15 ▼

98p

90.8%

21 Pringles Original 200g

22 ▲

£2.08

90.8%

22 McCoy’s Flame Grilled Steak 65g

26 ▲

98p

78.9%

23 Walkers Cheese & Onion 32.5g

16 ▼

66p

86.1%

24 Walkers Monster Munch Flamin’ Hot 60 & 68g

23 ▼

99p

82.6%

25 Walkers Squares Salt & Vinegar 60 & 68g

24 ▼

99p

73.5%

1

Hula Hoops Big Hoops BBQ Beef 80 & 87.4g

1

2

Cheetos Twisted Flamin’ Hot 65 & 72g

2

 

3

Pringles Sour Cream & Onion 200g

7

4

Walkers Cheese & Onion 65 & 75 & 80g

5

▲ RANKING UP FROM 2020 0-30%

▼ RANKING DOWN FROM 2020

31-60%

61-90%

90%+

Everyone has their favourite crisps, and that means variety is key. But profits are generally strong across the established brands. Wotsits Really Cheesy, for instance, delivers average weekly profits of £1.28 for retailers, while Nik Naks Nice ‘n’ Spicy earns stores £1.29 a week.

RANKING SAME AS 2020

TOP 3 1

Hula Hoops Big Hoops BBQ Beef 80 & 87.4g

2

Cheetos Twisted Flamin’ Hot 65 & 72g

3

Pringles Sour Cream & Onion 200g

26

p28 WTS - crisps & snacks.indd 26

16/09/2021 16:56

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*Nielsen Bagged Snacks, Latest 52wk ** Nielsen Bagged Snacks YTD (17.07.21)

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Y A D O T P U STOCK RN FullBetter page Wholesaling ad.indd 1 Hoops No.1 A4 Ad.indd 1 10569

08/09/2021 07/09/2021 10:46 15:03

WHAT TO STOCK

Data supplied by

Sugar confectionery Established classics rule the roost in sugar confectionery, the top three weekly average profits coming from Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles 53g, Fruittella Strawberry 41g and Skittles Fruits 45g & 55g.

Haribo are also good profit drivers, despite relatively low distribution and overall sales. Yellow Bellies Minis 60g

give wholesale customers 33p profit per week on average, Giant Strawbs 70g give 31p profit per week, while Little Jelly Men 70g and Dummies 70g both give an average profit of 29p per week.

Many of those Haribo lines are available in fewer than 50% of stores, suggesting retailers could be missing

TOP 25

TRDP 2020 rank

out on some extra weekly profit in their sweet treats.

Don’t neglect some of the funky names in the overall bestsellers, such as the Brain Licker, Lickedy Lips and Bobby’s, which show that novelty also carries a lot of value in the sugar confectionery category.

Average % of price UK stores 2021 sold in

1

Brain Licker Candy Drink Raspberry 60ml

2

▲

98p

65.1%

2

Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles 53g

1

▲

56p

86.6%

3

Vimto Fizzy Rippa 38g

3



50p

56.8%

4

Lickedy Lips Candy Drink Sour 60ml

11 ▲

98p

52.3%

5

Skittles Fruits 45 & 55g

5



55p

70.3%

6

Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums 52g

7

▲

54p

75.3%

7

Bobby’s Mega Sour Pop Blue Raspberry 21g

15 ▲

25p

45.7%

8

Starburst Original 45g

10 ▲

53p

68.4%

9

Bobby’s Mega Squeeze Pop Watermelon / Blue Raspberry / Strawberry 28g

–

–

£1

34.8%

10 Haribo Giant Strawbs 60g & 70g

6

▼

49p

52.9%

11 Bobby’s Bpop Lolly Strawberry 40g

–

£1

34.4%

12 Rowntree’s Jelly Tots 42g

9

▼

58p

66.3%

13 Fruittella Strawberry 41g

14 ▲

55p

52.5%

14 Bobby’s Snake Winder Strawberry

–

37p

41.9%

15 Haribo Little Jelly Men 70g

12 ▼

49p

50.0%

16 Haribo Dummies 70g

16 

49p

49.1%

17 Haribo Yellow Bellies Minis 60g & 70g

13 ▼

49p

42.4%

18 Vimto Dazzler 30g

17 ▼

39p

38.7%

19 Bobby’s Candy Sticks

–

39p

40.2%

20 Haribo Rhubarb & Custard 60g & 70g

18 ▼

49p

45.6%

21 Bobby’s Twangers Blue Razz Extra Sour 30g

24 ▲

25p

37.5%

22 Chewits Strawberry 30g

20 ▼

48p

51.3%

23 Bobby’s Rip Roll Strawberry 38g

–

45p

37.9%

24 Gummi Zone Pizza 23g

–

35p

36.1%

25 Mentos Fruit 38g

19 ▼

57p

48.3%

▲ RANKING UP FROM 2020 0-30%

▼ RANKING DOWN FROM 2020

31-60%

61-90%

90%+

RANKING SAME AS 2020

TOP 3 1

Brain Licker Candy Drink Raspberry 60ml

2

Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles 53g

3

Vimto Fizzy Rippa 38g

28

p30 WTS - sugar confec.indd 28

16/09/2021 16:55

*

T K O C S T S U MALL OWE EN RANG E H H

*

* Source: IRI Marketplace, Sugar Confectionery, Total Market, Value Sales, Data from 8 Weeks to Halloween 2020

RN Full page ad.indd 1

14/09/2021 11:24

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Ferrero Andrew Edwards, business unit controller for wholesale, RTM and C&C, Ferrero

FAST FACT Kinder Cards product launch will be supported by a £1.82m media investment

BWI: What NPD does Ferrero have coming into the wholesale channel in the next 12 months?

AE: As we head into autumn and winter, we are kicking off with a host of NPD. We’re expanding our biscuit range with our new Kinder Cards, available now following outstanding performance of the range in Ireland, Italy, Germany and France.

Kinder Cards delivers the distinctive milk and cocoa taste that the brand is loved for, between two incredibly thin wafers and a surprisingly creamy filling.

The UK launch will be supported by a £1.82m media investment, which includes a TV campaign with available in a 90g tablet bar with three the opportunity to reach 4.55 million delicious chocolate varieties to choose families through targeted viewing. from: white chocolate, milk chocolate Our Kinder brand is also launching and dark. a new licence for its Kinder Surprise The launch will be supported by a eggs this September, featuring a range £2.55m campaign, including TV to of animals from North America. drive maximum awareness and create The new licence, called Natoons, premium demand among shoppers, will be available across single and driving basket spend. multipack, ideal for on-the-go and Finally, we’re expanding our at-home occasions for the Thorntons boxed chocolate whole family. The Natoons range with the launch of range will benefit from Thorntons Pearls in two a £3.2m media spend deliciously premium of retailers plan including a TV advert flavours – Hazelnut their seasonal that focuses on the Delight and Salted confectionery new range.

Caramel Sensation. offering one-to-two months in advance Across our pralines Available now, the of Christmas portfolio we are bringing range is individually Ferrero Rocher’s iconic wrapped and offers shoptaste and premium credentials to pers the perfect treat to enjoy the UK chocolate tablets segment for while sharing moments of delight the first time. Available in wholesale with loved ones, particularly as the and convenience from October, the big-night-in occasion continues to iconic taste of Ferrero Rocher will be be popular.

50%

What advice can Ferrero give to wholesalers ahead of the busy Christmas periods?

Despite recent uncertainty following the Covid-19 pandemic, many wholesalers should remain undeterred in their planning processes, with 50% of convenience store retailers planning their seasonal confectionery offering one-to-two months in advance of Christmas. It’s therefore even more important that wholesalers ensure they are stocking a strong core range to appeal to retailers for the autumnal and winter seasonal confectionery trading spikes.

In uncertain times, shoppers tend to rely on the brands they know and love, which we expect to be the case again this year, so retailers will be looking for this in depot. We would encourage wholesalers to stock up on core lines and all-year-round products that can have appeal outside of the festive season. This will help those retailers who need to save on shelf space.

Core lines, such as Ferrero Rocher and Ferrero Rocher Collection, also have the benefit of retaining their relevance after the event has passed, so there is less wasted stock, which is particularly important this year where shopper demand at Christmas is still difficult to predict.

How has Ferrero helped wholesalers grow sales in the past 12 months?

We have had a continued pipeline of innovation which has been underpinned by an ongoing investment programme.

This has supported wholesalers and their customers in benefitting from increased shopper demand by driving awareness and excitement among well-known and loved brands.

During uncertain and challenging times, we have managed to ensure availability of products across ranges – this has been a key focus so that our

30

p32-33 Ferrero Industry Spotlight DPS.indd 30

16/09/2021 16:54

In partnership with

customer business remains robust.

We have also scheduled frequent visits from our field sales teams – in line with Covid-19 guidelines – to support in driving distribution, display of our brands and category advice when requested.

This advice has been brought to life with our products and in-depot displays, which help disrupt retailers as they stock up.

What trends and opportunities are emerging that customers can take advantage of?

As restrictions continue to lift and people are becoming more mobile, it’s important to ensure availability of tried-and-trusted brands alongside NPD to generate interest in the confectionery category.

Greater focus on PMP singles will provide price reassurance, while embracing multipack SKUs will ensure wholesalers benefit from the in-home consumption, a legacy that we expect to remain from lockdown.

Outside of this, there are three key trends wholesalers can take advantage of: 1. On-the-go and impulse purchases will begin to return, so formats, fixtures and clear signposting must be prepared accordingly.

2. The past year and a half has presented uncertainty, meaning customers have been opting for familiar brands and products that they trust.

3. Big nights in will continue to prevail following the pandemic.

Boxed confectionery is perfect for sharing, and well-known products such as Ferrero Rocher, Raffaello and Thorntons are ideal.

with more people returning to work and attending more social events.

Wholesalers should return their focus to single-format products so retailers are able to build on their impulse fixtures.

Are you planning any activity that wholesalers should be aware of?

We’re planning significant in-depot activity across the next 12 months to support our wholesale customers in driving sales.

Our 14 field executives will be frequently visiting to help drive distribution, availability and display of our brands, implement national or local promotional activity, and provide category advice where requested.

We are in the planning phase for Diwali and Christmas, but support will include category advice from our field business development executives, depot displays and promotional activations.

What advice would you give wholesalers looking to grow sales in the confectionery category?

Ensure depots are easy to navigate for convenience retailers – clear

signposting will mean their purchasing journey can remain structured and efficient. Backing bestsellers is important, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic, as convenience retailers and their customers are turning to brands they know and trust for that sense of familiarity.

Drum up excitement in depot with new launches featured prominently or clearly signposted as convenience retailers walk in. This will drive maximum attention to the product.

Sampling of new products is also a great way to encourage convenience retailers to stock up and make their in-depot experience more interactive and engaging.

Mark key offers, new launches and seasonal products at the end-of-depot aisles versus getting lost within the aisle. This will disrupt convenience retailers as they stock up and draw them to engage with the product.

Ensure those key offers, new launches and seasonal products are also signposted online for those convenience retailers who prefer this versus shopping in depot.

It’s essential to remember that many shopping habits stay the same online, and convenience retailers will need prompting on certain products or categories to purchase. l

What would you like to see happen in wholesale in the next 12 months?

We hope to see this sector of the trade resurge as impulse purchases and on-the-go occasions increase now that restrictions have lifted, and

31

p32-33 Ferrero Industry Spotlight DPS.indd 31

17/09/2021 12:11

WHAT TO STOCK

Data supplied by

Mints Although the top five top sellers remain unchanged from last year, movements further down the table are well worth paying attention to.

Mentos 135g bag has risen from sixth to ninth, Happy Shopper Mint Assortment 160g from 25th to 10th and Happy Shopper Mint Imperials 160g from 23rd

to eighth. So, while the 34-45g tubes may still be the backbone of this category, shoppers are grabbing the larger bags more often.

While Trebor lines are the top three in terms of average weekly profits per store, Polo Original Roll 34g comes in fourth, with average weekly profits of

TOP 25

TRDP 2020 rank

Average % of price UK stores 2021 sold in

52p

89.9%

52p

88.3%

56p

92.9%

52p

88.4%

5

    

52p

69.6%

Mentos Mint Bag 135g

9

▲

99p

47.8%

7

Polo Sugar Free Roll 33.4g

6

▼

56p

75.0%

8

Happy Shopper Mint Imperials 160g

23 ▲

78p

51.8%

9

Polo Roll Spearmint 34g

7

▼

57p

44.6%

10 Happy Shopper Assortment 160g

25 ▲

78p

44.1%

11 Mentos Xtra Strong 38g

10 ▼

58p

51.5%

12 Tic Tac Fresh Mint 18g

8

65p

73.0%

13 Fox’s Glacier Mints 130g

11 ▼

£1

62.8%

14 Maynards Bassetts Murray 193g

12 ▼

£1.72

22.2%

15 Fox’s XXX Seriously Strong Roll Peppermint 41g

14 ▼

57p

32.3%

16 One Pounders Buttermints 150g

17 ▲

£1

12.6%

17 Mentos Roll 3x38g

19 ▲

£1

12.7%

18 One Pounders Mint Imperials 150g

21 ▲

£1

10.6%

19 Werther’s Original Butter Mints 110g

22 ▲

£1

15.2%

20 Smint Sugar Free 8g

16 ▼

£1.21

16.9%

21 One Pounders Magic Mints 140g

24 ▲

£1

8.9%

22 Mentos Roll Spearmint 38g

–

56p

17.4%

23 Bonds Mint Humbugs 150g

–

£1

9.8%

24 Maynards Bassetts Mint Favourites 192g

–

£1.68

6.3%

25 Fox’s Glacier Dark 130g

–

£1

15.7%

1

Trebor Extra Strong Roll Peppermint 41g

1

2

Trebor Softmints Roll Spearmint 45g

2

3

Polo Original Roll 34g

3

4

Trebor Softmints Roll Peppermint 45g

4

5

Trebor Extra Strong Roll Spearmint 41g

6

▲ RANKING UP FROM 2020 0-30%

▼ RANKING DOWN FROM 2020

31-60%

61-90%

90%+

▼

33p. Polo also has the top-performing sugar-free variety – its 33g Sugar Free Roll the seventh-best seller overall, with average weekly profits of 16p.

Mentos 38g is the brand’s topperforming roll, with average weekly profits of 22p in wholesale retailer’s stores.

TOP 3 1

Trebor Extra Strong Roll Peppermint 41g

2

Trebor Softmints Roll Spearmint 45g

3

Polo Original Roll 34g

RANKING SAME AS 2020

32

p34 WTS - mints.indd 32

16/09/2021 16:53

RN Full page ad.indd 1

25/08/2021 09:17

WHAT TO STOCK

Data supplied by

Petcare Our data reveals where the profits are for retailers. Cat and dog food lines make up the majority of the overall top sellers, with established brands such as Bakers, Butcher’s, Whiskas and Felix dominating. The biggest profits, however, come from cat litter, as well as Euro Shopper’s 8l giving the highest

average weekly profit here, at 81p, with the 4l bag giving 54p profit per week.

Showing the power of bigger packs, Bakers Adult Chicken & Vegetable Dry 1kg is giving wholesaler’s customers average weekly profits of 64p. For pouches of wet food, multipacks are the big profit drivers. Both Felix’s Meaty

TOP 25

TRDP 2020 rank

Average % of price UK stores 2021 sold in

£3.61

69.3%

▲

78p

71.7%

4

▲

£2.41

79.2%

Euro Shopper Cat Litter 8l

7

▲

£1.79

60.0%

5

Bakers Adult Chicken & Vegetable Dry 1kg

2

▼

£2.42

76.9%

6

Felix Fish Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

14 ▲

£3.64

65.5%

7

Whiskas 1+ Chicken Chunks in Jelly 390g

3

90p

78.0%

8

Felix As Good As It Looks Ocean Feasts Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

15 ▲

£4.20

67.8%

9

Felix As Good As It Looks Meaty Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

£4.20

59.3%

1

Felix Meaty Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

1



2

Winalot Classics Chicken Chunks in Jelly 400g

8

3

Bakers Adult Beef & Vegetable Dry 1kg

4

▼

–

10 Felix Mixed Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

21 ▲

£3.61

65.2%

11 Butcher's Tripe Dog Food 400g

13 ▲

84p

64.0%

12 Euro Shopper Chicken Chunks in Gravy 1.24kg

6

£1

71.6%

13 Whiskas 1+ Poultry Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

16 ▲

£3.69

63.4%

14 Euro Shopper Cat Litter 4l

5

£1

68.5%

15

11 ▼

£4.20

66.1%

16 Euro Shopper Beef Chunks in Gravy 1.24kg

9

£1

71.1%

17 Whiskas 1+ Meaty Chunks in Gravy in Pouch 12x100g

22 ▲

£3.70

63.5%

18 Pedigree Dentastix Medium Dog Treat 3x77g

23 ▲

£1.01

70.5%

–

£3.69

56.8%

20 Whiskas 1+ Chicken Dry 340g

25 ▲

£1.19

68.1%

21 Pedigree Chicken Chunks in Jelly 385g

19 ▼

84p

72.2%

22 Whiskas 1+ Fish Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

–

£3.69

55.3%

23 Butcher's Chicken & Tripe 400g

–

84p

59.1%

24 Happy Shopper Dental Sticks Chews 7x180g

–

£1

52.2%

25 Cesar Classics Chicken & Turkey 150g

20 ▼

76p

56.1%

Felix As Good As It Looks Favourites Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

19 Whiskas 1+ Fish & Meat Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

▲ RANKING UP FROM 2020 0-30%

▼ RANKING DOWN FROM 2020

31-60%

61-90%

90%+

▼

▼

▼

and Fish Chunks 12x100g packs deliver average weekly profits of 43p. Butcher’s Trip Dog Food 400g, meanwhile, delivers 46p average weekly profits.

For treats and chews, Pedigree Dentastix Medium Dog Treat 3x77g gives average weekly profits of 44p to wholesale customers.

RANKING SAME AS 2020

TOP 3 1

Felix Meaty Chunks in Jelly in Pouch 12x100g

2

Winalot Classics Chicken Chunks in Jelly 400g

3

Bakers Adult Beef & Vegetable Dry 1kg

34

p36 WTS - Petcare.indd 34

16/09/2021 16:47

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

In partnership with

Mars Petcare FAST FACT Helen Perry, route to market controller, Mars Petcare BWI: How has Mars Petcare helped wholesalers grow sales in the past 12 months?

HP: The past year has been a period of incredible growth for petcare products, especially in the wholesale and convenience channels. With shopper demand at a high as a result of more time spent at home and increased pet ownership, we have worked hard to ensure that a core range of bestsellers, including price-marked packs (PMP) and premium options, is available to wholesalers and their customers through our ‘Dream Sixteen’ line-up.

Pedigree is the number-one wet single-serve brand, and its pouch format is growing at an impressive 31%3

What effect has the rise of premium petcare products had on wholesale, fiable on-pack. As more households and what is Mars Petcare doing to navigate pet parenthood, PMPs allow help the industry? retailers to highlight good value and Pet owners are not willing to compro- provide reassurance to their shoppers mise when it comes to their animals. that they offer competitive prices.

Research showed that nearly half of Petcare has been a resilient categothe UK population saw a decrease in ry during past recessionary periods, their income during lockdown. as pet owners are still eager to treat Despite this burden, 75% of their pets – that being said, we owners stated that their spending anticipate value being a priority for either remained the same or many shoppers even beyond increased. It’s therefore no the pandemic. surprise that luxury options are continuing to What effect has of pet owners drive sales. In the past Covid-19 had on stated they have year, luxury brands petcare and what failed to purchase in convenience have does this mean for in the convenience channel due to grown by 18.4% in cat how wholesalers lack of choice4 and 19.7% in dog. should now approach the category?

How much importance should The UK pet population has wholesalers still place on value and sky-rocketed to an all-time high, PMPs in the petcare category? topping 20 million dogs and cats – PMPs offer shoppers security by nearly a third of the size of the UK making the price point easily identihuman population. A significant

55%

47.7% of households had a cat or dog in the UK in 20201. With multiple shoppers turning to their local store during the pandemic, convenience shoppers increased their share of spend in the channel from 16.7% to 17.0% (dog) and 14.2% to 14.9% (cat)3.

How has petcare evolved within convenience since the pandemic began?

Shopper habits have changed, and consumers are increasingly completing a top-up mission (larger shop) in convenience, which makes retailing a core range of bestsellers more important than ever.

More than half of pet owners (55%) have previously stated they have failed to purchase in the convenience channel due to lack of choice4. Addressing this head on, we developed the ‘Dream Sixteen’ core range to help retailers address choice for shoppers and drive sales success.

What customer purchasing trends have you noticed in the past year that petcare wholesalers should be aware of?

As consumers have spent more time at home, 44% of dog owners revealed they are feeding their dog more treats every week, and 14% admit to ‘spoiling’ their dog daily5.

Across the board, treats value sales surged, with Dreamies seeing an astonishing 6.9% growth while Pedigree grew an impressive 2.5%6.

Ten per cent of pet owners also claim to have altered feeding habits, with wet single-serve formats outperforming total pet food. l Mars Petcare, Pet Ownership Study, 2020,

1

UK Market, 2PDSA, Annual Survey, 2020, Purchase Value MAT – Nielsen Homescan

3

Total GB w/e 17.07.21, 4Mars Omnichannel Study UK 2018, 5Natural Instinct Survey, 2021, Purchase Value L12W – Nielsen Homescan

6

Total GB w/e 17.07.21

35

p37 Mars Petcare Industry Spotlight.indd 35

16/09/2021 16:46

WHAT TO STOCK

Data supplied by

Water Volvic has the top two bestselling bottled waters overall. The Still Sports Cap 1l is the second-best seller, and gives the second-best average weekly profits per store at £2.91, but it is only available in 68.9% of convenience stores in the UK. Is this an opportunity wholesalers are missing out on?

Bigger 2l formats shouldn’t be ignored, with Ice Valley Still the top seller in this size, with average weekly profits of £1.52 in wholesale customers’ stores. Smaller bottles also need to be kept in mind – Volvic Still 500ml is the highest placed in sixth, with average weekly profits of £2.49. For 750ml,

TOP 25

TRDP 2020 rank

Average % of price UK stores 2021 sold in

1

Volvic Still 1.5l

2

▲

£1.17

77.1%

2

Volvic Still Sports Cap 1l

1

▼

£1.04

68.9%

3

Evian Still Sports Cap 750ml

4

▲

£1.01

65.3%

4

Highland Spring Still 1.5l

5

▲

£1.04

59.3%

5

Evian Still 1.5l

7 ▲

£1.23

54.1%

6

Volvic Still 500ml

6



66p

63.3%

7

Ice Valley Still 500ml

8

▲

56p

59.8%

8

Glacéau Smartwater Still 600ml

3

▼

75p

61.8%

9

Evian Still 500ml

10 ▲

72p

49.1%

10 Highland Spring Sparkling 1.5l

11 ▲

£1.24

47.0%

11 Highland Spring Still Sportscap 750ml

9

▼

95p

41.0%

12 Ice Valley Still 2l

14 ▲

97p

29.4%

13 Nestlé Pure Life Still 12x500ml

–

▲

£2.15

27.7%

14 Ice Valley Still 5l

16 ▲

£1.67

31.3%

15 Buxton Still Sports Cap 750ml

12 ▼

91p

45.3%

16 Ice Valley Still Sports Cap 500ml

13 ▼

57p

30.5%

17 Buxton Still 1.5l

22 ▲

£1.10

38.7%

18 Glacéau Smartwater Still Sports Cap 850ml

15 ▼

£1.07

23.3%

19 Highland Spring Still 2l

19 

£1.33

21.2%

20 Highland Spring Still Sportscap 500ml

18 ▼

73p

26.5%

21 Highland Spring Sparkling 500ml

20 ▼

73p

33.2%

22 Highland Spring Still 500ml

21 ▼

63p

31.1%

23 Volvic Sparkling 1.5l

–

▲

£1.16

31.9%

24 Brecon Carreg Still 1.5l

23 ▼

£1.07

7.4%

25 Ice Valley Sparkling 2l

–

92p

21.6%

▲ RANKING UP FROM 2020 0-30%

▼ RANKING DOWN FROM 2020

31-60%

61-90%

90%+

▲

Evian Sports Cap is the highest, the third-best seller overall, with average weekly profits of £1.81.

Meanwhile, the rise of the big night in and cocktails at home means having a sparkling option is increasingly important. Highland Spring Sparkling 1.5l is the top name here in 10th.

RANKING SAME AS 2020

TOP 3 1

Volvic Still 1.5l

2

Volvic Still Sports Cap 1l

3

Evian Still Sports Cap 750ml

36

p38 WTS - water.indd 36

16/09/2021 16:45

RN Full page ad.indd 1

24/08/2021 16:13

WHAT TO STOCK

Data supplied by

Sports & energy Sports & energy drinks remain valuable profit drivers, with top performer Red Bull 250ml delivering average weekly profits per retailer’s store of £10.79, and Monster Energy Original 500ml at £10.49.

Low- and no-sugar options don’t seem a big concern when it comes to the top 25. The top performer is Monster Ultra

White Sugar Free 500ml, which is 11th for overall sales and gives £4.39 average weekly profits per store.

Red Bull 355ml is also worth taking a look at – the larger pack size is delivering third-best average weekly profits of £7.55. However, it’s only available in 82.5% of stores, while the 250ml is in

TOP 25

TRDP 2020 rank

Average % of price UK stores 2021 sold in

£1.34

95.4%

£1.35

95.1%

£2.14

80.9%

4

   

£1.68

82.5%

Monster Pipeline Punch 500ml

9

▲

£1.34

88.5%

6

Monster Juiced Mango Loco 500ml

7

▲

£1.34

89.4%

7

Euro Shopper Original Energy Drink 250ml

5

▼

38p

85.1%

8

Euro Shopper Original Energy Drink 4x250ml

8



£1.45

63.7%

9

Lucozade Energy Orange 380ml

6

▼

£1.11

93.0%

1

Red Bull 250ml

1

2

Monster Energy Original 500ml

2

3

Red Bull 473ml

3

4

Red Bull 355ml

5

10 Lucozade Energy Orange 900ml

10 

£1.20

89.1%

11 Monster Ultra White Sugar Free 500ml

13 ▲

£1.28

89.6%

12 Lucozade Sport Orange 500ml

11 ▼

£1.13

93.3%

13 Monster Punch Pacific Punch 500ml

27 ▲

£1.35

82.3%

14 Relentless Origin Regular 500ml

12 ▼

98p

87.7%

15 Lucozade Energy Original 380ml

16 ▲

£1.11

91.7%

16 Monster Punch Mixxd 500ml

17 ▲

£1.35

86.4%

17 Rockstar Xdurance Blueberry, Pomegranate & Acai 500ml 18 ▲

£1.01

77.9%

18 Euro Shopper Sport Isotonic Hydration Orange Regular 500ml 14 ▼

50p

77.8%

19 Lucozade Energy Original 900ml

20 ▲

£1.23

87.5%

20 Red Bull Sugar Free 250ml

19 ▼

£1.29

82.7%

21 Lucozade Sport Raspberry 500ml

15 ▼

£1.13

89.8%

22 Red Bull 4x250ml

–

£4.27

55.9%

23 Rockstar Punched Tropical Guava 500ml

21 ▼

98p

76.6%

24 Euro Shopper Original Energy Drink 500ml

25 ▲

67p

63.4%

25 Euro Shopper Original Energy Drink Sugar Free 250ml

24 ▼

38p

68.0%

▲ RANKING UP FROM 2020 0-30%

▼ RANKING DOWN FROM 2020

31-60%

61-90%

90%+

95.4%. If you haven’t trialled the larger can size, now could be the time to bring it into the depot.

Beyond Red Bull and Monster, Lucozade has two products in the top 10 sellers – Energy Orange 380ml and 900ml, with average weekly profits of £3.63 and £3.33, respectively.

RANKING SAME AS 2020

TOP 3 1

Red Bull 250ml

2

Monster Energy Original 500ml

3

Red Bull 473ml

38

p40 WTS - Sports & Energy.indd 38

16/09/2021 16:44

YOUR ENERGY MUST STOCKS.

ZERO 250ML

ENERGY 250ML

SUGARFREE 250ML

RED BULL ZERO, ENERGY & SUGARFREE 250ml.

SEE SALES FLY. STOCK UP TODAY.

RN Full page ad.indd 1

13/09/2021 15:28

WHAT TO STOCK

Data supplied by

Cigars The big story in cigars is the dramatic rise of Sterling Dual Capsule Leaf Wrap Cigarillos, from 17th to the overall bestseller. With a mentholated capsule in the filter, its success is probably down to cigars not being affected by last year’s menthol ban.

The product is also giving retailers

strong average weekly profits of £1.60 – the sixth-highest here.

Our data shows the higher-priced lines are bringing wholesale customers the biggest profits, such as Henri Wintermans Corona 5s, with an average price of £11.61, rather than the products that are the top sellers.

TOP 24

TRDP 2020 rank

If such premium prices don’t work with your customers, a middle ground could be Signature Red Filter Miniatures 10s, with an average price of £6.30 and delivering solid profits of £1.76 per week on average. Similarly, Moments Blue 10s, priced £5.06 on average, brings retailers £1.62 average weekly profits.

SUPPLIER VIEWPOINT

Average % of price UK stores 2021 sold in

1

Sterling Dual Capsule Leaf Wrap Cigarillos 10s

17 ▲

£4.55

84.8%

2

Signature Red Filter Minatures 10s

1

▼

£6.32

49.4%

3

Hamlet Minatures 10s

3



£6.15

36.8%

4

Hamlet Fine 5s

2

▼

£6.36

50.0%

5

Castella Classic 10s

4

▼

£6.87

24.2%

6

JPS Players Crush Leaf Cigarillos 10s

–

£4.20

41.3%

7

Hamlet Fine 10s

6

▼

£12.39

11.2%

8

Signature Red Filter Minatures 10s

5

▼

£6.31

37.3%

9

Henri Wintermans Half Corona 5s

8

▼

£11.61

9.8%

10 Hamlet Fine Drum Single

7

▼

£1.34

30.0%

11 Moments Blue 10s

10 ▼

£5.06

8.5%

12 Signature Red Filter Minatures 10s

9

▼

£6.30

6.5%

13 Panama Thin Panatella 6s

11 ▼

£6.76

8.0%

14 Royal Dutch Minature Cigarillos 10s

13 ▼

£5.10

8.1%

15 Royal Dutch Minature Blue Cigarillos 10s

12 ▼

£5.04

7.8%

16 Castella Classic 5s 2pk

16 

£13.65

4.0%

17 King Six Panatella 6s

14 ▼

£5.89

3.6%

18 Castella Classic Single

15 ▼

£1.36

5.90%

19 Signature Dual Capsule Leaf Wrap Cigarillos 10s

–

£4.89

18.40%

20 Royal Dutch Double Filter Cigarillos 10s

20

£4.79

6.40%

21 Henri Wintermans Sumatra Corona Single

19 ▼

£5.98

5.20%

22 Royal Dutch Panatella Single

22

£1.26

2.30%

23 Hamlet Minature Cigarillos 5s

18 ▼

£3.12

5.00%

24 Hamlet Blue Tin Cigarillos 10s

21 ▼

£5.90

1.80%

Ross Hennessy, sales vice president, JTI UK “Sterling Dual Capsule Leaf Wrapped was introduced into the market in January 2020.

“Following the success of the 10s format, JTI UK extended the range by introducing packs of 20 to offer more choice in wholesale.

“We are proud to say it has now become the number-one cigarillo brand in the UK, with a 93.9% share of the market1.

“We are committed to bringing wholesalers products that respond to current trends, and currently customers are looking for value products that don’t compromise on quality.

“Sterling Dual Capsule Leaf Wrapped offers just that – a good-value, high-quality option with an affordable RRP.” Wholesalers are free to sell JTI products at whatever price they choose

▲ RANKING UP FROM 2020 0-30%

▼ RANKING DOWN FROM 2020

31-60%

61-90%

90%+

RANKING SAME AS 2020

IRi Market Place, Volume Share, Total Cigarillo Category, Total UK, Jun 2021 1

40

p42 WTS - Cigars.indd 40

16/09/2021 16:43

RRP

PACK OF 10

RRP

PACK OF 20

£4.90 THE UK’s £9.60 *

*

No.1 CIGARILLO

1

*RRP effective 28/07/2021. Retailers are free at all times to sell JTI products at whatever price they choose.

[1] IRi Market Place, Volume Share, Total Cigarillo Category, Total UK, Jun 2021.

21066_SDCLW_BW_210x297mm.indd 1 RN Full page ad.indd 1

07/09/2021 pm 09/09/20212:18 09:34

WHAT TO STOCK

Data supplied by

Tobacco accessories Swan keeps its place at the top of this category, with the Republic Technologies brand’s Extra Slim Filter Tips 120s product coming in ahead of Raw Connoisseur King Size Slim Cigarette Papers & Tips – another that keeps its place in the top two for the second consecutive year. However, the latter is

only sold in 71.6% of stores compared with the 94.7% for Swan’s top product.

The Swan brand features on four more occasions in the list, with Republic Technologies’ Zig-Zag also included twice. However, Zig-Zag Regular Green Cigarette Papers 50s and Regular Green Cigarette Papers 50s 8pk are only in

TOP 25

TRDP 2020 rank

Average % of price UK stores 2021 sold in

£1.05

94.7%

2

 

£1.62

71.6%

Rizla King Size Slim Silver Cigarette Papers 32s

4

▲

£0.99

87.0%

4

Swan Extra Slim Menthol Filter Tips 120s

5

▲

£1.09

93.1%

5

Rizla Regular Green Cigarette Papers 50s

3

▼

£0.39

94.0%

6

Raw Classic King Size Slim Cigarette Papers 50s

7

▲

£1.06

64.6%

7

Swan Slim Filter Tips 165s

8

▲

£1.00

76.7%

8

Rizla Menthol Chill Flavour Card

–

£0.40

87.9%

9

Rizla King Size Slim Blue Cigarette Papers 32s

6

▼

£0.98

79.0%

10 Rizla Regular Green Cigarette Papers 50s 5pk

9

▼

£1.46

47.1%

11 Swan Slim Filter Tips 102s

10 ▼

£1.02

63.7%

12 Rizla Fresh Mint Flavour Card

–

£0.40

84.6%

13 Rizla Extra Slim Polar Blast Filter Tips 60s

19 ▲

£1.05

70.0%

14 Raw Classic King Size Slim Black Cigarette Papers & Tips

–

£1.99

27.9%

15 Rizla Regular Blue Cigarette Papers 50s

11 ▼

£0.41

83.4%

16 Swan Ultra Slim Filter Tips 126s

16 

£1.09

43.3%

17 Raw Paper Tips 100s

14 ▼

£0.72

52.1%

18 Rizla King Size Green Cigarette Papers 32s

13 ▼

£0.90

67.6%

19 Zig-Zag Regular Green Cigarette Papers 50s

12 ▼

£0.32

31.4%

20 Rizla Regular Liquorice Cigarette Papers 50s

15 ▼

£0.48

71.7%

21 Rizla King Size Silver Cigarette Papers & Tips 32s

–

£1.38

28.2%

22 Rizla King Size Red Cigarette Papers 32s

18 ▼

£0.92

51.8%

23 Rizla Regular Silver Cigarette Papers 50s

17 ▼

£0.47

71.2%

24 Raw King Size Cone Wrap 3s

24

£1.46

24.0%

25 Zig-Zag Regular Green Cigarette Papers 50s 8pk

20 ▼

£1.45

14.5%

1

Swan Extra Slim Filter Tips 120s

1

2

Raw Connoisseur King Size Slim Cigarette Papers & Tips

3

▲ RANKING UP FROM 2020 0-30%

▼ RANKING DOWN FROM 2020

31-60%

61-90%

90%+

31.4% and 14.5% stores, respectively.

Elsewhere in the list, 13 might be unlucky for some, but not for Rizla, with the Imperial brand owning 13 products in the top 25. Its highest-placed, King Size Slim Silver Cigarette Papers 32s, is sold in 87% of stores and is up a place from 2020.

RANKING SAME AS 2020

TOP 3 1

Swan Extra Slim Filter Tips 120s

2

Raw Connoisseur King Size Slim Cigarette Papers & Tips

3

Rizla King Size Slim Silver Cigarette Papers 32s

42

p44 WTS - Tobacco accessories.indd 42

16/09/2021 16:41

Untitled-9 1

13/09/2021 16:04

The wholesale sector is evolving, and so are we.

Take a look at our new-look website betterwholesaling.com where you will find: • More news and thought leadership • In-depth wholesaler profiles and video interviews • Sector and category reviews • Easy-to-digest infographics highlighting key industry trends

Stay informed and get ahead with betterwholesaling.com

BW.com Forward sell June 2021.indd 1

18/03/2021 10:16

SECTOR REVIEW

Halloween & Bonfire Night Tom Gockelen-Kozlowski

A

fter a year without many reasons to celebrate and come together, suppliers are predicting this year’s Halloween will be one to remember – for business as much as for consumers.

“As the seasons shift and we move into autumn, we can look forward to Halloween as the next big occasion to continue celebrating and socialising after a series of challenging lockdowns,” says Matt Collins, trading director at KP Snacks.

“Consumers will be keen to stock up on their favourite snacks to mark the occasion and retailers should support them by offering promotions that suit the Halloween occasion, such as trickor-treating or a family night in.”

KP Snacks’ popcorn brand, Butterkist, will be well suited for the ritual of watching scary mov-

ies over the Halloween period.

“At twice the size of its nearest branded competitor, Butterkist is an ideal treat to enjoy alongside scary movies this Halloween.

Worth £51.7m and growing at 9.2%, the brand enjoys a market share of 37.3%,” Collins adds.

When purchased as part of a multipack, Butterkist Toffee Popcorn (20g), Cinema Sweet Popcorn (12g) and Sweet & Salted Popcorn (12g) are all under 100 calories per serving, Collins adds.

Of course, the return of trick-or-treating will be among the most exciting elements of Halloween 2021 for the UK’s children and it’s an opportunity that suppliers are determined to help wholesalers profit from.

Perfetti Van Melle is, for example, adding to its sugar confectionery range ahead of this autumn’s event. “Already among the top-five wrapped Halloween

SUPPLIER VIEWPOINT Victoria Gell Fruity confections brand director, Mars Wrigley

“For wholesalers to succeed during the busy Halloween season, it’s vital to stock favourites in a variety of formats. By stocking fun-size SKUs, sharing bags and tubs, wholesale customers can reach out to trick-or-treaters, those throwing Halloween gatherings and celebrations, and also those who choose a night in to watch horror movies together.

“Scary movies are becoming an increasingly popular ritual that starts to build excitement in the run-up to Halloween. This presents a huge opportunity for wholesalers to stock a range of sharing bag treats, perfect for big nights in. ‘More to Share’ bags from Mars Wrigley Confectionery are the ideal ac-

companiment, whether watching a scary film at home or at the cinema, now restrictions have been lifted.

“The confectionery market predicts a large increase in trick-or-treat participation this year compared with 2020, where strict Covid-19 restrictions were in place. Funsize packs remain a staple for the Halloween occasion, with Mars Wrigley holding the largest share of Halloween funsize sales of 28.1% of the category in 2020. Many consumers purchase a mix of chocolate and sugar confectionery, so wholesalers should look to stock a variety of treats that are available in different pack sizes for different occasions.”

45

p46-49 Halloween.indd 45

17/09/2021 14:27

82% of consumers are unable to name a retailer doing a good job of reducing plastic waste*

To find out more, please call Simon Joseph on 020 7689 3363

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16/09/2021 17:19

SECTOR REVIEW PRODUCT NEWS

Haribo Trick or Treat – This mix bag contains bats, broomsticks, frogs and spider-shaped pieces. Brewed up in a multipack containing 10 mini bags, they come pre-portioned.

Mini Oreo Spooky Bags – A large format includes eight treat-size bags, designed for trick-or-treating and Halloween parties. A spooky design is also available for Oreo roll packs.

Cadbury Goo Heads – Available in Creepy Skeleton, Pumpkin, Frankenstein, Dracula or Werewolf variants, Cadbury Goo Heads come individually, in packs of five or as a 78g bag of minis.

St Pierre Brioche Burger Buns – The firm says these buns – alongside its seeded brioche burger buns and brioche hotdog rolls and baguettes – offer a higher-margin product for wholesalers.

Space Raiders – KP Snacks says the brand offers an alternative for families looking to celebrate Halloween. The crisps are among its best-performing PMPs.

Chupa Chups tubs – Building on the growing trend for portion-controlled pack formats, Perfetti Van Melle’s new 300g tubs contain 32 individuallywrapped sweets.

1/3

of convenience retailers will increase Halloween confectionery space this year

KAM MEDIA RESEARCH

1/3

of consumers intend to spend more celebrating Halloween this year

90%

of wholesale customers will have a dedicated, themed range in store

1/5

of under-34-year-olds intends to visit a pub/ restaurant to celebrate Halloween this year

47

p46-49 Halloween.indd 47

17/09/2021 14:27

SECTOR REVIEW brands, our new Chupa Chups Sour Lollies contain 10 individually-wrapped cherry, apple and lemon-flavoured pieces, providing the ideal trick-or-treat option,” says Jas Ghag, senior category and insights executive at Perfetti Van Melle (PVM).

The firm is also launching a 300g tub containing 32 Chupa Chups products and backing the activity with trade support. “Most importantly for the grocery channel, both launches will be supported at store level by visits from the PVM field sales team to selected outlets who will be creating festive instore displays using Halloween-themed PoS,” says Ghag.

Another returning opportunity will be Halloween and Bonfire Night parties. “Halloween and Bonfire Night are particularly key for wholesalers, because traditionally these occasions drive get-togethers that are weather-dependent. And that

inevitably brings increased opportunities for convenience retailers,” says Scott Oakes, commercial manager for St Pierre Groupe, which includes the St Pierre and Baker Street brands.

The bakery brand produces a range of buns and rolls which, it says, are well suited to the autumnal barbecues many consumers will enjoy as part of Halloween and fireworks celebrations.

“Crucially, our range of brands allows wholesalers to provide a ‘better and best’ option,” says Oakes. “For people who want a sturdy bread carrier, Baker Street is always there.

“While for those sticking with the trend of restaurant-quality and elevating everyday meals, having the option of upgrading to a brioche bun will appeal.”

That a brand such as St Pierre sees Halloween as a key opportunity is a good reminder to the wholesale industry that this event is more than a chance to sell through confectionery for

trick-or-treaters.

For that reason, Oakes recommends depots bring together a range of products into promotional ends or seasonal displays. He says: “Eye-catching displays prompt purchase decisions and encourage wholesale customers to trade up. In addition, grouping products by meal occasion can help drive sales – for instance, by positioning St Pierre brioche buns alongside burgers, sausages and accompaniments.”

“For those looking to add a touch of class to their Halloween and Bonfire Night celebrations, it’s worth stocking a range of more premium options, such as Aspall Cyder and Blue Moon Mango Wheat,” adds Kevin Fawell, off-trade sales director at Molson Coors. “Hard seltzers and ready-to-drink cocktails can also help to add a sense of occasion to festivities.”

PVM is another supplier encouraging wholesalers to get into

the spirit (no pun intended) of Halloween. Alongside seasonal PoS, the firm is also investing in a series of online activations.

“Teaming up with Craft Factory, PVM will be raising mass awareness of Fruittella through a series of Spooky Sunday videos, encouraging consumers to get involved in seasonal activities such as pumpkin carving and costume creation,” explains Ghag.

Of course, it’s important not to completely write off 2020, and many brands say a year of celebrating at home helped entrench their position as a much-loved feature in millions of Halloween baskets.

“Despite the challenges lockdown brought to last year’s Halloween season, Mondelez International grew its Halloween market share, with the occasion proving itself a valuable season for wholesalers and convenience retailers,” explains Susan

48

p46-49 Halloween.indd RN DPS.indd All Pages 48

17/09/2021 11:58

Nash, the company’s trade communications manager.

“As we move closer to normality, it is important wholesalers take advantage of the full return of the season this year.

“Over Halloween, shoppers will look to embrace returning to the rituals missed during last year’s spooky season, such as buying products for trick-ortreating or for hosting a family Halloween party.

“Wholesalers should stock up on the Mondelez range, including self-eat and sharing products across confectionery and biscuits, to tap into these occasions,” she says.

Like all season opportunities, wholesalers – and retailers – who make the effort with eye-catching displays and building the right range, have a significant opportunity to grow sales.

The only remaining question to answer is: will that be your business?

TAKEAWAY POINTS 1. Cater to the different opportunities – Halloween can easily conjure images of young children knocking on doors and yelling “Trick or treat!”, but the event is about much more than this, suppliers emphasise. From parties, which could see snacks and alcohol sales rise, to hot dogs cooking on the barbecue during a fireworks display, Halloween is a social event for all ages. And even where families decide to stay in, scary film nights are likely to see a rise in big-night-in occasions and sales of confectionery, snacks and other related items. Ensure your depot is ready for each opportunity.

3. Return big brands to your range – The team at Mondelez says that Halloween 2020 did end up providing a strong sales opportunity for many stores as consumers looked for season excitement during a pandemic-affected autumn. It highlights the fact that major brands with seasonal ranges will be in demand whatever the next few months bring, and retailers will therefore want to stock up. And, store owners who remain nervous about the likelihood of trickor-treating and parties being back as normal can be reassured that many Halloween opportunities – such as movie nights – remain Covid-19-proof. l

2. Build a cross-category promo end – Retailers will also need reminding of just how varied the Halloween opportunity has become and, after a year of disruption, this is likely to be truer than ever. A cross-category display will therefore not only add to the excitement of the lead up to the event, it will be an opportunity to drive sell through of hot dog buns and ketchup, crisps and snacks, alcohol and soft drinks alongside a range of Halloween-themed confectionery, too. Many suppliers will be able to help out with scary PoS and sage advice about bringing your Halloween promo end to life.

49

p46-49 Halloween.indd 49

17/09/2021 14:51 11:58 02/09/2021

In the December issue of Better Wholesaling Insight:

Sustainability – how to grow profits by going green; looking after your workforce’s mental health; and promoting a culture of diversity • Everything you need to know on how to run a sustainable wholesale operation • How to become more profitable by undertaking certain sustainable actions • A guide to all of the sustainable investments and practises available to the channel

BWI Forward sell December 2021.indd 50

09/09/2021 16:53

For more information about Better Wholesaling Insight, please contact Simon Joseph on 020 7689 3363 Better Wholesaling Insight: stay informed and get ahead

BWI Forward sell December 2021.indd 51

09/09/2021 16:54

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14/09/2021 15:30