BRANDS VERSUS OWN LABEL

FERHAN Ashiq, who runs Levenhall Village Store in East Lothian, says brands are vital when you have limited space.

“It is all about looking at what your top sellers are and usually most of these are the big brands,” says Ashiq. “Co-op own-label biscuits were good sellers in my larger store, but due to the size of my store now, I stick to the brands. This is the best way for me to make sales.”

Due to the often limited margin in this category, Bay Bashir, of Go Local Extra Belle Vue Convenience in Middlesbrough, also sticks mainly to branded products as this is the best way to make some profit.

However, One Stop Woodcross owner Serge Khunkhun says the rising price of branded products can lead to them being stuck on the shelves. For example, Mr Kipling cakes have significantly increased in price.

“We have been using a lo- cal supplier called Granny’s to supplement our offering and customers like to have a local option,” says Khunkhun.

“Own-label biscuits provide excellent value for money and there isn’t much difference between a branded custard cream or bourbon biscuit and an ownlabel one.”

Khunkhun adds that it has been important to have a ‘cheaper’ option, even before inflation and costs increased.

Recent innovation in the cat-

Hfss And Health

egory includes Nutella Biscuits from Ferrero and the launch of Galaxy Milk Chocolate and Galaxy Orange Digestive Biscuits from Mars. As well as making the category more dynamic, another advantage for retailers who feature new products is that it often comes in on a promotion.

“It is especially helpful when we can offer a new product from a familiar brand at a price of £1.35, rather than £1.99,” says Khunkhun.

ALTHOUGH most convenience stores do not need to implement HFSS legislation due to their size, Bashir says retailers should offer a healthy option regardless of the new rules.

“It is likely this legislation will push healthy snacks more into people’s frame of mind and, due to this trend, we must react accordingly,” says Bashir.

Khunkhun sees the biscuit and cake category as one where people will always be looking for a treat, and he is more likely to feature reformulated products by brands, rather than putting too much time and effort into healthy brands.

Colin Taylor, trade marketing director at Fox’s Burton’s Companies, is expecting to see more HFSS-compliant lines in the future, which may lead to a resurgence in growth for the healthy sweet biscuits category overall.

TOp products

Oreo and Xbox

Mondelez International’s Oreo brand has partnered with Xbox in a unique collaboration that aims to bring shoppers together through playful experience. Six embossed Oreo Xbox Special Edition cookies are available now, and customers can scan the cookies and enter a barcode to reveal exclusive Oreo-themed in-game content across three of Xbox’s top-played games – Halo Infinite, Sea of Theives and Forza Horizon 5. Additionally, thousands of prizes are available, such as Xbox Series S consoles, Xbox Stereo Headsets and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions.

All entries will go into a grand prize draw for the chance to win a family holiday to California. For more range and merchandising advice, retailers can visit snackdisplay.co.uk.

McVitie’s Digestives Wholesense

Launched July 2022

A HFSS-compliant variety of the brand’s McVitie’s Digestives that contain 30% less sugar and 50% more fibre than the average digestives biscuit.