As the school year draws to a close, parents are considering ways to thank their children’s teachers for all their hard work throughout the term. In recent years, this has become a popular gifting occasion, as students are increasingly looking to thank teachers for their hard works throughout the year, and a timely opportunity for independents to increase biscuit sales in summer.
Food gifts are a popular choice due to their affordability as a gifting option, with 81% of people reporting buying a food or drink gift.1 Sweet biscuits are well placed to capture a share of this gifting spend, sitting within a UK gifting market worth £9.4 billion2, and offering well-loved gifting options at the price points shoppers want.
Jo Harwood, Chief Sales and Trade Marketing Officer at Fox’s Burton’s Companies (FBC), shares top tips for independent retailers looking to make the most of the end-of-term rush.
Provide quality over quantity for parents who don’t want to just ‘add to the pile’
Teachers are showered with gifts at the end of term, and a great many of them are boxes of sweets and chocolates. Parents understand that teachers receive multiple gifts and seek to stand out by gifting something that’s more premium and memorable, rather than a larger box, which ends up half eaten or even re-gifted.
This is reflected by the fact that premium biscuits are among the fastest-growing categories in convenience, now worth £46.2M, growing at +14% YoY.3 Smaller packs of the most premium tier treats, such as our Thomas Fudges Florentines, serve this occasion well, so shoppers don’t need to spend big on huge amounts of treats. Retailers should consider this, ensuring they offer shoppers a mix of pack sizes in gifting sections and deals.
Consider sharing formats for the staffroom
When a parent is looking to thank multiple teaching staff at once, the gift needs to work for a group but still feel suitably premium for the occasion. Assortments are built for exactly this, offering a premium-feel format designed to be opened and shared.
Earlier this year, we made our Fox’s Cookies Assortment available year-round, following standout 29.7% year-on-year growth over the 2025 festive season,4 to give retailers an indulgent and high-quality gifting option at an accessible price point. The key for retailers here is to stock a strong variety of premium treats for the occasion, considering both larger assortments and smaller individual gifting options.
Give shoppers an alternative to chocolate
Chocolate remains the most popular teacher gift5, which also makes it the most duplicated, and, in the height of summer, might not be the ideal format to sit in a staffroom all day long, given the inevitably warm temperatures. Parents may therefore be on the lookout for non-chocolate alternatives. Premium butter biscuits can serve this need, standing out among the chocolate boxes and holding up in the heat.
Our Royal Dansk 26% butter cookies provide a ready-made alternative, carrying the added appeal of the iconic blue tin that is kept and reused long after the biscuits have gone.
Again, the key for retailers is to give shoppers as much range as possible, so shoppers looking for sweet options outside of the traditional boxes of chocolate have a suitable choice of non-chocolate alternatives to choose from.
Merchandise for impulse and basket-stretch
Much of the teacher-gift spend is decided in-store and at the last minute, so merchandising has a huge role to play in influencing decisions. Placing biscuits alongside cards, flowers, and other end-of-term buys turns a single item into a complete gift and can earn a retailer incremental sales increases.
The end-of-term window is tight, with shoppers buying in a concentrated burst over the final couple of weeks of term. Independents that get their range in early will capture that spend before it drifts elsewhere. A dedicated, well-presented display with clear “Thank you, Teacher” signage is far more effective than a few packs lost in the core biscuit feature, giving busy parents an obvious, ready-made answer the moment they walk through the door.
For independents who time their ranges right, teacher gifting can be an occasion that keeps on driving sales over several weeks, as students finish term, different exams and attend end of year events.
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