Despite being nearly six decades old, Jammie Dodgers is still a vital brand for biscuit fans.
It has seen huge growth since rebranding in 2020 and grew in value 9.8% last year.
Nearly 1 in 4 households purchased Jammie Dodgers in the last year, with over 500 of the biscuits consumed every minute in the UK.
Simon Browne, CEO of Fox’s Burton’s Companies (FBC) UK, tells Grocery Trader how to make the most of this iconic brand.
What is the value of the UK biscuits market and what trends are driving it?
Sweet Biscuits is in +2.6% growth, delivering +£72m RSV YoY, which is being driven by both the Cereal and Healthier biscuits categories, as well as Special and Everyday Treats, particularly in the last quarter.
The world has endured some tough times recently and we are seeing a “lipstick effect” from consumers trading up to better, more premium propositions; resulting in +£7.3m YoY growth for Special Treats. Yet people continue to seek those small moments of joy, which are becoming more and more important as we head into tougher economic times – resulting in accelerated growth of Everyday Treats, growing +£4.2m in the last 12 weeks.
How is Jammie Dodgers performing?
We might be almost 60 years old, but we’re more relevant than ever to biscuit lovers throughout the UK. After rebranding in 2020, we’ve seen consecutive periods of phenomenal growth and Dodgers is now a £26.4m brand, which represents 9.8% value growth versus last year, well ahead of total everyday treat biscuits.
We truly are one of the most iconic biscuits, with 80% awareness and almost 1 in 4 households purchasing Jammie Dodgers in the last year. On average over 500 Dodgers are consumed every minute in the UK, with more than 36 million packs sold in the last year alone.
Jammie Dodgers is a key brand in the biscuits fixture, over indexing with families versus the rest of the Everyday Treat sub-category and Total Sweet Biscuits. Our new #WitnessTheMischief will further establish our unique personality and family appeal.
What are the key products in your range that retailers should be stocking?
To profit from the continued growth of Jammie Dodgers, retailers should consider stocking our standard and minis formats to meet multiple consumption occasions and shopper needs. Demand for our core raspberry Jammie Dodgers continues to grow, and this should be the halo product for all retailers.
We’ve also seen Jammie Dodger minis grow by 19% versus last year and 34% versus two years ago, as more shoppers are looking for portion controlled and portable snacking options. Our standard mini packs are 87 calories per pack and provide a delicious and effective snacking option for both adults and children, with unique and distinctive inner pack designs.
How is Jammie Dodgers being supported this year?
We have just launched our #WitnessTheMischief campaign which encapsulates the unique character of Jammie Dodgers, designed to disrupt the biscuit fixture, and bring a smile to the faces of shoppers. For a limited time only, our iconic logo will be replaced on-pack by a series of funny and relatable phrases chosen to resonate with families and their moments of mischief. The special edition packs will also feature the campaign hashtag and a QR code, encouraging families to share their own moments on social media.
Featuring across approximately 4 million packs, the campaign will remind the nation’s biscuit lovers that Jammie Dodgers are fun, playful, and mischievous – a treat that doesn’t take itself too seriously. We all know how busy life can be, but this the campaign will look to bring families together by creating mischievous moments of fun and togetherness.
How will the advertising/promotion ban on HFSS products affect the biscuits market?
Biscuits typically feature in most shoppers’ habitual weekly shops, so whilst HFSS will undoubtedly have an impact on impulse sales, we expect footfall down the main aisle will remain largely unaffected.
What will the merger of Burton’s Biscuit Company and Fox’s Biscuits mean for the biscuit category?
The two businesses are uniting to form a new biscuits company in the UK – Fox’s Burton’s Companies (FBC) UK.
This integration brings with it a significant opportunity to further build Fox’s and Burton’s iconic brands through distribution and expansion into new markets and within new category segments leveraging on the strong capabilities across both FBC businesses and the wider Ferrero ecosystem. We are excited about bringing together these two iconic businesses that share the same passion for crafting British biscuits with care, quality and innovation.
What are your plans to integrate the two companies, e.g. will the sales and marketing teams be merged?
As part of the integration, the FBC Leadership Team will be undertaking a strategic review for the new business. Until this is completed, Fox’s and Burton’s businesses will continue to operate separately.
What advice can you provide for retailers to maximise sales?
During these uncertain times, our advice would be to stock well-known brands, prioritising familiarity, flavour and value for money – qualities synonymous with our brands. Double facings of best sellers is also advised to ensure good availability. We are lucky to have some of the nation’s best-loved, iconic biscuit brands in our portfolio, and they are benefiting from shoppers’ and consumers’ increasing desire to give themselves small moments of joy.
Retailers should also ensure they offer biscuit flavours and formats that cover multiple consumption occasions and shopper needs, including favourites shoppers expect to see and new varieties and formats that will pique their interest and add incremental sales.
Comments are closed.