- Ferrero is spreading the festive cheer again this year, with seasonal NPD set to reinforce the all-year-round favourites that are particularly popular amongst shoppers at Christmas
- With a total portfolio-wide investment of £3m (confectionery and spreads), Ferrero’s iconic brands will be unmissable in the lead up to Christmas, with marketing and shopper activity spanning multiple channels including TV.
Ferrero is launching an array of new products across its seasonal product portfolio of novelties, figures and boxed chocolates for Christmas 2020, as part of a total £3m investment (confectionery and spreads).
Levi Boorer, Customer Development Director at Ferrero, comments: “Christmas is always an important point in the calendar for the confectionery industry, presenting a great opportunity for shoppers to enjoy the festive spirit. It’s important therefore that we offer the right products that meet the different shopper missions and needs, and will help retailers to grow their sales during this period.
“A strong core range is key during the Christmas period, as many shoppers love Ferrero products all year round. In addition to the popular established lines, we have been developing a number of new products to offer for Christmas 2020. Innovation is always important in generating excitement in the category, so we believe that the combination of our best-selling all-year-round products with new seasonal launches will help to excite shoppers over the festive period.
“Despite the recent challenges we have all faced, Christmas remains a time for families to celebrate. We’re optimistic that we can still deliver the same levels of emotional engagement in the shopping moment – regardless of how and where the celebrations take place this year. We are continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation, ensuring our festive plans are in tune with the situation”.
Retailers attitudes to Christmas[1]
Ferrero recently commissioned research from KAM media to find what convenience retailers’ attitudes towards Christmas confectionery were, and how they had been impacted by COVID-19.
Levi Boorer commented: “These results are a real insight into how a large proportion of retailers are planning to act this Christmas. We know there is a lot of uncertainty, but what we are seeing is that almost three quarters (71%) are remaining optimistic and believe shoppers will continue to support their local stores by spending the same or more on seasonal products as a result of lockdown. Social distancing has made people sentimental and more appreciative of their loved ones, so we’re expecting to see increased acts of kindness and gifting, as shoppers look to add a bit of joy through moments of generosity.
“The results also showed that many retailers remain undeterred in their planning processes, with 50% of convenience store retailers planning their seasonal confectionery offering 1-2 months in advance of Christmas. It’s therefore even more important that retailers ensure they are stocking a strong core range to appeal to shoppers throughout the autumnal and winter seasonal confectionery trading spikes.
“As stores are still seeing people opting to shop locally, we’re also expecting larger pack formats across a number of categories to continue appealing to shoppers. Interestingly, convenience operators see this continuing into the seasonal period, with almost half (46%) stating they’re going to stock larger, sharing formats than last Christmas. They are also considering the importance of individually-wrapped products, with nearly a third (31%) suggesting they will be stocking more confectionery with individually wrapped items.
“Retailers are also looking to drive incremental sales by offering a greater selection of novelties and selection boxes – sub-categories that have typically been skewed to Grocery – with 40% of retailers looking to stock more of those products this Christmas. With shoppers still set to support their local convenience stores, we’re confident that retailers will continue to work hard to retain these loyal shoppers well into the future.”
Adult seasonal confectionery
Ferrero has a long-established association with the boxed chocolate category at Christmas, with many shoppers associating the Rocher, Collection, Raffaello and Thorntons ranges with celebrations during the festive period. Ferrero Rocher will look to build on its strong performance in the boxed chocolate category, having grown by +2.4%,[2] by launching an updated marketing campaign.
Thorntons Classic also demonstrated exceptional growth of +20% over Christmas last year[3], following the revitalisation of the range and establishing the brand as the number one assortment brand within the classic boxed category at Christmas.[4] This year, Thorntons Classic is introducing new and remastered flavours, with revamped recipes for Nutty Caramel, Tempting Toffee and Creamy Fudge as well as the inclusion of a new Orange Blush option.
Thorntons Continental also had an impressive Christmas 2019, with the Continental Winter Markets box (278g) growing at +216%.[5] The 142g box also performed particularly well, driving +25% growth[6]. Ferrero will help retailers to build on that success by introducing remastered recipes for its Hazelnut Milano and Viennese Deluxe selection.
Spreads
Christmas 2020 will also see new nutella seasonal packaging across its 200g, 400g, 750g & 1kg jars, with new Christmas jumper pack designs ideal for encouraging shoppers to get into the festive spirit. nutella will also be on screens this Christmas, with a new campaign that encourages shoppers to Spread Your Love.
Kids confectionery
“As the number one kids confectionery brand, Kinder is synonymous with Christmas, with our offering of novelties and figures helping to add extra magic throughout the season for shoppers. The kids confectionery category is worth £528m at Christmas[7], so it’s important that retailers stock products that shoppers will be excited to see in-store to pick up for their loved ones,” comments Levi Boorer.
Kinder Surprise will build on the successful performance of its popular 75g Santa figure, which was the number one novelty at Christmas in impulse last year[8]. 2020 will see the addition of new toys in the form of eight festive friends that can all link up to make one big team. A 36g version will include models of Santa, a penguin, a snowman and a Bear.
Kinder Surprise will return this Christmas with a new exciting range of festive toys as part of the Kinder Surprise 100g Egg. Using Kinder’s long heritage of stimulating consumers’ imaginations through play, the toys in the new ‘Reindeers in Lunapark’ range have bespoke parts that allow the toys to spin, twist and move. The larger Kinder Surprise 220g egg will also be updated with two new toy ranges. Shoppers can either receive Magical Enchantress or Jungle Trucks toys, both of which ensure great playability and a larger sized toy.
Kinder Chocolate will also launch two new additions to the popular fluffy toy novelties range from Christmas 2019, with the addition of Squirrel and Sloth toys. The new figures will sit alongside the returning Reindeer and Polar Bear options from Kinder that proved popular with shoppers in the past. Kinder Chocolate will also add a new 55g and 110g hollow Santa figure, that consists of a fine milk chocolate and milky white lining in a distinctive seasonal shape to make the perfect stocking filler.
Calendars
The advent calendar category, worth £41.1m,[9] is a key sector for retailers to drive sales in the build up to Christmas.
Kinder will be refreshing the look of its 135g advent calendar and, following the strong launch of the Ferrero Collection Advent Calendar in 2019, Ferrero will be introducing an additional new façade design to the range. The Collection advent calendar is set apart from other calendars on account of its unique opening and premium range of Ferrero Rocher, Raffaello and Rondnoir products within.
Kinder
Kinder Surprise 100g Egg – RRP £6.35
Kinder Surprise 220g Egg – RRP £12.00
Kinder 36g Figure RRP – £1.89
Kinder 75g Santa – RRP £3.03
Kinder 55g Santa – RRP £1.50
Kinder 110g Santa – RRP £2.50
Kinder Fluffy Toy range (Sloth) 73g – RRP £7.51
Kinder Fluffy Toy range (Squirrel) 73g – RRP £7.51
Kinder Advent Calendar (135g) – RRP £5.65
[1] KAM Media – 250 symbol and independent retailer respondent
[2] Nielsen; Total market 18 weeks to 04.01.2020; 18W Christmas Boxed Chocolate Product Range Rocher
[3] Nielsen; Boxed Chocolate; Total Coverage; 18 weeks to 4th January 2020 (Value % change YA)
[4] Nielsen; Classic Boxed Nielsen Database, Full S1 (18 weeks @4.1.20)
[5] Boxed Nielsen Database full S1 @4.1.20, Tot Groceries
[6] Boxed Nielsen Database full S1 @4.1.20, Tot Groceries
[7] Nielsen; Total Market 18 weeks to 04.01.2020
[8] IRI Marketplace; Symbols and Independents; Christmas Confectionery; 18 weeks to 29th December 2019.
[9] Nielsen: Christmas Confectionery, 18 weeks to 04.01.20
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