The growing trend among people to snack throughout the day, coupled with the rise in interest for a broader breadth of snacking products, including fruits nuts and seeds, provides retailers with a major new profit opportunity. Whitworths, the UK’s largest supplier of fruits, nuts and seeds, is urging retailers to capitalise on this by making them more visible in store.
“Consumers are now actively seeking better for you snacking options which also deliver on taste, buying them as both a planned and impulse purchase. Clear signposting and great merchandising helps them to make their choice” says Whitworths Senior Product Group Manager, Esther Laycock-Smith.
Whitworths has completed a major research programme to identify consumer needs, shopping patterns and consumption trends in a bid to develop effective merchandising solutions for the healthier snacking category.
Taste is the key influencer in consumers’ decision-making process. That’s why Whitworths is developing innovative combinations of fruits, nuts and seeds which appeal to the growing number of people who want healthier snack products.
Research findings have also enabled Whitworths to fine-tune its NPD programme and to target its products more effectively. By doing so, Whitworths can now meet all consumer needs through clear segmentation, targeting different markets and occasions such as adult and children’s snacking.
The research has driven a robust launch and support programme for 2009/10 on both existing and exciting new brands.
“The research highlighted that taste and convenience heavily influence consumer shopping patterns. That’s why we’re focusing on new and innovative combinations of fruits, nuts and seeds which appeal to the growing number of people who want nutritious and natural, rather than highly manufactured or processed, foods,” adds Esther Laycock-Smith.
Whitworths will also continue to support its best-selling children’s range, Sunny Raisin, aimed at children wanting a tasty snack and mothers seeking healthier fruit snacks that are full of flavour and natural energy.
In addition to the standard Sunny Raisin variants of 18 x 14g and 6 x 42.5g multipacks, the range consists of three great-tasting, naturally flavoured raisins in blackcurrant, orange and cherry varieties. It also includes yoghurt coated and chocolate coated raisins, to add variety and choice to everyday snacking.
Whitworths
Tel: 01933 653000
Web: http://www.whitworths.co.uk
Comments are closed.