In focus | Crack Squad: Filled and mini eggs

This year, Easter Sunday does not fall until 9 April, but the first tell-tale signs of the new season begin to appear in stores as soon as the Christmas decorations come down, if not earlier. These are, of course, filled and mini eggs, which are typically purchased by consumers as a small treat to lift their spirits during what can be a bleak couple of months.

Chief among these so-called ‘self-treat’ items is the Cadbury Creme Egg, and manufacturer Mondelēz International advises independent retailers to get off to a quick start to the season by stocking them early.

“The ‘fast start’ phase focuses on shoppers looking for small treats for themselves and typically runs from January until Valentine’s Day,” says Lyndsey Homer, brand manager for Cadbury Creme Egg at Mondelēz International.

Her top tip for retailers is to order sufficient stock of seasonal self-eat and sharing favourites from well-loved brands, and to use POS to highlight products and optimise incremental sales.

Retailer views
But how do independent retailers approach the period? What are their best sellers and how do they merchandise these products? We spoke to some of the UK’s top operators to canvass their views:

Kay Patel, Best-one, Stratford, East London

“We start stocking products like mini eggs and filled eggs as soon as they are listed, so by late November they are already in our store and selling out. Products such as Cadbury Creme Eggs and Cadbury Mini Eggs always sell out when they first arrive in-store, because our customers haven’t seen them for a few months.

“We start by putting them at the till to grab shoppers’ attention, but as the season goes on they are positioned where customers queue and then at our gondola ends.

“These days, there are a range of other brands and options, but they never perform as well as the Cadbury products. The best performers outside of Cadbury are probably Nestlé Smarties and Milkybar filled eggs. Nestlé also usually tries to launch something like an orange-flavoured egg, but in my experience that is always the one left over after Easter.

“Last year, we had Cadbury Mini Eggs available on a deal of two bags for £1.50 and it’s not too long ago that we had Creme Eggs at three for £1.20.

“With prices rising, I’m not sure which promotions will be running this year and I’m concerned that these items will soon not be seen as an ‘affordable luxury’ by a lot of customers.”

Julie Kaur Duhra, Jule’s Convenience Store, Telford, Shropshire

“We’ve had Kit Kat Bunnies and MaltEaster Bunnies in-store since late November, along with Cadbury Creme Eggs, Cadbury Mini Eggs and the Mini Egg bars. They perform very differently, however, and while will be lucky to sell through a case of a lot of lines, the Cadbury products sold out immediately. In fact, I’m selling a bag of Mini Eggs during this conversation, as it happens.

“Christmas is a really good time to start selling these products, because people are looking for a treat for now, rather than the boxes of chocolates that are bought now but tend to be opened closer to Christmas Day.

“I’m pretty confident we will continue to sell these products for the months ahead – five months if we go right up to Easter – and because they’re an impulse item, people will continue to treat themselves even when times are tough. It’s the same with the smaller kids-themed shell eggs. Parents will buy them for their children, whereas the larger eggs only really sell at the last minute.

“Our store has a dump bin for our Cadbury Mini Eggs and Creme Eggs, as well as a counter-top display, which also helps to boost sales.”

Samantha Coldbeck, Premier Wharfedale, Hull

“We’ve had Cadbury Creme Eggs and Cadbury Mini Eggs in-store since mid-November and, to be honest, I’ve stopped seeing these as Easter lines. They’re just products our customers like to see back in-store after six months or so away. This year, we’re selling Creme Eggs on a promotion of two for £1.10, compared with £1 for two last year.

“In terms of the rest of our Easter range, we start putting this stuff out after Valentine’s Day. Our store is quite old-fashioned in some ways and we have retained having four promotional ends. One of these is always given over to seasonal products.

“The Easter eggs that we stock this year will be very much dictated by the promotions that are on offer.

“I’m yet to see any new products from other suppliers that are exciting or look like disrupting the market. Of the rest of the products which are available, MaltEaster Bunnies are one of the other big sellers, but nothing can really compare to Cadbury Creme Eggs. This is a product that people remember from when they were little and they want to pass that experience on to their children or grandchildren. Nothing can really compete with that.”

Sarj Patel, Pasture Lane Stores, Sutton Bonington, Nottinghamshire

“We work with Cadbury and ordered our first Creme Eggs and Mini Eggs in late November,” says retailer Sarj Patel, wo runs Pasture Lane Stores in the Nottinghamshire village of Sutton Bonnington.

“Some customers moan that we are stocking them so early, but they are the same ones who end up buying them – we sold 10 cases in the first week of stocking them this year.

“One of the benefits of stocking these products so early is that we will actually sell more products now compared to immediately after Christmas when customers tend to cut back on chocolate as they try and eat more healthily in January.

“Other products don’t sell nearly as well as the Cadbury ones, but we do sell a Kit Kat egg and some from Mars. The MaltEaster Bunnies sell well, but we stock them much later in the season.

“We’ve also heard that Cadbury is due to launch a white Creme Egg early next year, which will definitely be a big seller for us.

“As part of the deal we have done with the Cadbury team, we have installed dump-bins for both Creme Eggs and Mini Eggs in-store, which has definitely driven additional sales.

“We have also found that it doesn’t impact on our Christmas sales, as our customers are just excited to see these products come back on sale.”

Avtar Sidhu, St John’s Budgens, Kenilworth, Warwickshire

“We have always stocked Cadbury Mini Eggs and Cadbury Creme Eggs from the start of December and this year we have the Mini Egg bars as well. Orders for these first went in around June, so it is part of our year-long plan for the category.

“We are currently selling the bars and the bags at £1.25 and Creme Eggs at 69p.

“Right now, they don’t need a deal or particular price dynamic to sell, because they have the novelty. But we will put them on promotion in January when sales start to slow down.

“This is also when we start to bring in products from other firms such as Nestlé and Mars. Up until this point, our plan is really to sell through all of the Christmas products we have in-store first.

“With Christmas approaching, I expect that people will enjoy the first festive period without restrictions for three years and it won’t be too affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

“Unfortunately, when we get to Easter, people will have had to pay their energy bills and I think it will be a lot harder. I’m hoping filled eggs and mini eggs will be OK, because they are impulse items. But sales of larger shell eggs could struggle this year.”

Cadbury Creme Egg campaign

Lyndsey Homer, brand manager, Mondelēz International

Mondelez International is working hard to make sure its key Easter brand retains its top spot in 2023. Once again, shoppers will be on the lookout for a half-milk chocolate, half-white chocolate Cadbury Creme Egg that could win them up to £10,000 in the run-up to Easter. If a winning egg is found in a retailer’s store, meanwhile, Amazon vouchers worth up to £1,000 will be available to “help them celebrate the season”.

“We were absolutely blown away by the response to our ‘How Do You Not Eat Yours?’ campaign last year,” says Lyndsey Homer, brand manager for Cadbury Creme Egg. “Our fans rose to the challenge of resisting the temptation of these delicious half-and-half Creme Eggs to win their prizes. To those who couldn’t resist – don’t worry – we’re giving you a second chance around this coming Easter.”

Further developments this year include the launch of Cadbury White Creme Egg (see Product News, page 18). “White chocolate is growing fast in the category, so in combination with the number one Easter brand, this is set to be a truly incremental new product,” says Homer.

Also new to the market are bags of Cadbury Dairy Milk Orange – mini milk chocolate eggs with an orange centre.