Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
In 2020, many families had to cancel their plans due to social distancing rules restricting parties and trick-or-treating. Adrian Troy, marketing director at Barr Soft Drinks, says that one in three people celebrated Halloween pre-Covid, but last year seven out of 10 did not take part at all.
While at the time of writing there are virtually no legal restrictions in place, as we head into the colder months there are fears some curbs could be re-introduced.
Russell Tanner, marketing and category director at Valeo Snack Foods, owner of confectionery brand Barratt, says that while it is impossible to know what restrictions will look like at Halloween, he expects many people will go all-out with their celebrations, given last year’s “muted festivities”.
Sweet treats
Jas Ghag, senior category and insights executive at Perfetti Van Melle, seconds this and says trick-or-treating is firmly back on the agenda. In fact, 58% of shoppers with children under the age of 12 are looking to take part and 61% will buy treats to make sure they are ready. Ghag says this represents a strong sales opportunity for the 90% of retailers planning to actively engage with Halloween in their stores.
Confectionery is the most important category at Halloween and, despite the pandemic, in 2020 the period still saw an additional £11.6m in confectionery sales compared with the previous eight weeks.
Research from Perfetti Van Melle also shows more than one-third of retailers are planning to give more space to Halloween confectionery this year, while 90% will have a themed range in store. One thing to take into consideration when stocking confectionery for Halloween is hygiene.
Research from Perfetti Van Melle has found 67% shoppers are concerned about cleanliness and hygiene and 58% want to see a wider range of wrapped sweets available. Claire James, trade marketing manager at Haribo, says individually wrapped products provide protection and appeal to shoppers sticking to strict hygiene measures, while also supporting portion control.
Shopper appeal
Mark Walker, sales director at Swizzels, says the brand’s Trick or Sweet bag is a must-stock for retailers to “satisfy demand among shoppers seeking variety”. The bags contain a mix of wrapped confectionery, including Double Lollies, Parma Violets, Refresher Bars and Love Hearts, as well as Sour Apple Refreshers chew bars. The Halloween themed packaging makes for a “great eye-catching treat” to hand out at parties and to trick-or-treaters.
However, retailers should give equal weight to both themed and all-year-round packs, as non-seasonal packaging means they can continue to sell surplus stock after the event.
The Swizzels variety range, which includesLoadsa, Bumper Bags, Lots of Lollies and Chew Chew packs, is being featured prominently in an on-pack marketing campaign offering shoppers the chance to win a VIP tour of the Swizzels factory by finding one of five golden Love Hearts rolls hidden in promotional packs.
Another non-seasonal product from Swizzels that the company claims is “perfect for selling over the Halloween period and beyond” is the Sweet Shop Favourites Tub, which features a selection of individually wrapped Squashies, Love Hearts and Refreshers.
Party bags
New for Halloween from the Barratt brand are Big Mix and Fun Mix bags in all-year-round packaging. The Barratt Big Mix Party Bag (1kg, £5) contains a mix of 100 Barratt sweets, including Wham, Fruit Salad and Black Jack chews, Dip Dab lollies, Refreshers and mini bags of Shrimps and Bananas, Dolly Mix and Strawberry Milkshakes.
Barratt Fun Mix (400g, £2) contains an assortment of Wham, Fruit Salad and Black Jack chews, Dip Dab lollies and Refreshers. The Barratt brand will also be bringing back its 630g Retro Tub (retailing at £3.50), which includes a mix of Wham, Fruit Salad and Black Jack chews, Refreshers, Dip Dabs, Shrimps and Bananas, Dolly Mix and Anglo Bubbly.
Sharing formats
The “more to share” confectionery format remained in growth last year, up 43% on the previous year and continuing to provide a “staple” for Halloween celebrations, says Victoria Gell, fruit confectionery brand director at Mars Wrigley. Tins and tubs also grew sales, with the Celebrations 650g tub remaining the number one product for Halloween from 2018 to 2020.
Many consumers also like to buy a mix of chocolate and sugar confectionery and Mars held the largest share of Halloween fun-sized chocolate confectionery sales in 2020 (28%).
Gell says: “We know fun-sized products are a relevant format during Halloween due to their shareability, which saw the format generate £27m in value sales last season alone.” She says Mars Wrigley UK has six of the top 10 fun-size lines across brands including Mars, Skittles, Maltesers, Twix and Milky Way, as well as fun-sized variety packs.
Party essentials
The trend for sharing treats also encompasses savoury snacking. Matt Collins, trading director at KP Snacks, says the sharing segment is the largest within crisps and snacks and is growing at a rate of 7%. However, the past 18 months have put many consumers in financial difficulty, so Collins advises retailers to stock sharing snacks in PMPs.
Troy at Barr Soft Drinks says retailers can also generate sales from soft drinks at Halloween, as it is one of the biggest profit-drivers during the period next to confectionery. He says: “One in three shoppers buy soft drinks at Halloween, so this is a key category focus for retailers.”
Larger take-home packs are ideal for parties, he advises, while smaller formats can be handed out to trick-or-treaters alongside confectionery. Barr’s Irn-Bru brand is an all-year-round must-stock, says Troy, but is particularly popular during seasonal events and celebrations.
He says: “Bigger pack formats are key here and we would encourage retailers to stock both Original and Xtra variants in two-litre, especially throughout autumn and winter.”
By Éilis Cronin, Content Editor
