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    Fresher than ever

    Photo: iStock

    Mints and gum are the perfect category for small shops, as demonstrated by the category’s close proximity to the till. Consumers use mints and gums for various reasons, ranging from breath freshening and oral hygiene to an aid to concentration.

    The category took a hit during the pandemic as the mint and gum occasion/fresh breath necessity was curtailed due to people working from home/not sitting in the car in traffic etc, and not socialising. However, as we slowly return to normal, the mints and gum opportunity is set to come roaring back (with fresh breath confidence!).

    The dramatic change in consumer shopping habits over the past two years, with many now looking to shop more locally, has seen the convenience sector continues to be increasingly popular, and independent retailers can gain ground over the multiples in this category due to its highly impulsive nature.

    Levi Boorer, customer development director at Ferrero UK & Ireland, however notes that retailers need to take ‘proactive measures’ as shopper visits to stores have also become more planned and structured following the pandemic.

    “Despite this more functional approach to shopping, there is still an opportunity for retailers to boost the appeal of their sugar confectionery and mint products effectively,” Boorer says.

    “Especially when it comes to impulse, it’s important that retailers are taking proactive measures to ensure their sugar confectionery offering stands out and attracts shopper interest, which can be done through stocking recognisable and trusted brands such as Tic Tac.”

    Fresher than ever
    Photo: iStock

    He adds that mint, fruits and extra-strong mint are the three biggest flavours that consumers are looking for in this category, and the Tic Tac core range – containing Fresh Mint, Lime & Orange, Fruit Adventure, and Cherry Cola Mixers – includes products that suit each of these needs, keeping consumers engaged through a broad flavour profile.

    “Even with the changes seen to store footfall and impulse purchases, the category has remained resilient as consumers have found ways to incorporate their favourites products into at-home treating,” Boorer says, as he recommends retailers to offer the Tic Tac range in a number of pack sizes, and always in a robust, resealable box so that consumers can easily manage their treating without fear of the product spoiling.

    Fruity flavours driving growth

    He also notes that a strong core range helps provide retailers with relevance year-round. “Offering the right core range is key to encouraging shoppers to pick up Tic Tac as part of their planned shop. People typically look for mint and fruit flavours from this sector, which is why we recommend retailers stock a variety of flavours from our Tic Tac range, so they can cater for different shopper tastes,” Boorer says.

    Nick Reade, sales director at Mars Wrigley, also stresses on the need for flavour variety in the category. “Fruity flavours continue to be popular. Research has shown that fruity confectionery shoppers expect variety in flavours and textures,” he comments.

    Through its dynamic innovation programme, Mars Wrigley has launched Extra Refreshers gum early last year, and Reade says the product is adding customers the fruity gum category.

    “Following the addition of Extra Refreshers singles, we continued to innovate the fruity offering through adaption to its formats by adding the gum bottle. Innovation helps bring new consumers to the category and then drives sales. Its popularity is clear with 33 per cent of Refreshers shoppers being new to gum,” he claims.

    Fresher than ever

    Elsewhere at Perfetti Van Melle (PVM) also, fruit flavours are freshening up gum sales as Mentos has started the year on a high, following a strong year of sales for its Mentos Pure Fresh gum range. This in turn is helping to bolster the category following a difficult period during lockdown.

    Growth is being driven primarily by its fruit flavours (Tropical, Cherry and Bubble Fresh) with the latest Kantar data revealing nearly 40 per cent of this increase is incremental – therefore bringing new shoppers in to till fronts and aisles. With nine months of continual sales for its flavourful SKUs, it’s clear that fruit gums offer strong sales opportunities to retailers across all channels.

    PVM said the recovery within the category can also be attributed to consumers returning to commuting. The reasons for consuming mints and gum, such as to help with concentration and freshen the mouth on-the-go, are therefore even more relevant to shoppers.

    “There are 30 million gum chewers in the UK, and we’re seeing an increase in fruit gum frequency driven by the introduction of new teenage and young adult shoppers to the category,” said Kim McMahon, product manager, Mentos UK.

    “Our pioneering Mentos Pure Fresh range has led the fruit gum trend for over seven years, delivering invigorating tastes that consumers love. These flavours are relatively unconventional compared with traditional mint, providing that point of difference and indulgence, whilst the sugar-free aspect targets the health-conscious too. That’s why we’re investing heavily in the range this year – watch this space! Retailers should consider adding Mentos Pure Fresh Cherry, Tropical and Bubble Fresh to their till points to make the most of this demand.”

    Campaigns galore

    Leading brands are also investing in major promotional campaigns to reinvigorate the category. Earlier in January, Mars Wrigley has launched its first global campaign for Extra, ‘Find Your Fresh Look’, supporting the re-brand for all Extra chewing gum.

    The campaign will support the growth of Extra chewing gum by targeting under 25s—a first for the brand. With nearly 50 per cent of gum consumption coming from Gen Z, this campaign aims to increase gum penetration amongst this demographic, increasing segment sales.

    “This is the first global campaign for Extra,” said Sasha Storey, senior brand manager for Extra. “We are excited to be the first market to go live and showcase Extra’s brand new look and feel. This is an exciting new area for Extra to build brand awareness and penetration with the next generation of gum consumers, with nearly 50 per cent of gum consumption coming from Gen Z, we know there is scope to grown gum sales in the UK.”

    Fresher than ever

    Gum is the most profitable grocery category with more than 8.4 billion consumption occasions each year, so growing the consumer base will be key, Storey says, adding that the ‘Find Your Fresh Look’ marks the beginning of a series of campaigns for Mars Wrigley, which aims to reach the next generation of gum consumers and get half of the nation chewing gum by 2025.

    With this in mind, retailers are being supported to improve gum availability in stores with Mars Wrigley’s partnership branded disruptive point of sales and free-standing display units. “46 per cent of consumers reported they will not buy gum if the product they want is not available, and 80 per cent of sales taking place within the transaction zone, so impactful point of sales play an important role in visibility and awareness,” Storey noted.

    The campaign includes UK partnerships with fashion brand ISAWITFIRST and BadHero sunglasses, and there will be a significant multi-channel activity to support this campaign, featuring influencers such as Made in Chelsea’s Sam Thompson, and Love Island’s Shaughna Philips and Olivia Attwood, alongside a social dating show, The Extra Fit, showing on YouTube.

    Extra is also running a UK wide competition in store to ‘Win a New Wardrobe’ with ISAWITFIRST, alongside the opportunity to win a variety of other prizes along the way.

    Meanwhile, Trebor, the leading mint brand from Mondelēz International, has launched a new campaign in March, offering consumers the chance to win £10,000 in cash, as well as hundreds of confidence-boosting prizes.

    The ‘Own It’ campaign will reward winning consumers with prizes that help them own their Style, their Fitness or their Side-Hustle, helping them feel prepared and ready to face whatever stands in front of them. As well as the big £10,000 cash prize, other winners will get the chance to reward themselves with their own personal stylist or private shopping experience, their own personal trainer or nutritionist, or their own business coach or office space, among a host of prizes.

    “We want to give our consumers the confidence and opportunity to take on the world – however they want to do that. The ‘Own It’ campaign is designed to ensure that by buying their favourite mints brand, they are ready to do this,” Nancy Moore, brand manager for Trebor at Mondelēz International, says.

    Trebor invites shoppers to ‘own it’

    To win, shoppers simply need to pick up a Trebor multipack or single pack, enter their contact details and barcode on the pack at Trebor.co.uk and follow the instructions on the site. There they will find out instantly if they’ve won one of the prizes and be entered into the Grand Prize draw for £10,000.

    The promotion runs through the year, supported by a £1.6 million campaign including social, digital and out-of-home advertising, as well as a suite of POS support for retailers.

    “Trebor is the brand leader in the mints category and, as always in an impulse category such as this, ensuring that promotions are as visible as possible to shoppers is key,” Moore says.

    With the mint category in growth, and having the No 1 mint product with Trebor Extra Strong, the brand is a must-stock for retailers, she added.

    Trebor ‘Own It’ comes off the back of the brand’s centenary, as it celebrated 100 years on sale in 2021 with The Big 100 promotion. The campaign saw the brand sharing stories of independent retailers who, like Trebor, were first established in 1921.

    Bebeto, the leading confectionery challenger brand from Kervan Gida UK, has made its TV debut in September last year, promoting its new Gummies range, made with fruit juice and no artificial colours.

    The first ever TV campaign, ‘Everything’s Bebetter with Bebeto!’ has been a core element of Kervan Gida’s – Turkeys’ largest candy producer and exporter – growth plan in the UK, which has seen sales jump 38 per cent in 2021. The significant six-figure investment was part of a nationwide marketing campaign, including out-of-home advertising, PR, social media marketing and consumer sampling.

    “Bebeto is all about enjoying the little things in life and providing moments of happiness for consumers. We’re making a major marketing investment in our vision for the brand, which is to drive it into the worldwide sugar confectionery top five by 2023,” said Stuart Johnston, managing director of Kervan Gida UK.

    The advert highlighted the four-strong Bebetos Gummies 150g sharing bags range, with Fizzy Watermelons, Big Fizzy Mix, Strawberries and Big Mix, which launched in this popular format in April 2021.

    The Bebeto UK range includes Laces, Soft Candy Pencils, Gummies, Marshmallows and Bubble Gum lines and Johnston adds that range developments are an important element of the strategy.

    Fresher than ever

    “In April we launched our new Gummies 150g range, made with fruit juice and no artificial colours. We took our best-selling shapes and flavours, Big Fizzy Mix, Strawberries, Fizzy Watermelons and Big Mix, and mixed, matched and repackaged them in a bigger sharing bag format, in line with the strong growth in sharing bags seen during the pandemic,” he explains.

    Andy Walvin, sales manager at Kervan Gida UK, recently told Asian Trader that the firm will be adding additional share bag-size products to its Gummies 150g range and family sized value-added packs throughout 2022.

    “We will also be reformulating some of our brand favourites with improved recipes which are free of Palm Oil and E171. We will be reducing some of our pack sizes and cartons to lower packaging waste and we will be announcing our biggest launch of seasonal lines across Halloween and Christmas,” he added.

    The brand also has a competitive promotional plan ready for 2022 to offer to trade customers, as well as a fully comprehensive marketing plan.

    “We will be investing in an additional ATL campaign, that includes a repeat push of our 2021 TV advert and out-of-home advertising. We will also promote our brand extensively across digital and social media. For in-store promotion we have several display solutions to assist in keeping our brand at the forefront in retailers’ space and we’re continuing to work on merchandising and stocking suggestions in light of the impending HFSS regulations due to be implemented from October 2022,” Walvin explained.

    Sweet rewards 

    PVM, meanwhile, is focussing on retailers, as they launched a new Loyalty Reward Scheme in September last year in a bid to drive impulse sales of single packs in the convenience market.

    Offering some fantastic prizes, including a mouth-watering £100,000 giveaway, the tailor-made £2m program features a range of stocking and merchandising initiatives to help retailers boost profits and reap other rewards designed with retailers in mind.

    Retailers are encouraged to display PVM’s best sellers on dedicated merchandising racks, for which they will be instantly rewarded through a points-based membership scheme – and the more points they collect, the better their rewards will be. They can gain extra points by stocking additional lines, feature POS signposting or add displays.

    Fresher than ever

    Among the tempting offers to be enjoyed as scheme members are free stock, superior display solutions, expert category advice from PVM’s growing field sales force and the chance to be entered into a draw for gift vouchers worth up to £1,000.

    “We strive to be the world’s most innovative confectionery company, creating imaginative products and engaging brands,” said Nicola Hornsey, senior sales manager at PVM. “We’re bringing these products to life through stand out display fixtures, which help to attract new customers to the category and boost profits. We are excited to be working closely with retailers to offer their customers a genuinely indulgent experience that will satisfy their desires for a sweet treat.

    “Our new Loyalty Reward Scheme is not just a great chance for retailers to win some fantastic prizes, it also gives them the opportunity to reinvigorate their confectionery offering, add some real shopper favourites to their lines and boost their profits.”

    And, for retailers who look to offer a more sustainable range, specialist snacks wholesaler Epicurium has a new brand, Nuud.

    A pioneering plant-based chewing gum that is 100% plastic free, Nuud (RRP £1.89) contains no plastic wrapping and biodegradable packaging. Launched at the end of December, the product has already begun to prove hit with retailers, the wholesaler added.

    New occasions

    During the past two years, consumer habits have continued to evolve, with traditional ways of consuming mints and gum also beginning to change. Although ‘freshening’ remains the primary reason to chew, many new and emerging occasions have also been identified.

    But, key is to take some simple steps in-store to encourage impulse purchases. Permanent displays are of great importance, as 51 per cent of customers only buy gum when it is visible in-store – purchases are overwhelmingly impulse, in other words, and people are “reminded” to buy gum by the sight of it.

    Illuminated displays make a massive difference and they increased sales by between four and 13 per cent in one year when trialled in Germany and Poland. End of shelf/stand LED displays (perhaps rotating different messaging) added 24 per cent to sales, and overall, combined with a strong presence and clear branding, these elements can drive sales by up to +40 per cent!

    Add to those assets new trends and PMPs for soft gum and fruity flavours (again a Gen Z passion) and under current conditions gum sales have the potential to take off.

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