Multi-million-pound C-store biscuits opportunity – Fox’s research

A £5.6m sales opportunity within the "sweet snacking mini biscuits" segment has been identified for convenience stores, following exclusive research by Fox’s Burton’s Companies (FBC UK).

Sweet biscuits accounted for £1.7bn of GB supermarket and convenience sales last year. Within this, minis are the fastest growing segment gaining 17 per cent of volume growth, equating to £59.6m. Some 12.2 per cent of "sweet biscuit" value comes from impulse purchases outside the big supermarkets, but just 2.9 per cent of "mini biscuit" sales are from impulse outlets.

By stocking a broader range of mini biscuits, Fox’s Burton’s Companies research shows an additional £5.6m per year can be generated for convenience retailers by tapping into shopping missions for these products. Outlets should consider stocking a wider range of mini biscuits, such as Party Rings Minis, in store to bolster sales.

Fox’s Burton’s Companies’ Maryland Mini Cookies, Party Rings Minis and Jammie Dodgers Minis drove 79 per cent of mini biscuits growth last year. Broken down, Maryland Minis’ sales grew 24 per cent to £15.7m, with Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate variants both showing double-digit growth. Additionally, Party Rings Minis sales grew by 29 per cent to £7.2m, with a new Party Rings Choc Mini variant now available. Jammie Dodgers Minis also grew sales by 21 per cent, with over £500,000 of the growth attributed to Choccie Dodgers Minis.

“The growth in Minis is one of the big success stories in sweet biscuits over the last year, but so far it has been larger stores that have benefitted the most," said Colin Taylor from FBC UK. "We’d really like to see this change and put these highly convenient, small portion products in front of shoppers in stores that are close to home, where there is a genuine need to support impulse sales and distress purchases. We believe this category can support several million pounds of additional sales to the convenience trade every year.”

Furthermore, almost a quarter of mini biscuit occasions were due to their convenience and being easy to prepare, clean up or enjoy on the go. The number of people consuming mini sweet biscuits in the mornings (e.g. as a mid-morning snack) has also risen in the past 12 months, growing from 15.8 per cent of occasions in 2021 to almost 25 per cent this year.