1. Easter 2024 saw chocolate confectionery volume sales soar 13.5%
2. Little and often could be key for Easter 2025
3. Self-eat value sales rose 5.9% last Easter
4. Extra Large Eggs are the fastest growing Mars Wrigley egg format – with a 39% unit increase
5. Easter’s not just about sweets and chocs
1. Easter 2024 saw chocolate confectionery volume sales soar 13.5%
Last Spring was a cracking season for chocolate confectionery sales.
Both value and unit growth outperformed FMCG and confectionery at 13.5% and 2.4% respectively for Easter alone [NielsenIQ Scantrack. Total Easter, E24 13w we 30.03.24, E23 14w we 08.04.23]. Plus, stores also saw a 14% uplift in trip spend and a 6% surge in total visits [KANTAR WPO Packaged Snacking, 13we 31 March 24 vs 14w/e 9 April 23].
Not bad considering that consumers were in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.
But though these numbers should have operators anticipating another bumper April, some canny c-store retailers are being careful not to count their chickens before they’ve hatched.
As the extended economic gloom and doom threatens to overshadow the holiday, they’ve decided to cut back on Easter this year.
“Over the years Easter has been a good season for us,” says Nishi Patel, owner of Londis Bexley Park.
“But I think this year, what with the product sizes changing and the price increases, we’ve cut back on presale [chocolate]. The year before last we had quite a lot left over and had to do reductions.
“To be honest, I’m not sure how Easter’s going to go this year.”
2. Little and often could be key for Easter 2025
So, with consumer spending still constrained by inflation, how can retailers spring forward for 2025?
The key could be starting early and focusing on cheaper, more compact products. Especially since the occasion occurs right at the end of most school breaks, giving retailers an extra-long run-up to the Bank Holiday.
“Because we’ve got a longer season of Easter in 2025, we’re expecting this to result in an increase in units sold, especially in impulse and lower value items,” says Kathryn Hague, head of marketing at Hancocks and World of Sweets.
“Unlike shorter shopping windows, Easter will see a gradual buildup, so it’s essential to keep core £1-2 and £3-4 price points to appeal to shoppers and make sure you’re fully stocked for the whole Easter season – as most of the spending comes towards the end.”
Over at Bassett’s Londis Weymouth, Hazel Ridge always makes sure she hops to it and builds early availability. Hazel believes that as soon as Christmas is over it’s time to get Easter treats up and working hard on the shelves.
“We’ve had Crème Eggs out on Boxing Day before,” she says.
“Literally whatever time of year they come in we get them straight out. With products like Crème Eggs and Mini Eggs people always get excited. They say ‘I can’t believe you’re selling these, we haven’t had Valentine’s Day yet.’”
“But they’ll be saying it at the same time they’re buying them.”
As the holiday approaches Hazel makes sure that her queuing system and tills are absolutely packed with mini eggs and the like to encourage all-important impulse purchases.
“You walk in and it’s like Easter has hit you right in the face!” she says.
“People don’t come to us as a destination for Easter chocolate. But if they see it’s there they’ll pick something up.”
It’s a strategy that chimes with advice from Clare Newton, trade marketing manager at Swizzels.
“Convenience retailers can appeal to those shopping early by placing smaller, more affordable items by the till to encourage shoppers to make an impulse purchase,” she says.
“The use of eye-catching seasonal displays, special early bird or limited time deals and stocking new, exciting Easter products can also help to attract customers who weren’t yet planning to make a start on their Easter shopping.”
3. Self-eat value sales rose 5.9% last Easter
With Easter now out on the shelves early it’s no surprise that self-eat and small-sharing packs are the big category winners, since both offer early-season treating moments in c-stores.
Small-sharing in particular is soaring – making it the fastest-growing portion of the chocolate confectionery category.
Mars Wrigley has targeted both segments with its M&M’s Crispy Bunny and Malteasers Popcorn Bunny NPD, alongside M&M’s Choco Mini Eggs and Galaxy Minstrels Mini Eggs.
Both Nishi and Hazel say they’ve gone big on anything mini-egg related for 2025. They also hat-tip the new Jelly-Tastic Mini Egg Chocolate Bar as a winner.
“It’s the classics that sell but there’s always room for something new,” says Hazel.
“The Jelly-Tastic bar is doing well because the packaging is really nice and they look eye-catching. The Terry’s Chocolate Orange single eggs are doing good too.”
Adding a limited-edition twist to an existing product is now an Easter tradition for brands. And new for 2025 are Drumstick Squashies, upgraded to look like Easter Chicks for a seasonal slant.
“There is always demand at Easter for new, innovative products within both chocolate and sugar confectionery, so retailers should stock up on limited-edition items, with standout packaging, and keep an eye on what’s trending to make sure they’re ahead of the game,” says Newton.
For Hague this means new Chick N Mix Candy Cup is joining the Bonds’ range of top-selling cups. Plus, PAWPatrol and Spongebob Squarepants Candy Containers are also joining its selection of novelty treats this year.
“The products come with a sweet treat, sticker and cable accessory,” she says.
“The low price point of £1 makes them the perfect budget-friendly Easter treat for younger customers.”
4. Extra Large Eggs are the fastest growing Mars Wrigley egg format – with a 39% unit increase
Come Easter morning, most children will eggspect to find at least one large-sized egg from the Easter bunny. Yet as Nishi says, with shrinkflation rife shoppers might be put off buying bigger eggs (especially if they seem smaller than last year’s medium-sized offerings).
They’re also not a natural choice for c-stores that are already starved of space.
Despite all this, Hazel is a fan. She stacks the larger eggs on the top of fridges and flows them down onto the shop floor as April nears as part of her strategy to effectively signpost the occasion.
“We’re always able to sell them,” she says.
“Even if they don’t go on the day then they’ll definitely go the day after.”
To make sure they’ll all gone she also reserves a bay-end for promos and to create even more Easter impact.
5. Easter’s not just about sweets and chocs
Despite what many choc-crazed kids might think, Easter isn’t just about the eggs. The move towards getting social after winter means there’s plenty of opportunity to maximise food, booze – and even flowers.
“We go quite heavy on the flowers over Easter weekend and get around 100 bunches in because people often go and visit family,” says Nishi.
“Customers like a drink as well, so we make sure we have alcohol offers in the store.”
Traditionally this means wine – but the trend for RTD alcohol could also provide a sales boost.
“Our Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola ready to drink (RTD) range – which includes variants with and without sugar – has generated over £55m worth of sales [Nielsen Totatl Coverage RTD Value March 2023 to 05.10.24] since it launched, and is a great option for Easter get togethers, offering hosts a convenient way to deliver a perfect serve every time, without the need for time-consuming mixing and preparation,” says Kate Abbotson, senior external communications manager, GB at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP).
“We’ve also announced the launch of price-marked packs (PMPs) for our Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola alcohol ready-to-drink range to help convenience retailers provide visible value to shoppers and drive sales.”
And don’t forget the crisps. KP Snacks is positioning Tyrells as the perfect pairing with a variety of wines and ciders.
“Tyrrells crisps are growing +11.8% in the Sharing segment [Nielsen IQ,Total Coverage, Total Value, MAT 30.11.24] and +13.4% in the Premium category [Nielsen IQ,Total Coverage, Total Value, MAT 30.11.24], making Tyrrells 150g Sharing bags are key products to stock as consumers look to trade up to premium snacks this Easter,” says Stuart Graham, head of convenience and impulse at KP Snacks.
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