1. Rising shopper confidence is paving the way to a profitable Christmas
2. Chocolate is the biggest area of sales during the holiday season with a growing value of £1.9bn, an YoY increase of +12.4%
3. Boxed chocolates is the most popular type of Christmas confectionery
4. Sugar confectionery sales grew faster than chocolate last year at +15.5% YoY
1. Rising shopper confidence is paving the way to a profitable Christmas
Christmas is the biggest opportunity of the UK retail calendar. A time for treating, trading up and spending on loved ones, a strong Christmas confectionery performance can be the difference between a good year and a great year for independent retailers.
“Christmas is a prime opportunity for retailers to boost sales, with confectionery leading the way as one of the top performers,” says Clare Newton, trade marketing manager at Swizzels. “Retailers should aim to have their Christmas range finalised and in place by early October. This timing allows for optimal stock levels and gives consumers ample opportunity to explore and purchase gifts as they begin their Christmas shopping.
“Starting with a core selection of popular items, they can introduce new products or limited-edition offerings closer to the festive period to keep the range fresh and exciting. Regularly updating displays and promotions throughout November and December can help drive sales and maintain customer interest.”
Christmas success, however, has been tougher to grasp in recent years. Against a backdrop of lockdowns and economic uncertainty, high Christmas spending has been far from a guarantee. However, off the back of a double-digit growth across several areas of the market last Christmas, and gradual increasing consumer confidence throughout 2024, analysts are more optimistic for this year.
“The confectionery category is set to thrive with this boost in consumer confidence and an increase in shoppers looking for indulgent treats and gifting opportunities,” says Andy Mutton, managing director at Storck UK. “Sharing boxes, sweets, and chocolates are considered affordable treats that bring comfort and joy to festive occasions.”
“During Christmas 2023, the confectionery category performed exceptionally well, reaching a value of more than £2.5bn. This represented a year-on-year growth of +12.8% as chocolates and sweets remained popular for the festive period among friends and family. Notably, 98% of UK households purchased confectionery during the holiday season, spending an average of £68 per person.”
Independent retailers are already preparing their ranges. Nishi Patel, who runs Londis Bexley Park in Dartford, Kent, says: “We did our order in June. We have prioritised new products, such as Cadbury Christmas Puds, as an impulse buy. We have also ordered classic impulse lines and boxed chocolates, like Ferrero and Dairy Milk.
“Tubs are also popular, and we order more than 300 every year. They all sell. We are aware of supermarket pricing, which blow us out of the water, but we always sell them through because we have good customer loyalty and our community want to shop with us.”
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2. Chocolate is the biggest area of sales during the holiday season with a growing value of £1.9bn, an YoY increase of +12.4%
No Christmas confectionery range is complete without a broad selection of chocolates covering the different formats required – impulse, sharing bags, gift boxes, blocks and more.
Storck UK’s Andy Mutton says: “The Christmas spirit of sharing and gifting remains popular, especially within chocolate products such as boxed chocolates, limited editions and novelty chocolates, including advent calendars.”
Suppliers are bolstering their seasonal ranges by launching new products and bringing back old favourites. “Cadbury Puds made a triumphant return to shelves in 2021 and are now the number-one SKU in the self-eat segment,” says Susan Nash, trade communications manager for Mondelez. “This year, the Cadbury Puds range is expanding with the launch of new Cadbury Mini Puds, bringing this festive favourite into a bitesize bag format for the first time.”
Cadbury is also expanding its advent calendar range with Cadbury Dairy Milk Creamy Advent Calendar, featuring 24 Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates with a soft creme filling, helping retailers to develop their range through November. “It’s a great option for those looking to trade-up this year and make the countdown ritual even more special,” Nash explains.
Offering a broad range of chocolate treats is pivotal for Vidur Pandya, of Kislingbury Mini Market & Post Office, Northampton. “We focus on gifts and boxed chocolates,” he says. “We tend to only buy two brands – Cadbury and Lindt – and put them on multibuy. We include Cadbury Snow Bites, Christmas Puds and Christmas Tree chocolates in our range, too. We’ll also have little chocolate Santas and candy canes.”
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3. Boxed chocolates is the most popular type of Christmas confectionery
Retailers who are looking to stretch their chocolate category sales even further should focus on boxed chocolates – the most premium end of the market. “Last year, the more premium options sold well, like Lindt,” says Pandya.
Retailers should make sure their boxed chocolate selection taps into a range of price points. “Boxed confectionery is a category within which shoppers are willing to trade up and purchase premium lines. Sales of selection boxes and multi packs have increased due to consumers looking to bring together families and friends and share chocolates,” says Alison Robson, Baileys Chocolate marketing manager.
“Shoppers wish to use the Christmas period as a chance to indulge and enjoy their favourite sweet treats. Baileys Chocolate benefitted from this behaviour as shoppers bought into the brand over Christmas 2023, with a sales growth of +12%.”
Mars Wrigley is also expanding its Christmas range, targeting the impulse segment with M&M’s Crispy Milk Chocolate Santa Treat and innovating in the selection box market with Twix & Friends Christmas Selection.
Laura O’Neill, Christmas & gifting senior brand manager at the company, says: “Chocolate plays an important role during many key seasonal rituals, from small festive gifts to daily delights.”
“Our new launches for Christmas 2024 tap into different shopper needs and will appeal to consumers looking to purchase their favourite brands and products with a seasonal twist. The assortment is presented in festive cardboard packaging and the launch will be supported by a £8m+ media plan.”
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4. Sugar confectionery sales grew faster than chocolate last year at +15.5% YoY
While chocolate is undoubtedly the bulk of confectionery sales, retailers should be cautious not to muscle out sugar confectionery range. The market grew faster than chocolate around Christmas 2023 and is likely to be a hotbed of investment and innovation from brands this year.
Kathryn Hague, head of marketing at Hancocks, said: “Our best-selling confectionery line from Christmas 2023 was our Bonds Milk Chocolate Coins 60g bag but festive-themed pick and mix are a top seller each year around Christmas, too.
“Last year, best-selling pick & mix lines included Kingsway Fizzy Christmas Trees and Cola Reindeers. These can be merchandised as part of a wider pick & mix display or pre-packaged into Christmas bags for the festive season.”
“Sour flavours have been key throughout 2024, and Christmas shows signs of the unseasonal sour flavours being a popular choice.”
Hancock’s is championing its Toxic Waste Christmas range, which includes Toxic Waste Christmas Stocking, Truck, Money Bank, Tower of Sour and its Gift Set.
For Pandya, he finds that sugar confectionery can be less competitive than chocolate. “We avoid chocolate tubs because we can’t compete with supermarkets, but we do stock Haribo and Swizzels tubs, as supermarkets don’t always stock these,” he says.
“Hancocks are a good wholesaler for having a well-rounded range. It offers shoppers a more value-friendly option and we can stock reindeer chocolate or sweets, for example.”
There’s a whole season of opportunities ahead for Christmas 2024 and retailers who start strongly now will reap the benefits and drive sales into 2025.
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