Creep it real this spookfest by taking note of all the latest ghostly goings on
1. Halloween conjured £462m for retailers in 2021
2. Nearly a quarter (23%) of retailers say they plan to focus more on Halloween this year
3. Almost one in five customers start planning Halloween a month early
4. Soft drinks are growing faster than traditional Halloween faves
5. Pumpkins are a plastic-free way to boost profits
6. Don’t ignore Gen Z and millennials at Halloween
7. HFSS won’t be a nightmare for most c-stores this Halloween
1. Halloween conjured £462 million for retailers in 2021
Kantar
If 2021 is anything to go by, c-store retailers have more than the ghost of a chance for a happy Halloween. Amy Burgess, senior trade communications manager at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), points out that spooky season sales have grown year after year. “The Halloween period contributed a whopping £462m for retailers in 2021 [Kantar],” she says. “This meant a fourth consecutive year of value sales growth for one of the most important retail events in GB.”
The hope is that, despite cost-of-living worries, this year will mark the fifth. And, as Claire Hooper, marketing director of Calbee UK explains, the signs look good.
“In recent years, there has been a lot of uncertainty around the guising tradition in Scotland due to the Covid-19 pandemic with many people wary of going door-to-door,” he says. “Larger organised events have also been cancelled due to the pandemic, but as school events, festivals and wider celebrations have returned, hopefully Halloween will be back in full swing in communities this year and retailers should be fully prepared for the rush.”
2. Nearly a quarter (23%) of retailers say they plan to focus more on Halloween this year
Perfetti Van Melle/ Kam Media
With lockdown (hopefully) off the agenda for 2022, retailers are pulling out all the stops to make the occasion a success. Enya McAteer, from Mulkerns Spar Jonesborough, says that it’s a chance to bring the community together – especially kids and parents.
“Halloween is big for us, and as we’re a community store, we tend to attract the younger kids and their parents,” she says.
Naturally, novelty food is a huge part of her Halloween offer – and she goes the extra mile to invest in spooky and original sweet treats. “We have our own toffee and chocolate apples [pictured], which people love,” she says. “Halloween ice cream is also good for us. The supplier who does our gelato will do a couple of flavours with things like eyeballs and spiders. We try our best – and it works well.”
3. Almost one in five customers start planning Halloween a month early
Perfetti Van Melle/ Kam Media
It makes sense for stores to concentrate on last-minute impulse sales for Halloween. Yet, Lauren Potter, Fruittella brand manager at Perfetti Van Melle, says that stocking up early might be smart too. “[Our] research shows nearly two thirds of retailers (60%) give themselves less than a month to prepare their stores for Halloween,” she says.
“With nearly one in five customers having already started planning their own Halloween by then, it’s worth retailers being ‘Halloween ready’ at least six weeks before October 31st. And with almost a third (30%) of shoppers planning to shop for themed lines up to a month prior, Perfetti Van Melle recommends ordering stock and POS as early as possible.”
Mark Walker, sales director at Swizzels, agrees. “Since Halloween is the beginning of a number of seasonal events towards the latter end of the year, it’s better to be organised with your displays sooner rather than later,” he says. “With Halloween comes seasonal ranges of popular sweets. Customers will be on the lookout for any opportunities to stock up on these to fit in with themed parties and trick or treats, so they are sure to be in high demand.”
Enya always makes sure she’s well-stocked – with an eye on selling out before the clock strikes midnight on Halloween. “I don’t want stocks hanging around,” she says. “So we have multipacks of Halloween sweets, like Haribo, in the middle of the store. But when they’re gone I don’t generally order loads more. That’s because once Halloween sweets are gone people move on to the big bags of sweets we have in stock anyway.
I always think: ‘Let’s get Halloween done and then move on to Christmas!”
For those branded Halloween choices Haribo is launching new lines Sour Skeletons and Monsters Z!ng for 2022. “Newness, excitement and novelty play a leading role in our range this year,” says Catherine Johnson, customer marketing controller at Haribo. “But, shoppers are also promised popular Haribo and MAOAM products in formats that support the occasion – wrapped sweets and bags to share for self-treating, Halloween parties and trick or treating.”
4. Soft drinks are growing faster than traditional Halloween faves
“Soft drinks and the spookiest night of the year go hand in hand, with GB soft drinks value growth up £69m year-on-year during Halloween 2021 [Nielsen],” says Burgess.
“This makes soft drinks one of the fastest-growing categories at Halloween, ahead of traditional seasonal favourites such as baked goods, sugar confectionary and chocolate.”
Meanwhile, shoppers who enjoyed Fanta’s 2021 ghoulish on-pack graphics are in for a treat. The brand is resurrecting them across formats this year, including 330ml cans and 2L PET (plain and PMP), alongside a promotion with a £50,000 prize pool.
5. Pumpkins are a plastic-free way to boost profits
Thanks to social media, many households are looking to up their game over Halloween with some distinctive pumpkin carving. That can often mean a last-minute dash to their local store to pick up raw materials.
“We go big on pumpkins,” says Richard Inglis, owner of several stores in Southampton. “They look cool in the stores and our customers really love it. For example, our local students do pumpkin carving competitions – so they’ll come in and get a pumpkin and a couple of bottles of vodka. It’s a strange time of year!”
Richard says that wastage can be a problem – since stock can go rotten quite quickly. But he adds that, with more people cutting back on plastic, it can be a more sustainable Halloween choice than novelty fangs and the like.
Meanwhile, Enya’s pumpkins offer a photo, as well as sales, opportunity. “We do a pumpkin patch outside the shop,” she says. “I’ve invested in hay bales and fake autumn leaves – and we have Halloween lights and a blackboard with the prices on. It looks spooky and cool! The little ones love to pick pumpkins and get a wee photograph.”
6. Don’t ignore Gen Z and millennials at Halloween
Halloween isn’t just for kids. Social media-addicted Gen Z and millennials need no excuse to dress up and pose, and spooky season is the perfect opportunity.
“Gen Z and millennials are key audiences to consider when thinking about a Halloween range, with the occasion being popular amongst 55% of millennials [YouGov], and retailers should consider how they can engage this younger adult demographic,” says Nichola Randall, head of marketing at Brothers Drinks Co.
“Cider tends to be popular amongst Gen Z and millennials, and this is driven by fruit cider in particular, with 45% of those who consume fruit cider being under 35 [Westons]. Our audience is made up of Gen Z and millennials at Brothers, and we know they have an appetite for exciting and innovative flavours.”
Randall says this makes its Toffee Apple variant a keen stock for parties, describing it as “the ultimate Halloween drink”.
7. HFSS won’t be a nightmare for most c-stores this Halloween
Most retailers won’t be facing any sleepless autumn nights over the upcoming HFSS regulations. That’s because they’ll only impact stores bigger than 2,000 sq ft and/or with 50 staff members or more.
Affected retailers will always stay within the law. But Perfetti Van Melle research suggests that HFSS won’t change most Halloween merchandising choices.
“One in three retailers intends to give Halloween confectionery two metres or more space in store,” says Potter. “And one in ten plan to allocate more than four metres. HFSS compliant confectionery will get much less space, with 37% saying they’ll give it half a metre or less.”
Bebeto is confident that Halloween sweets will remain a popular choice, regardless of the restrictions. “After many consumers missed out on trick or treating in 2020 and 2021, Halloween 2022 is set to be bigger than ever,” says Kirvan Gida UK senior brand manager Gabriella Egleton, although she claims that the HFSS restrictions will have a ”huge impact” on retailers with larger stores.
“Whilst HFSS and inflation threaten the rate of growth, we believe it’s set to be an interesting year… even if trick or treaters don’t appear in force, we believe more households will be celebrating in some way so stores need to stock up on spooky and sweet treats,” she advises.
The firm has just launched vegan Bebeto Spooky Mix and a Trick or Treat Party Box (pictured). ”The majority of our packs have an 18-24 month shelf life, so there is an opportunity to utilize them across more than one season,” she adds.
Over in soft drinks retailers keen to keep products in impulse areas can now rely on more low-HFSS choices. “Although promotional HFSS regulations have been delayed for a year, restrictions on location and displays will still be coming into effect this October – just in time for Halloween,” says Burgess.
“While this will of course present some challenges, there is a clear opportunity here for categories like soft drinks as almost three-quarters (73%) of soft drinks value sales come from HFSS compliant products [Kantar]. At CCEP 86% of our portfolio will be HFSS exempt come October and this includes Fanta Orange, Fanta Orange Zero Sugar and other Fanta flavours. It means soft drinks have a key role to play at the heart of themed front of store displays or aisle ends, creating in-store theatre and helping to drive sales.”
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