Perfetti Van Melle is tapping into the sharing opportunity and a younger audience with the launch of two Mentos sharing pouches.
The 140g Mentos Fanta Pouch Bag and Mentos Fruit Mix Pouch Bag each have an RRP of £1.50.
Sharing bags are the most popular pack format in confectionery, accounting for 71.4% of sweet value sales (Circana). Fruit flavours are currently driving growth in sweets (Circana), whilst hard chews are growing ahead of the total category, up 17.8% (Mentos Candy Summary) and now worth £71m (Mentos Candy Summary).
Following a twice extended production run due to its extreme popularity, Mentos Fanta has been “a runaway success” since its initial launch in 2022, according to Perfetti. The existing Fanta Rolls and Multipack have delivered incremental sales to the portfolio, meaning that extending the format of the third bestselling Mentos flavour to include Pouch Bags was a natural next step, claimed the firm.
Meanwhile, Perfetti is reintroducing its most-loved flavour roll, Fruit Mix, worth £5.1m (Circana), in new Pouch Bags, with the addition of a Green Apple & Blackcurrant sweet . The entire Mentos sweets portfolio is vegan friendly and contains natural colours.
Sarah du Plessis, brand manager of Mentos, said: “With 63% of sweet consumers looking for a wider range of flavours, and exotic variants having the greatest appeal to sweet eaters [Innova & Mintel 2023 Report], we know that people are looking for new and exciting products to try. Younger Gen Z shoppers in particular are an experimental audience looking for innovative options to enjoy with friends. We expect the sharing bags to increase sales penetration amongst this demographic, as well as drive frequency with existing customers. This format also allows us to establish ourselves in different positions around the store, helping Mentos reach more people than ever before.
“Mentos Fanta has taken the market by storm since launch and these pouch bags will further expand its popularity. In addition, with consumers actively searching for multi-flavoured sweet products [ibid], we expect the Fruit Mix bags to prove a hit, especially as they are great for sharing with others and guessing what the flavours are.”
Earlier this year, Perfetti Van Melle unveiled Mentos Discovery, a category-first 14 different flavour sweets in one roll, which was backed by a £1m marketing investment. The launch consolidates the recent growth of Mentos Candy, which is now a £37.3m brand, with sales up +17% in the past 12 months (Circana). Mentos Pouch Bags will be supported with tactical in-store activations and POS throughout the year.
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