Life and snack sales are slowly returning to normal and John Wood, commercial director of Calbee UK, puts it succinctly: “As lockdown eases, consumers will start to spend more time out of the home with greater opportunities to purchase on the go. The snacking area will strengthen as a result. We also expect to see the return of the meal deal as consumers start going back to workplaces which will inevitably be great news for single pack formats.”
Donna Morgan of Brownlie’s Biggar in Lanarkshire, says, “We’ve found £1PMP bags and multipacks have increased in popularity this year. Understandably, sales of singles fell as a result of the pandemic, with food to go missions almost non-existent in our store. Even as we gradually come out of lockdown, shoppers continue to favour the bigger packs of snacks and drinks so we’ve taken a brave decision to list a reduced number of singles in store, which are entirely sales driven.”
That is not to say that the lockdown has been bad for the category – on the contrary. Jon Roberts, Brand Manager at Cofresh, says that snack sales are +29 per cent with Sweet & Savoury Mixes up an astonishing 45 per cent:“statistics which reflect the trend we’ve seen throughout lockdown where people have wanted to give themselves a special treat or just to gain some energy to get through the long days of working from home.”
Snack trends
Snacks have become the national, affordable treat over the past 18 months, and now the prospect of near-normality on the horizon “means there are once again some great opportunities out there for retailers to capitalise on the massive impulse snacking category”.
Value for money, whether in singles or multipacks, has also been uppermost in shoppers’’ minds, and that has meant the increasing profile of PMPs, as Jacqui Dales of Spar London Road, Boston, attests:
“Since the start of lockdown, our customers have been looking for good value for money when coming in store,” she says.“In the last year, we’ve moved a lot more into the £1PMP space. For a customer who wants a good value for money purchase, it’s a real no brainer that they pick a grab bag at this price point.”
Part of what has characterised the meteoric rise of snacks and crisps recently has been the innovation and diversity from the producer side, matched with adventurousness and plain curiosity from customers. As we have said before, this is a golden age for snacks.
Paul Hargreaves, CEO at artisan and fine food distributor Cotswold Fayre says: “The snacks category is incredibly exciting, offering something for everyone, with some really interesting emerging trends and unusual products.”
Perhaps most importantly, he believes that snacking is no longer all about potatoes. “Cotswold Fayre continues to see a move away from potato snacks, with chickpeas, plantain, corn, lentil chips, and even lotus seed-based products entering the category.”
Partly due to the pandemic, partly a pre-existing trend, this change incorporates a renewed consumer interest in healthier snacking, and the suppliers are busy catering to this growing demand.
Snacking and slimming
In fact, as Jon Wood points out, the “Better For You” sector actually slowed down a little under lockdown – yet only by a tiny 0.8 per cent [Kantar Data 12 & 52 week ending 21st February 2021], a fact he ascribes to the sale of larger sharing packs and the concentration on traditional TV snacks.
That is changing back to the previous rising curve of interest in healthy snacking, and Roberts says that “We expect the Better-For-You category to return to the high growth levels it enjoyed pre-pandemic as lockdown restrictions are lifted and consumers embrace attitudes to holistic health once again. At 75 per cent household penetration, there is still massive headway in this category to reach the 99 per cent penetration levels of the total market.”
What is on every producer’s mind is the upcoming legislation targetting all the fun stuff – sorry, the salts, sugars and fats – in our treats and snacks. But as with the sugar tax on drinks, the industry is already way ahead of the government in responding to consumer concerns and can only hope the rules are not needlessly heavy-handed.
Hargreaves understands that certain consumers may be shy about trying healthier snacks, but says “While some consumers may still require some convincing … we’re seeing plenty of ‘weird and wonderful’ product combinations, which taste great and capture shoppers’ imaginations. Many of these new snacks are also non-vatable, which makes a big difference when it comes to retail price.”
Products such as graze are finding a mainstream place very quickly, and Hargreaves recommends brands such as Hanover Pretzels, Blanco Nino tortillas and Olly’s.
A Unilever spokesperson added that, they have seen many shoppers turning to unhealthier crisp and nut snacks as they sought ways to help lift their mood under lockdown (“a huge 69 per cent of shoppers said they used snacking as a way to help them get through the day”, but that it is changing.
“In recent months we’ve seen a shift in attitudes with consumers moving away from indulgence as they started to refocus on their health, which presents a real opportunity for the healthy snacking category. Whilst the intention is clearly there, with the results of our recent annual health survey of over 2,500 people showing that 53 per cent of shoppers are trying to snack more healthily, we know their biggest barrier is being tempted by unhealthy choices.”
It’s time to think about stocking more healthy options – crisps and bars. Unilever’s graze, again, is a case in point: “With graze, shoppers can enjoy a variety of delicious, portion controlled sweet and savoury snacks, without having to make a compromise between health and taste, as we deliver on both.”
PMPs in the bag
Bagged snacks – and especially price-marked-pack skus – remain a vital driver of growth within convenience and demand shows no sign of slowing, says Matt Collins, Trading Director at KP Snacks. He points out that since the beginning of the pandemic savoury snacking occasions increased and were up 47 per cent at the height of lockdown, “with CSN continuing to perform ahead of other impulse snacking categories such as biscuits and chocolate.”
“C-Stores have grown in importance with more people shopping locally,” he says,with 67 per cent more people choosing convenience for “main shop” and 27 per cent of people are expected to visit convenience stores more often post lockdown.
So bags of snacks can be shifter faster than ever. “In the last year, we have seen a significant increase in multipacks and sharing format sales, with familiar, trusted and well-known brands doing exceptionally well. Strong familiar brands are driving individual segment growth and our diverse portfolio is currently growing at +5.5 per cent whilst meeting a range of different need states,” he says.
Of course, single serves suffered but the strategy that Walkers developed to overcome it was in their “Hero 25” ranging analysis and advice, which planogrammed out the most efficient facings depending on the size of store and customer base and foregrounded PMPs, especially £1 bags. It’s a system that is set well to continue, according to many storeowners.
“We’re constantly evolving our range of products in order to adapt to shopper demands, and we felt like we were really missing a trick by not stocking enough £1PMP,” said Jacqui Dales. “We never realised just how many strong SKUs were included as part of Walkers Hero 25, so since May this year we’ve substituted a number of £1PMP into the bay in place of a few lines of singles.”
The sales results have been great. Asian Trader Award-winner Imtiyaz Mamode of Premier Wych Lane, Gosport reveals, “We’ve seen a massive change in our customers’ behaviour over the last 18 months, who are opting for bigger bags as they spend time catching up with friends outside or enjoying at home with family members. What hasn’t changed for us is the popularity of PMP products, which always perform strongly. Customers seek PMPs because they trust in the brand and the value they’re receiving as a result, so whether it’s a regular £1PMP or the Walkers and Doritos £2PMP products, PMPs are always a big win for us.”
Matt Smith, Marketing Director for Tayto Group, concurs, and says that£1 PMP Snacks are growing three times faster than the market and now account for nearly 40 per cent of sales. “Family favourites such as our Golden Wonder Ringos and Transform-A-Snack brands performing well in this format – as they deliver Golden Wonder’s legendary ‘punch per crunch’, great consumer value, as well as strong margins for retailers. Capturing the booming sharing snacks market means retailers need to be stocking a strong range of £1 PMP snacks - which are growing at 20 per cent.”
So the category appears to predict continuing sales of sharing packs while at the same time expecting singles sales to increase through a combination of expert ranging and PMP deployment – alongside a growing expansion of the market through healthy innovations.
Flavour rules
The No.1 CSN category driver is taste, affirms Collins: “We are in the business of making great tasting snacks that serve a number of customer & shopper occasions, across all snacking segments (crisps, snacks, nuts, popcorn), delivered in all formats (singles, multipacks, sharing) and up and down the value spectrum.
The Sharing segment is strong and growing. Worth over £1.3bn, the largest within CSN, it is currently experiencing growth of +7.9 per cent. KP Snacks have a range of products that covers all of consumer’s ‘Together Time’ needs.
Looking ahead, we are likely to see a dialling up of long-term trends including a focus on healthy snacking, ‘together time’ as people spend more time at home, and a heightened importance in the role of PMPs in convenience as shoppers' budgets are squeezed.
Local Vape Action (LVA) is a partnership approach to tackling vaping issues at a local level. It brings together local authority partners as well as the vape sector via the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), to identify and target specific areas.
LVA began with a pilot in Tunbridge Wells as identified by local authority partners in Kent. As part of the project retailers received visits from trading standards to check that they are meeting their statutory obligations, utilising targeted LVA guidance, including age-verification policies, in-store signage and retailer awareness of compliant vape products and vape takeback for used vapes. This builds on the positive work that Kent County Council has undertaken in tackling illegal vapes. A summary of activities between September and December 2024 included:
Trading Standards visits to more than 40 retailers of vapes across Tunbridge Wells.
Trading Standards recorded the proportion of vape retailers that offered some form of vape takeback for used vapes. Only 26% were meeting their statutory requirement. Many of the retailers said they needed clearer guidance on requirements to recycle used vapes.
Community safety week in late October a store takeover (pop-up) in Tunbridge Wells provided the opportunity to directly engage the local community utilising LVA branded materials and highlighting illegal vapes. Several stores were visited and illegal vapes seized.
Trading Standards conducted a test purchasing exercise in December 2024, with a pass rate of 20% amongst the 20 shops that were visited. No offence was committed as the young person was of age, but this highlights the issues around not asking for ID appropriately and the further work required around the sale of vapes to younger people.
Trading Standards seized non-compliant products from several independent shops across the pilot period leading to a reduction in the reported levels of illegal vapes sold.
Community Safety Team and Trading Standards attendance at a safeguarding event at a local Tunbridge Wells school in December.
LVA commissioned consumer research of 200 adults in the Tunbridge Wells area in December 2024
“This unique pilot has successfully brought together experts from the vape manufacturers, local councils and partner agencies to address specific issues in Tunbridge Wells, demonstrating effective collaboration and use of shared resources to ensure a trading environment which protects consumers, particularly children and young people, from harm and is fair to business," said Mark Rolfe, Head of Community Protection at Kent County Council. "Kent Trading Standards' involvement is crucial, particularly among smaller independent stores, by providing the necessary resources, time, expertise and engagement to ensure that the law is both understood and complied with in a way which supports legitimate businesses to trade and grow with confidence.
Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott added: “This has been an excellent and productive partnership, which has protected people, particularly young people, from illegal and often harmful vapes. By working together, the team has proved they can help protect places and businesses from unfair and unlawful practises. I’d like to thank everyone involved for their commitment to this innovative project."
Smoking rates in parts of England have increased for the first time in nearly two decades, shows a new research published on Tuesday (18). Industry experts suspect misinformation around vapes and impending regulation on flavours are pushing vape users back to smoking cigarettes.
While smoking rates have decreased since 2006, the rate of decline has flatlined from 2020, and in some areas of the UK smoking rates are increasing again.
New research, by Haypp, looks into vape user’s perception of harm across a range of nicotine products, highlighting a serious lack of awareness when it comes to which products are more harmful than others, potentially contributing to this rise in cigarette use.
The survey, to which all respondents were current vape users, showed that consumers did not see a significant difference in harm levels between cigarettes, vapes, and nicotine pouches.
In fact, respondents believed that the three products were similarly harmful, rating all three as being between 4.5 to 6 out of 10, on a scale from not harmful to very harmful.
This is a shocking statistic given that there is a substantial body of evidence, including NHS research, that proves that cigarettes are much more harmful than vapes and nicotine pouches.
This research coincides with the latest data from University College London, highlighting a rising issue with smoking cigarettes, and the understanding of their harm to public health.
Haypp’s latest vape report also highlights that significant number of vapes users could return to smoking cigarettes, depending on how UK laws on vaping may change:
20 per cent of current vape users would return to smoking cigarettes if vapes were no longer available to them while ·37 per cent admitted they would return to smoking cigarettes if vape flavours were to be banned in the UK.
10 per cent of vape users say they may return to smoking cigarettes following the disposable vape ban in June.
Markus Lindblad, Nicotine Expert and Head of External Affairs at Haypp, said, “For many years, the UK government has had great success in reducing smoking rates.
"However, this new research, combined with Haypp’s statistics paint a very worrying picture, one that industry experts have been concerned about for some time now.
"There is a great deal of confusion amongst UK consumers as to how harmful cigarettes are compared with alternative nicotine products and most smokers wrongly believe that vaping is as harmful as cigarettes.
"UK consumers are exposed to a great deal of misinformation about vapes and nicotine pouches, and this needs to be addressed to enable people to make informed choices about less harmful nicotine products.
"Public information campaigns about the true harm levels of cigarettes compared with vapes should be facilitated by health authorities.
“As a responsible retailer, we hope to help inform nicotine users about the dangers of smoking cigarettes, and highlight the benefits of switching to alternative products, such as nicotine pouches.
"Thanks to snus and nicotine pouches, Sweden is set to become Europe’s first smoke-free country and we have further research to show that if the UK adopted similar laws, up to 28,410 lives could be saved every year.
"The importance of this type of education cannot be understated and we hope more is done to deter potentially millions of people from smoking cigarettes.”
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Lee Castleton speaking about his legal battle against the Post Office and Fujitsu
Former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton has launched legal action against the Post Office and Fujitsu, becoming the first individual Horizon IT scandal victim to sue the two organisations.
According to recent reports, Castleton has instructed his solicitors, Simons Muirhead Burton, to issue proceedings at the High Court against the Post Office and Fujitsu on his behalf.
Castleton is seeking compensation, alleging the civil judgement against him was obtained by fraud.
"I want justice and to be publicly vindicated," Castleton told the BBC.
Castleton is one of the victims of Post Office Horizon scandal in which hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongfully convicted after faulty software said money was missing from their branch accounts.
While other victims have seen their convictions overturned, Castleton's civil judgement against him still stands. His legal action is to set aside, or overturn, the judgement.
"I'd like to effectively have my day in court as well," said Castleton who is due to receive his OBE next month.
In 2007, Castleton lost a two-year legal battle against the Post Office after it sued him to recover £25,000 of cash it alleged was missing from his branch in Bridlington in East Yorkshire.
When his legal insurance ran out, Castleton had to represent himself in court and was landed with a bill of £321,000 in legal costs which he couldn't pay and declared bankruptcy.
"We now know from the Post Office Inquiry that they wanted to make an example of me," he said.
His lawyer Simon Goldberg stated that Lee had faced a "David versus Goliath battle" against the Post Office and is now fully ready to take this all the way to trial.
Last year during the inquiry, Stephen Dilley, who represented the Post Office in the civil claim against Castleton, admitted that in Castleton's case, Post Office wanted to “show the world” how it would defend the Horizon system.
A witness from Fujitsu also gave evidence in his case.
"What we're effectively going to be saying is that the claim against his was an abuse of process. It was never about recovery of the sum of money - it was to make an example of Mr Castleton" said Goldberg.
"We also believe the judgement was obtained by fraud in that the Post Office and Fujitsu knew perfectly well that the Horizon system wasn't working properly," he added.
Last year during public inquiry, former Post Office boss Paula Vennells extended an apology to Castleton, saying the business’ treatment of Castleton was “unforgivable”.
She also claimed that she was not being given the information and documents she needed to find out the truth about the Horizon IT system.
Speaking to Asian Trader at the time, Castleton slammed her and dismissed her apology.
“Do I believe that Paula Vennells really feels now that what happened to me was ‘unforgivable’? I don't know. That’s her own personal opinion on what she feels is the right or wrong thing to do," said Castleton.
“Paula Vennells has lived her life and did whatever she had to do. I just want to get on with my life and move on forward. The lack of truth, the lack of openness and the lack of candidness is slowing everything down.
"I think the judiciary needs to make up their minds and decide whether there's anything that they need to take further. Accountability is something that we all are hoping for,” he told Asian Trader.
European-style fruit-led or fruity beer is increasingly gaining popularity in the UK, emerging as the Britain’s fastest growing beer trend.
According to Tesco, demand for these lighter thirst-quenching beers, which have a typical strength of around 4% ABV, is rocketing so much that the supermarket has seen sales volume grow by 250 per cent in the last year.
These fruity beer styles have long been popular in western European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy, and are associated with ‘after sport’ refreshment, particularly skiing and cycling.
Over the last 15 years, various European beers with fruity profiles have gradually become more popular over here such as Belgian strawberry brews Fruli and Bacchus Kriek, and more recently Radler, a shandy style beer from Germany and Damm Lemon from Spain.
Seven years ago, dedicated UK fruit lager brand Jubel was launched and quickly established themselves as one of the hippest beers for drinkers in the 21-35 age group.
The company now has five different varieties – peach, mango, blood orange, lemon and grapefruit - of its 4 per cent strength lager and has seen volume grow in Tesco by more than 300 per cent.
Tesco beer buyer Ben Cole said, “The soaring demand for fruit-led brews, particularly lager, has taken the UK drinks market by storm and is the biggest trend to hit the beer scene since the craft boom started more than 15 years ago.
“The trend actually has its roots in the craft beer movement because it introduced beers with tropical fruit profiles to more drinkers than ever before.
“For many people the craft movement changed the perception of what a beer could taste like and opened many drinkers’ palates to a wider range of styles.”
The trend is also similar to the fruit-led cider boom which began 20 years ago with the introduction of pear varieties.
That movement came after Magners reinvented cider as a refreshing drink to be enjoyed ‘over ice’ and within a few years other cider manufacturers such as Kopparberg were marketing fruit-led variants.
Jubel were the first UK company to exclusively take note of the fruit-led side of the beer market and formed in April 2018.
Founder Jesse Wilson got the idea for the company during a skiing trip to France where his group of friends found that the Bière Pêche being served – which included a shot of peach syrup – was light and refreshing.
Wilson said, “We were a mixed group of men and women, some of whom liked beer and some who didn’t, but we all loved the Bière Pêche being served – a pint of lager with a peach top – and it gave me the idea to start the brand.
“I thought that style of lager could be the perfectly refreshing pint in pubs and that’s where our business grew, with word of mouth spreading rapidly, to the point where it seems our flagship peach lager is now the fifth biggest craft beer in the on-trade based on CGA reported volumes.
“We are incredibly excited that retailers like Tesco see this as the biggest trend to hit beer since the craft beer movement, and we’re pumped to be pioneering it.”
Trust and Gander are unveiling a strategic partnership set to transform inventory management and markdown processes in grocery and convenience retail.
Presented at the Retail Technology Show 2025, this collaboration integrates Gander’s advanced markdown solution with Trust’s industry-leading inventory management and ePOS systems.
The new partnership between Trust and Gander aims to empower retailers by reducing food waste, optimising markdown strategies, and increasing revenue from previously under utilised stock.
Through seamless integration, Trust’s inventory management tool will log price reductions in real time, syncing directly with the Trust ePOS system and Gander’s markdown platform.
Once a reduced item is sold via the ePOS, it will be automatically removed from the inventory list and Gander’s marketing channels, ensuring accurate stock visibility.
Retailers will benefit from a significant reduction in food waste, as greater visibility of reduced-to-clear items ensures they reach consumers before expiration.
By turning markdowns into revenue opportunities, retail businesses can transform potential losses into sales, improving their overall profitability.
Seamless inventory control will allow for real-time updates that enhance forecasting and operational efficiency.
Additionally, shoppers will experience improved product availability and competitive pricing, contributing to a better overall customer experience.
Mike Dotson, Managing Director at Trust Retail, commented: “We are thrilled to showcase this strategic partnership at the Retail Technology Show, demonstrating how collaborative innovation in fintech and retail technology can deliver meaningful efficiencies for grocery and convenience retailers.
"By integrating cutting-edge payment, inventory, and markdown solutions, we continue to drive transformation in the retail space.”
Stacey Williams, Business Development Director at Gander, added: “Our partnership with Trust at RTS 2025 exemplifies how technology can optimise markdown management while driving sustainability.
"By leveraging digital platforms, we ensure retailers maximise their margins while reducing food waste, enhancing customer engagement, and streamlining store operations.”
Trust’s inventory management system integrates directly with Gander’s markdown platform, enabling real-time data updates that ensure accurate stock tracking and price reductions.
As soon as an item is marked down, it appears instantly on Gander’s marketing platform, retailer loyalty platforms, and online grocery sales channels.
Once a reduced item is purchased through the ePOS system, it is automatically removed from inventory and consumer-facing listings, ensuring precise stock control and eliminating discrepancies between in-store availability and digital promotions.