This Easter, Ferrero UK is bringing back a selection of its seasonal favourites including Kinder Joy, Ferrero Collection Crispy Eggs, and Thorntons Classic Egg. Ferrero will be making a number of visual updates to refresh these ranges to help retailers make the most of both self-treating and gifting opportunities in the build up to Easter. Thorntons is also undergoing a packaging refresh to provide more sustainable options to shoppers this year.
“Easter is a great time to celebrate with your favourite chocolate confectionery," explained Levi Boorer, customer development director at Ferrero. "Compared to Christmas, shoppers were more likely to make a dedicated trip for chocolate at Easter 2021 (21 per cent vs 9 per cent at Christmas), showcasing the size of the opportunity for confectionery as we fast approach the occasion.
“In preparation, we are bringing back some of our bestsellers and updating some of our seasonal favourites. With a collection of brands that shoppers know and love, our Easter confectionery portfolio will help retailers to drive standout on shelf, encouraging an increase in basket spend. Our larger 220g Thorntons Classic Easter Egg can create trade-up opportunities in-store for those shoppers looking for something extra special before the big day, with these purchases often being planned in advance, whilst our smaller Ferrero Collection Crispy Eggs and similar self-treat products will begin to drum up excitement from as early as January, and tends to be a spontaneous decision whilst in-store.”
Kinder
Last year, in the 13-week lead up to Easter, the Kinder range was in +17 per cent growth and +19 per cent in the four-week lead. This year, to continue this momentum, Kinder Joy is making a return. The miniature egg splits into two, with one half containing layers of cocoa and milk cream, and the other half containing a toy and a paper spoon. The brand is also making packaging design improvements across its range with a more distinctive design and refreshed Easter bunny image to maintain relevance for the Kinder brand during the season. Kinder have also recently expanded their expertise in play through a new digital playing experience. Applaydu is a free mobile app which brings Kinder toys to life through augmented reality in a fun world of discovery and imagination. Kinder has developed Applaydu to evolve the playing experience of their toys, combining both physical and digital play which children and parents can enjoy together.
Pralines
The Ferrero Collection and its range of Easter favourites is returning this year to support retailers in capitalising on the seasonal opportunity with a well-known and trusted brand. Ferrero Collection Crispy Eggs are returning this year in hazelnut and cocoa flavours, a must-stock for retailers looking to capitalise on the spontaneous self-treat occasion in the lead up to Easter. Due to celebrating and gifting occasions, boxed chocolate played an important role during Easter last year, delivering £213m in value sales, with Ferrero Rocher 300g being the number one classic SKU within total boxed chocolate. Ferrero’s larger Easter items such as the Ferrero Rocher Boxed Egg 275g, the Ferrero Rocher Flame Egg 212g and the Grand Ferrero Rocher 125g should be stocked up on closer to the time as shoppers look for larger gifting items.
Thorntons
Total Thorntons novelties delivered +25 per cent in value sales and +11 per cent in volume sales between Easter 2020 and 20219; during 2022 its range of moulded figures is being relaunched with two new Happy Bunnies. The bunny will have a refreshed look and feel, with a more modern packaging design to bring it to life on shelf. It will be sold in a giftable box, perfect for shoppers looking to celebrate the Easter occasion and gift loved ones. The Thorntons Classic Easter egg range will be available in two different formats, 150g and 220g, with the larger format supporting retailers in driving trade-up opportunities. Across its eight bestselling Easter egg range, Thorntons will be removing plastic windows as part of Ferrero’s packaging commitment to make 100 per cent of its packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
