McVitie’s unveils Jaffa Jonuts, fusing Jaffa Cakes with doughnut

Snacking major pladis has introduced a first-to-market fusion of its bestselling McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes with doughnut: McVitie’s Jaffa Jonuts

Shaking up biscuit aisles, the innovative NPD marks an exciting and unique evolution of the £66.4 million McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes brand.

The biggest format innovation for the brand in the last two years, the product will reacquaint shoppers with the familiar three layers of McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes in a delicious doughnut-shaped ring.

McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes is already one of the top 10 bestselling biscuits brands– with sales surging by 14.4 per cent in 2020 – and with this launch, pladis aims to further propel the popularity of brand.

“1 in 3 UK households already purchase McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes and we know this brand has scores of ‘Jaffanatics’ up and down the country who can’t wait to get their hands on our latest NPD. We hope they’re as excited as we are about this launch,” said Emma Stowers, brand director for McVitie’s at pladis UK&I.

Hitting shelves hot on the heels of the brand’s £1.7 million ‘Be What You Want To Be’ campaign, Jaffa Jonuts aim to drive incremental sales amongst new, younger shoppers, by adding a never-before-seen proposition to the biscuit aisle.

“This NPD is the perfect example of how we can push the boundaries when it comes to what ‘should’ take pride of place on the biscuit aisle, plus it unlocks new occasions for biscuits. Jaffa Cakes are the original cake on the biscuit aisle and known and loved for this, so why not make room for a Jaffa Jonut toe,” Stowers added.

As well as launching into sharing boxes of four Jaffa Jonuts, McVitie’s is also bringing shoppers a handy individually-wrapped Jonuts snack pack, to unlock an opportunity for retailers to drive impulse sales.

Stowers continued: “Now that the nation is no longer bound to the confines of their homes, we expect to see a resurgence in on-the-go snacking. Our McVitie’s Jaffa Jonuts individual packs are perfect for these occasions – and 93 per cent of consumers agree – so we’re confident stocking an innovative NPD from such a popular brand will help retailers drive sales over the coming months.”

The launch will be supported by £2.1 million worth of consumer-facing spend, as part of The Year of Jaffa Cakes. This will include activity across OOH, digital, social, PR and shopper marketing in store – all of which will help the brand to reach 85 per cent of its audience over 9 times.

McVitie’s Jaffa Jonuts will be first launched into Tesco on 16 May, followed by further availability in other multiple retailers, convenience stores and wholesalers from the end of June. The 4x 43g box (RRP: £1.99) and individual 43g packs (RRP: £0.60) will be recyclable through pladis’ partnership with Terracycle.