Nestlé Confectionery has launched its new Christmas range packed with a host of festive favourites as well as exciting new launches from its iconic brands.
Kitkat and Aero range
After proving a smash hit with consumers when it launched last Christmas, KITKAT Santa is back to lead Nestlé’s 2021 Christmas range complete with a brand-new product. The KITKAT Festive Friends Bag 220g (RRP £3.50) comes filled with individually wrapped, fun, festive shapes and is ideal for sharing with friends and family. There are 12 mini KITKAT Santas and a mix of 10 other shapes (including a Christmas tree, elf, gingerbread man, snowman and reindeer) in every bag. The new bag joins the 29g impulse bar (RRP £0.65), a 5 bar multipack (RRP £3.00) and a 55g bag of individually wrapped mini Santas (RRP £1.00).
KitKat Santa Large Pouch 220g FF
The launch of KITKAT Santa – a Santa-shaped chocolate bar filled with a rich chocolatey centre and crunchy wafer pieces – was a huge success with consumers and it became the No.1 product launch across the market at Christmas. Sales of the impulse bar were highly incremental, driving growth in the self-eat category and attracting over 450,000 new shoppers. Media support, including out-of-home advertising and social media, will ensure KITKAT Santa is once again at the front of shoppers’ minds in 2021.
2020 also saw an increase in consumer demand for seasonal bags and blocks. Indeed, in the Convenience channel sales of seasonal blocks grew an impressive 43 per cent. This Christmas, AERO aims to capitalise on this popularity with its brand-new AERO Festive Snowy White Block (RRP £1.00). The new block follows the successful launch of AERO Dreamy White Snowbubbles last year and features the same white and milk bubbly taste sensation, with a white centre enrobed in milk chocolate.
Aero 90g White Block FF
The AERO Dreamy White Snowbubbles 80g bag (RRP £1.00) also returns to the range for 2021, after becoming the No.1 new bag launch at Christmas last year MILKYBAR is also set to unveil its brand new MILKYBAR Festive Friends Sharing Bag (RRP £1.00) containing an array of white chocolate festive shapes with a creamy white filling and crispy pieces, individually wrapped to retain freshness and quality. Each bag contains seven pieces from an assortment of seasonal shapes such as a gingerbread man, bauble, Christmas tree, stocking, snowman and Santa.
This new launch offers shoppers a totally unique white chocolate product and makes an ideal treat for sharing, as an advent filler, baking decorations or stocking filler.
Retailers should be sure to stock the seasonal impulse treats early in the season as an eye-catching introduction to Christmas.
Giant Tubes and Selection Boxes
Giant Tubes are the ultimate traditional stocking filler, loved by shoppers for offering something fun, festive, and great value for money. Brand new for Christmas 2021 is the AFTER EIGHT Giant Tube (RRP £1.38) filled with bitesize pieces of dark chocolate filled with refreshing mint fondant. 60 per cent of shoppers say they want to see more adult confectionery gifts in the market under £55 and this new product is designed to provide just that, making a great token gift, stocking filler or secret Santa present.
Milkybar Festive Friends Front Facing
AFTER EIGHT joins a giant tubes range packed with family favourites and there is something for everyone including ROWNTREE’S, SMARTIES, MILKYBAR and ROLO. All giant tubes RRP £1.38. This year SMARTIES Giant Tubes will move to fully recyclable paper packaging.
Another festive tradition loved by families is the selection box. This year Nestlé is bringing together its wealth of iconic brands to launch the brand-new Christmas Selection box (RRP £3.00). Research has told us that consumers love a selection box which contains a variety of brands and types of confectionery. The new Christmas Selection includes some of Nestlé’s best-selling singles: KITKAT 4 Finger, KITKAT Chunky, AERO Peppermint, AERO Milk, YORKIE and ROWNTREE’s Fruit Pastilles, packaged in an eye-catching, festively designed box.
Quality Street
Twist wrap confectionery continued to be the biggest seasonal segment with 60% of all households buying into it, demonstrating the crucial role it plays for the category and consumers. Formats increasing in popularity in 2020 were tins +28 per cent and pouches +7 per cent.
QUALITY STREET was once again the No.1 brand at Christmas in 2020. It is an essential part of the season and much loved by the nation, as demonstrated by the incredible PR and media coverage last year which generated 2.6 billion opportunities for consumers to see the brand. This year the brand will benefit from a £2 million media spend and will continue its successful advertising campaign focusing on QUALITY STREET’s role in bringing together loved ones, enjoying special moments as they share their chocolates.
The advertising will appear on TV, video on demand and social media.
Quality Street Tub 2kg Front
This year QUALITY STREET will introduce a new mix of sweets across its range of formats to include more consumer favourites. The QUALITY STREET tin’s annual new design will make it even more premium and gift worthy than ever before, with beautifully designed jewel-like sparkling colours bringing a modern feel and ensuring impressive standout on-shelf. A new QUALITY STREET 2kg Tin (RRP £18.99) will be available nationally for the first time. Its fantastic size impression is certain to catch the eye in store and offers consumers the opportunity to buy a bigger gift or for gifting to share occasions. Plus, the QUALITY STREET Purple One and Strawberry Delight novelty gift boxes (RRP £6.00 each) will benefit from a makeover which sees them reduce their plastic packaging and move to fully recyclable cartons.
Convenience retailers should focus on the must stock QUALITY STREET 240g carton (RRP £2.99), QUALITY STREET 450g pouch bag (£4.99) and 650g tub (RRP £7.74) which is a format synonymous with Christmas.
AFTER EIGHT new flavour
AFTER EIGHT is the No.1 After Dinner Mint brand. Established in 1962, AFTER EIGHT is as relevant today as ever and the 300g pack remains the no.1 best-seller and a must-stock for retailers.
In 2020 flavours drove the growth in the After Dinner Mint category, adding £3 million in value sales. Last year’s AFTER EIGHT Gin & Tonic flavour generated £2 million of this value and was bought by over 1 million people, 50 per cent of whom were new to the After Dinner Mint category.
After Eight 200g Mojito FF
Capitalising on this trend, AFTER EIGHT plans to generate more buzz this year with its brand-new AFTER EIGHT Mojito & Mint flavour (RRP £2.00). Did you know that mojito was the most popular cocktail to make at home in 2020? Mojito is a natural flavour fit with mint, and this new flavour will continue to drive the category’s relevance a with younger audience.
Finally, this year’s annual new design for the AFTER EIGHT Christmas tin is an eccentrically British design.
The eye-catching 400g tin (RRP £6.00) is ideal for trading shoppers up. A PR and social media campaign across the festive season will also keep AFTER EIGHT front-of-mind with consumers.
Boxed Chocolates
Sharing boxed chocolates had a great Christmas in 2020, with sales growing 7.2 per cent.
Despite being launched in a turbulent year, QUALITY STREET Intrigue performed well with excellent in-store execution driving sales success. This Christmas, an Orange Truffles flavour (beautifully blended orange truffles wrapped in milk chocolate and sprinkled with dried orange segments) will be available nationally and joins Salted Caramel Truffles (a silky-smooth chocolate centre with a milk chocolate coating, each one is dipped in crunchy salted caramel chunks). Both RRP £5.00.
The orange flavour is extremely popular in the UK, with sales of products growing 24 per cent in 2020. QUALITY STREET Intrigue will also benefit from a substantial £2+ million media and shopper spend targeting key gifting occasions across 2021 including Christmas.
Intrigue Orange Truffles
Also brand new for 2021 is AERO Bliss Peppermint – velvety, whipped peppermint bubbles wrapped in delicious milk chocolate. The new launch is expected to be a smash hit with consumers as total mint sales are growing, up 5.7 per cent and as the No.1 chocolate mint brand which better brand to launch a new mint chocolate offering than AERO!
After launching as an exclusive in one retailer last year, it became the No.1 new boxed chocolates product, with a strong repeat purchase rate and loyal shopper, whilst also recruiting incremental shoppers to the range.
AERO Bliss bridges the gap between luxury and mainstream sharing boxed chocolates and proved extremely popular in 2020 with sales growing 48 per cent.
Aero Peppermint
AERO Bliss Peppermint joins the AERO Bliss Mixed Selection, which includes milk chocolate, salted caramel and praline flavours (RRP £5.00). The brand will be supported by its biggest media spend to date across the path-to-purchase, including out-of-home advertising, social media, PR and in-store media, encouraging shoppers to ‘Gift a little Bliss’.
Whilst AERO Bliss and QUALITY STREET Intrigue are all year-round brands, retailers should maximise sales by siting in off-shelf displays or on their Christmas fixture.
QUALITY STREET MATCHMAKERS has had amazing growth over the past 5 years, up 5.8 per cent in value. Cool Mint and Zingy Orange remain the core flavours for convenience retailers to stock. Both RRP £2.24. This year the brand will benefit from a contemporary design refresh and will now use 20 per cent less packaging. Fun to crunch and nice to nibble, these crunchy flavoured sticks are the perfect match for sharing occasions.
QS Novelties
Finally, something special in formal gifting. DAIRY BOX has been an iconic, heritage gifting brand since 1936. This year a brand-new design will bring to life the quality and indulgence of the sweets it is known for, making the brand more gift worthy than ever. The sweet range has also been revamped to include Salted Toffee for the first time, juicier and tangier flavours in the Orange Surprise and new Strawberry Kiss, and new shapes for the Chocolate Velvet and Cookies & Crème sweets. What’s more, the box and tray are now fully recyclable. The DAIRY BOX Winter Collection (RRP £8.00) 388g box will also return to the range with a refreshed design. Launched in 2020, it became No.1 new product launch in formal gifting, bringing younger shoppers into the category.
BLACK MAGIC, an iconic heritage brand since 1933, has also been revamped this year with a strong new look which impressed in shopper research. It retains its iconic colours of black and red whilst bringing to life the premium values of the brand so that even more consumers can be encouraged to discover the secrets of the BLACK MAGIC box.
Glebe Farm Foods has announced that its site has been awarded AA+ grade following the recent unannounced audit against the BRCGS V9 standard.
The BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard is a globally recognised certification program designed to ensure the safety, quality, legality and authenticity of food products. This was the first unannounced audit for the site and included all the production facilities; de-hulling, flaking and flour, oat drink manufacturing and Tetrapak filling, and new to the scope was the manufacturing and packing of Granola.
The audit covered not only the Global Food Safety Standard but also the BRCGS Gluten Free Programme. The recognition comes following a consistent dedication to excellence and the meticulous efforts of Glebe's technical team and supportive operatives, led by Glebe’s Head of Technical, Serena Woolland, who joined the manufacturer in November 2023, bringing with her a wealth of expertise.
As well as awarding Glebe Farm Foods Grade AA+, it also commended the company for its progress, British farming, investments and innovation, and the unwavering commitment demonstrated by its staff.
"The result is a testament to the hard work of our exceptional production staff and the technical team, keeping both site and systems in impeccable order," said Philip Rayner, Founder and Managing Director of Glebe Farm Foods. " At Glebe Farm Foods, we strive to deliver nothing but the highest standard – whether that’s in taste or product experience, sustainable practices, or food safety. We’re delighted with this status – but we were always confident we’d achieve it!”
InPost, the leading provider of parcel locker solutions, has announced the next phase in its rapid expansion with the opening of new Locker Shops in key urban areas. Following the success of its first Locker Shop in Camden, InPost is accelerating its Locker Shop opening programme and targeting hyper urban areas where there is huge demand for its lockers to provide greater access to its parcel locker network.
Kicking off with new locations in London, including Liverpool Street and London Bridge in 2024, as well as Manchester and further London locations from 2025 as part of a strategic rollout.
InPost is leading the locker revolution as more and more people choose out-of-home delivery options. With over 8,400 locker locations across the country and demand continuing to grow the InPost Locker Shops offer a quick, easy and convenient delivery solution for consumers in busy urban areas.
InPost’s Camden Locker Shop pilot, which launched in April 2024, was a hit with London locals and proved the value of dedicated stores with a large number of locker compartments. Based on this encouraging response, InPost is now bringing the concept to even more areas. The new shops will feature InPost’s eye-catching branding with localised design elements to further engage with local consumers.
“The results of our Camden trial showed us that consumers love our InPost Locker Shops," said Neil Kuschel, CEO, InPost UK. "We know that locker lovers are seeking convenience - that’s the number one reason they’re choosing out-of-home delivery[ii] - and what’s more convenient than having a store in your neighbourhood? We are committed to making parcel collection and returns as simple as possible for our customers. By expanding our network of Locker Shop locations to more urban areas, even more consumers will now be able to pop in and pick up or drop off their parcels with ease, taking us one step closer to our goal of ensuring every consumer has access to an InPost Locker.”
Current locations:
5 Pratt St., London NW1 0AE
11 Wentworth Street, London, E1 7TB
Unit 4, Larch Court, Glass Boutique, Bermondsey Street, SE1 3GB
Full details of further InPost Locker Shop locations will soon be announced.
Britvic, the soft drinks manufacturer set to be acquired by Carlsberg, has posted robust annual results after investment in marketing and product innovation helped it maintain demand for its brands.
Over the year to Sept 30, the company’s pre-tax profits climbed 10.5 per cent to £173.2 million despite a £21.3m hit related to the proposed Carlsberg deal. Britvic stated that its growth was driven by both volume and price-mix, with strong demand for brands such as Pepsi, Tango, Lipton, MiWadi and Ballygowan.
The group noted that scaling up new brands such as Plenish, Jimmy’s, Aqua Libra, and London Essence helped it build its presence in fast-growing categories. Meanwhile, it increased advertising and promotional (A&P) spend by 30.9 per cent to “support long-term brand growth”.
Volumes grew 3.1 per cent, driven by both organic growth and the acquisitions of the Extra Power and Jimmy’s brands.
Chief Executive Simon Litherland said, “We have delivered another excellent financial performance this year, with strong growth across our markets and portfolio of market-leading brands. We have also continued to ensure the business is fit for the future, adding more capacity, investing in our people, and significantly increasing investment in marketing and innovation.
“I am confident that the prospects for our brands and people are extremely positive, and I look forward to them going from strength to strength,” concluded Litherland.
Subject to approval by the regulatory authorities, the £3.3bn acquisition of Britvic by Carlsberg is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.
The Metropolitan Police has identified two new suspects in its investigation into possible criminal offences as part of the Post Office Horizon scandal. This takes the total number of individuals to four as the force also revealed it believes more suspects will be identified as the inquiry progresses.
Scotland Yard said members of the investigation team met with Sir Alan Bates, the leading Post Office campaigner, and fellow victims to update them on the development.
A Met spokesman said: “On Sunday Nov 17, members of the investigating team met with Sir Alan Bates and a number of affected sub-postmasters to provide an update on our progress and next steps, following an invitation to do so.
“Our investigation team, comprising of officers from forces across the UK, is now in place and we will be sharing further details in due course. The team is preparing to contact other affected sub-postmasters soon. While four suspects have been formally identified at this stage, this number will grow as the investigation progresses.”
However, Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, has warned it could be years before anyone faces charges because of the “tens of millions of documents” that must be worked through.
Speaking previously on the matter, he said, “I think at the core of this you’ve potentially got fraud, in terms of false documents, if it’s for financial purposes.
“Clearly, we have to prove beyond all reasonable doubt, so really it’s 99.9 per cent, that individuals knowingly corrupted something. So that’s going way beyond incompetence, you have to prove deliberate malice, and that has to be done very thoroughly with an exhaustive investigation.
“So it won’t be quick. But the police service across the country are alive to this and we will do everything we can do to bring people to justice if criminal offences can be proven.”
More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 as a result of the Horizon scandal, in which the faulty computer software incorrectly recorded shortfalls on their accounts. Of these, hundreds of people are still awaiting compensation despite the previous government announcing that those who had convictions quashed were eligible for payouts of £600,000.
Oral evidence at the Post Office inquiry concluded this month.
New research by American Express Shop Small reveals the nation’s top 10 hotspots for independent shops, showcasing the small businesses and the valuable role they plan in their local communities.
American Express partnered with retail experts GlobalData to identify the top high streets for independent shops through ranking factors such as the number of independent outlets, variety of business types, and vibrancy of the high street.
The list also took into consideration the number of Gen Z and Millennial independent business owners (those aged between 18-43) in each location, factoring in how these younger generations are investing in the future success of UK high streets. Across the top 10 hotspots, on average over a third (36 per cent) of all business owners are in these age cohorts.
The research identified bustling St Mary’s Street in Stamford, Lincolnshire, as Britain’s top hotspot for independent shops – scoring highly across all the factors and delivering a unique experience for shoppers.
Britain’s top high street hotspots for independent shops:
St Mary’s Street, Stamford, Lincolnshire
Devonshire Street / Division Street, Sheffield, Yorkshire
Gloucester Road, Bristol
Market Street / Bridge Gate, Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire
Stoke Newington Church Street, Hackney, London
High Street, Narberth, Pembrokeshire
Oldham Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester
Bailgate, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Byres Road, Glasgow
The Lanes, Norwich, Norfolk
Beyond their contribution to local communities, the research also revealed how living near a vibrant independent high street can benefit home valuations.
Dan Edelman, general manager, Merchant Services at American Express, said, “Small businesses play a crucial role in supporting local economies up and down the country, and it’s pleasing to now see their impact beyond the high street. Through our Shop Small campaign and support of Small Business Saturday we’re proud to be championing and shining a spotlight on the diverse and vibrant independent businesses who help our local communities thrive.”
The research is released ahead of this year’s Small Business Saturday (Dec 7), of which American Express is founder and principal supporter. Small Business Saturday is the UK’s most successful small business campaign. Over the years it has been running, it has engaged millions of people and seen billions of pounds spent with small businesses across the UK on the day, with an impact that lasts all year round.
Michelle Ovens, director of Small Business Saturday, said, “The nation’s 5.5 million small businesses bring incredible value to the UK’s economy, society and communities, and this research underlines the material impact they have in boosting local areas. On Small Business Saturday, and beyond, we are asking the nation to throw their arms around their favourite local small businesses and show them how much they mean to us all and the wider community. Public support is so vital for small businesses, particularly for the next generation of owners.”
Matt Piner, research director at GlobalData, commented on the findings, “Independent shops bring something different to high streets, offering uniqueness and propositions that are finely tuned to the needs of their local communities. As younger generations of shoppers are attracted to their local high streets, so too are shop owners, with a new breed of Gen Z and Millennial entrepreneurs helping to keep them thriving.”
As part of this year’s Shop Small campaign, American Express has pledged £100,000 worth of grants to small businesses. The Champion Small initiative encourages Cardmembers to nominate their favourite independent small business, with 10 set to receive a £10,000 grant. Those who nominate a business will be entered into a prize draw too, with a chance to win one of 50 x £1,000 statement credits.