Nestlé Confectionery has unveiled its 2025 Easter range, comprising new treats and popular classics.
New for 2025: Milkybar Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream Giant Egg, Aero Melts Neapolitan Ice Cream Giant Egg, KitKat Chunky Chocolate Brownie Crunch Incredible Egg, KitKat Mini Eggs Sharing Bag and Rowntree’s Jellytastic Mini Egg Bar.
Ice cream fans can look forward to two new offerings from some of Britain’s most beloved confectionery brands. The Milkybar Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream Giant Egg is a delicious mix of half white chocolate shell and half raspberry flavour shell and features a Milkybar Raspberry Ripple Sharing Bag, filled with marbled white and pink raspberry flavour pieces.
Aero Melts Neapolitan Ice Cream Giant Egg combines Neapolitan flavours in a strawberry and vanilla flavour milk chocolate egg and comes with an Aero Neapolitan Sharing Bag containing bubbly milk chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla flavour melts.
There are two new products to try from KitKat. The indulgent KitKat Chunky Chocolate Brownie Crunch Incredible Egg is a smooth brownie flavoured milk chocolate shell with crunchy biscuit pieces and comes with two KitKat Chunky Double Chocolate Brownie bars.
The new KitKat Mini Eggs Sharing Bag features individually wrapped chocolate eggs filled with crunchy pieces of signature KitKat wafer, perfect for sharing this spring.
The Rowntree’s Randoms egg will return, bringing together Rowntree’s and Nestlé chocolate to create a shell with marshmallow pieces and Rowntree’s fruity flavoured sweets creating a delicious one-of-a-kind Easter egg. Lucky recipients of this egg will also receive a sharing bag of Rowntree’s Randoms.
Rowntree’s has its Jellytastic Mini Egg Bar joining the Easter line up this year. The milk chocolate bar is dotted with fruity flavoured jelly pieces mixing up textures and flavours to make an out of the ordinary treat.
Egg hunts are still part of the fun at Easter, and Nestlé Confectionery has three brands returning this year. The KitKat Easter Egg Hunt pack has eight milk chocolate Easter eggs made with signature KitKat crunchy wafer pieces, ready to be hidden away as part of an Easter Egg hunt activity. Smarties and Milkybar also have packs to join in with the fun.
For a premium experience, the After Eight Premium Egg returns, with a rich mint flavoured dark chocolate shell and a pack of signature After Eight mint chocolate thins.
The Milkybar Mini Egg Block is back again, with crispy milk chocolate mini-inclusions dotted inside a smooth white chocolate bar. Shoppers can expect to see egg offerings from many of the Nestlé Confectionery brands they know and love including KitKat, Aero, Rowntree’s, Lion, Toffee Crisp, Smarties, Munchies, Rolo, Yorkie and Milkybar.
All Nestlé Confectionery chocolate is made using 100% certified Rain Forest Alliance cocoa.
Non-alcoholic spirits brand Caleño has announced it will team up with Paragon Brands in an exclusive new distribution partnership.
This is first time Caleño has appointed a distributor in the UK, and the partnership comes after Caleño’s strong growth and success in the expanding no-and-low alcohol category.
The tropical and zesty flavoured distilled spirit range is inspired by the sun-drenched spirit of Colombia and the brand is “on a mission to bring joy to not drinking”.
With this new collaboration, Paragon Brands will bring Caleño’s tropical-inspired range to a wider audience, ensuring greater accessibility for consumers and retailers.
According to analysts, the UK no/low market more than doubled in 2024 on the year before. Caleño have recently expanded its portfolio with two new non-alcoholic rum alternatives, including the highly anticipated White Coconut.
Founder Ellie Webb’s idea for Caleño was sparked on a night out with friends “getting down to some Latin funk” but was frustrated by nights our being centred around alcohol.
After a holiday to Colombia, Ellie returned with the ideas for recipes for her sun-drenched Caleño range. Caleño has won two gold awards at The Spirits Business No & Low Masters and continues to receive acclaim from critics and consumers alike.
The non-alcoholic spirits range is the first in Paragon’s portfolio and both companies are committed to driving further growth in the high-quality, alcohol-free market.
Paragon Brands specialises in unique and unusual premium drinks brands. The company has 22 brands from around the world, including Żubrówka, Pusser's Rum, G'Vine Gin, Licor 43, and Martin Miller’s, in its growing stable and champion exciting and innovative drinks brands.
“I am excited to be partnering with Chris [Jones] and the team at Paragon," said Webb. “As one of the first non-alcoholic spirits to launch in the UK market, I am confident they will be able to build upon our success and I am delighted to appoint the company as our first UK distributor.”
Chris Jones, Managing Director at Paragon Brands, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Caleño, a brand that has truly made an impression on the non-alcoholic spirits’ market.
“Caleño’s vibrant, tropical range aligns perfectly with our mission to bring innovative and premium drinks to a wider audience.
“We are proud to enter this exclusive partnership with Caleño and we look forward to helping expand its reach, offering consumers more exciting, high-quality alcohol-free options.
“This partnership marks an exciting step forward in our commitment to driving growth in the rapidly evolving no-and-low alcohol market."
Ice cream brand Magnum has introduced a brand-new vegan ice cream recipe for its vegan range including Magnum Vegan Almond, setting the benchmark for plant-based indulgence with its most velvety vegan ice cream yet. The new velvety soy protein-based ice cream, paired with Magnum’s signature cracking vegan chocolate, delivers the luxurious ice cream experience Magnum is known for.
Magnum Vegan Almond has the smooth vegan vanilla ice cream coated in the brand’s signature vegan cracking chocolate and studded with almond pieces to give a crunchy twist on the classic format.
The soy recipe replaces Magnum’s former pea protein recipe to offer consumers a more velvety taste and texture. In addition to the new recipe, the single stick will be available in a new eye-catching premium pack design to elevate its visibility in freezers and to help convenience retailers boost impulse sales.
Magnum’s vegan ice cream portfolio has seen incredible growth of over 75 per cent in the last year, largely attributed to the successful launch of the 2024 Magnum Blueberry Cookie innovation. With the number of consumers seeking plant-based alternatives continuing to grow – with 10 per cent of households containing a member following a vegan or vegetarian diet and five per cent containing a flexitarian member – the plant-based segment continues to drive incrementality in the ice cream category.
Magnum Vegan’s new velvety vegan ice cream recipe, made with soy, is well positioned to cater to these evolving consumer trends, offering retailers a significant opportunity to drive sales beyond the typical “Veganuary” spike. This is substantiated by 70 per cent of Veganuary participants stating that they would continue with substitutions following Veganuary.
“Magnum is committed to providing delicious products that support consumers’ vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian lifestyles all year-round,” said Daniel Lythgo, Brand Manager Magnum UK at Unilever. “This new soy-based recipe not only delivers an exceptional taste experience but also presents a significant opportunity for retailers to help drive incremental ice cream sales.
“We constantly test and evolve our products to bring shoppers the most indulgent ice cream experiences. This is no different for our Vegan Almond stick, and testing with consumers found that they really enjoyed our new velvety vegan ice cream recipe.”
Unilever is the number one manufacturer of free-from ice cream, and so this new launch from Magnum is key to growing the segment, helping retailers cater to consumer demands to maximise ice cream sales.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) has announced the launch of Monster Energy’s latest promotion in partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), to help retailers get in on the action and tap into energy drinkers’ thirst for live Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) entertainment.
Win a Mega UFC Experience
From now until Wednesday 30 April, Monster Energy fans can scan QR codes on in-store POS or visit MonsterEnergy.com to enter for a chance to win a mega UFC experience.
One lucky winner will receive two tickets to enjoy an adrenaline-packed evening of ringside action to see their favourite fighters up close and personal.
Monster will use its impressive roster of UFC athletes to boost awareness of the promotional activity and Monster’s wider UFC sponsorship, which has been running since 2015. UFC is the world’s fastest growing sport, renowned for showcasing the best fighters from around the world, broadcast in over 165 countries and viewed by over one billion people globally.
“Monster and the UFC are the fastest-growing brands in their respective fields," said Helen Kerr, Associate Director of Commercial Development at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB. "This latest promotion gives our brand fans the incredible opportunity to get up close and personal with the action – which we know they love.
“It truly embodies the spirit of Monster Energy and underscores our commitment to bringing unique and engaging experiences to our valued fans. We're encouraging retailers to get on board and take full advantage of this promotion as we bring together these two fast-growing brands.”
Monster packs a punch
The latest promotion is part of Monster’s commitment to engaging its loyal fans and fuelling growth in the energy drinks category, which is the no.1 deliverer of value growth in soft drinks, worth more than £2.1b] to retailers. Monster is the fastest-growing major energy brand in GB, worth over £706m and delivering double-digit volume growth.
It builds on a host of recent new product launches that are driving maintained momentum behind the Monster brand, including Reserve Orange Dreamsicle, Nitro Cosmic Peach, Ultra Strawberry Dreams, Juiced Bad Apple and Juiced Rio Punch.
These launches have helped Monster drive more than half of innovation sales in energy drinks – adding an impressive £84.7m in value to the category.
Convenience retailers can request Monster Energy’s UFC promotional POS materials and download digital assets via My.CCEP.com to help bring the promotion to life in-store.
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Magnum Tonic Wine updates its packaging with a unified label design for the UK and Jamaica
Magnum Tonic Wine has unveiled a unified label design across the UK this week, with Jamaica closely behind in April, reinforcing its authenticity as a product of Jamaica and ensuring a consistent consumer experience.
While Magnum Tonic Wine has always delivered the same liquid across both markets, the packaging update standardises the brand’s identity, addressing any consumer misconceptions about product differences.
The refreshed label takes inspiration from the original green-label design sold in Jamaica, strengthening the brand’s connection to its heritage. This update sees a new design aimed at making the brand more contemporary and relevant for the dancehall culture.
For the UK it will also introduce a bold new look, helping to improve visibility in-store and standout on shelf.
Produced in Jamaica and recognised for its distinctive cherry flavour and original recipe, the introduction of a unified label further strengthens the brand’s presence in trade, supporting visibility and consumer recognition across markets.
“The differing packaging requirements in the UK and Jamaica have resulted in Magnum Tonic Wine having two distinct labels. This has led to misconceptions about the authenticity of the Magnum sold in the UK, despite the fact that it has always contained the same liquid, with all production taking place in Jamaica,” Pavel Smith, Marketing Manager Jamaica, said.
“We’re excited to unify the visual identity of our product in both markets, eliminating any confusion and reinforcing its authenticity."
Mandeep Singh, who runs the Singh’s Premier store in Sheffield, said: “Magnum is the most important Tonic Wine SKU to me, due to the volume of sales. The different labels were causing confusion among consumers, so I'm looking forward to this change and will be promoting it via my socials, as Magnum has been a massive winner to all our stores.”
Cash and Carry stockists will be notified by their Campari Group UK account managers when their order is being fulfilled with the new label for the first time, with pallets labelled with 'Green (New) Label' throughout March-May 2025.
To ensure a seamless transition for UK retailers and distributors, the new packaging updates will be introduced in phases, with pricing and barcodes remaining consistent:
March 2025 – Harmonised label introduced to the trade
Nescafé has unveiled its latest launch, Nescafé Iced Latte, offering, for the first time ever, ready-to-drink iced coffees in the ambient coffee aisle in a brand-new multi-serve format.
Available from March in two flavours, Iced Latte and Iced Caramel Flavour Latte, these indulgent tasting lattes were specifically designed to be enjoyed cold and could not be easier to prepare. Simply shake the carton well to mix, prepare your chosen glass with ice and pour 250ml over it, then sip and enjoy!
Each carton contains 3 servings, making it easier than ever to enjoy a delicious and refreshing iced coffee at home, any day of the week.
“We are so excited to be introducing the new Nescafé Iced Lattes to coffee lovers in the UK,” Ingrid Hayes, marketing director for Nescafé UK and Ireland, said.
“Whether you’re enjoying a well-deserved break or catching up with friends and loved ones, it’s never been easier to enjoy the sweet taste and creamy texture of a perfect iced latte.
“Nescafé is dedicated to meeting the evolving preferences of consumers and we are delighted to showcase this commitment by providing even more ways for coffee drinkers to enjoy the exceptional taste of Nescafé in the comfort of their homes.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing more unique and indulgent experiences to coffee enthusiasts in the UK.”
Both products contain 92 calories per 250ml serve, are a source of calcium and high protein, contain no artificial flavours and are suitable for vegetarians.
Nescafé Iced Latte is made using 100% responsibly sourced coffee, supporting coffee farmers to improve their lands and livelihoods.