Leading confectionery manufacturer Perfetti Van Melle has appointed Rob Lockley as its new commercial managing director in the UK.
Lockley joined the team as sales director 18 months ago, where he has played a leading role in boosting performance across the four major brands: Mentos, Chupa Chups, Fruit-tella and Smint.
His leadership comes at an exciting time for the business, which is now valued at £131.6 million, growing at 3.6 per cent YOY, and well ahead of the market which has seen a 0.9 per cent value decline since last year.
In 2024, Perfetti Van Melle saw incredible performance growth including innovative new launches such as Mentos Discovery, which delivered a staggering £1.3m in value sales alone. Perfetti Van Melle brand’s value growth of 9.1 per cent in the final month of 2024, driven by Mints and Sweets, contributed to a market value share of 4.85 per cent.
With Lockley at the helm, 2025 is set to be another big year for the business, capitalising on innovation and growing distribution across all channels.
Over the past 30 years, he has worked with some of the UK’s largest grocery brands including Kelloggs, CCEP, Mars Wrigley and Muller. His experience in blue chip companies paired with his work at start-up Fulfil nutrition, where he helped prepare the brand for acquisition by Ferrero has fuelled him with a passion to help challengers come out on top.
“I am thrilled to be taking this next step in my career with Perfetti Van Melle. I’ve spent the last 18 months immersing myself back into the world of confectionery, which in the UK is now worth £1.6 billion, the opportunities are endless,” Lockley said.
“The retail environment is moving at a rapid pace and we need to ensure we’re evolving alongside it, bringing fresh thinking and new shopper missions to the forefront. Our brands exude quality, which is half the battle given taste is the number one purchase driver. As challengers we have a mischievous role to play; we can be fun, bold and disruptive to achieve our goals. In 2025 we will be agile, leveraging the skills and capabilities of our wonderful team in a market that is ripe for change.”
