Perfetti Van Melle targets sharing market with new Mentos pouch bags

Perfetti Van Melle, the world’s second leading confectionery manufacturer, is targeting the growing sharing opportunity and a younger audience with the launch of two new packs – Mentos Fanta Pouch Bag and Mentos Fruit Mix Pouch Bag.

The new pouch bag format will allow Mentos to increase its presence throughout the confectionery aisle, giving more shoppers the chance to say "Yes to Fresh". Mentos’ new Pouch Bags are designed to help provide consumers with a mood-boosting moment of fruity freshness to share with friends or family.

Sharing bags are the most popular pack format in confectionery, accounting for 71.4 per cent of sweet value sales. Fruit flavours are currently driving growth in sweets, whilst hard chews are growing ahead of the total category, up 17.8 per cent and now worth £71m.

Following a twice-extended production run due to its extreme popularity, The Product of the Year award-winning Mentos Fanta has been a runaway success since its initial launch in 2022. The existing Fanta Rolls and Multipack have delivered incremental sales to the portfolio, meaning that extending the format of the third bestselling Mentos flavour to include Pouch Bags was a natural next step.

Mentos is reintroducing its most-loved flavour roll, Fruit Mix, worth £5.1m, in new Pouch Bags. The new format will also contain the fresh addition of a Green Apple & Blackcurrant sweet.

The Pouch Bags will allow consumers to experience the flavours in a larger sharing format. Each sweet has a crisp outer shell and a soft centre providing the benefit of a tasty fruity chew. The entire Mentos sweets portfolio is vegan friendly and contains natural colours.

“With 63 per cent of sweet consumers looking for a wider range of flavours, and exotic variants having the greatest appeal to sweet eaters, we know that people are looking for new and exciting products to try," said Sarah du Plessis, Brand Manager of Mentos. "Younger Gen Z shoppers in particular are an experimental audience looking for innovative options to enjoy with friends. We expect the sharing bags to increase sales penetration amongst this demographic, as well as drive frequency with existing customers. This format also allows us to establish ourselves in different positions around the store, helping Mentos reach more people than ever before.

“Mentos Fanta has taken the market by storm since launch and these pouch bags will further expand its popularity. In addition, with consumers actively searching for multi-flavoured sweet products, we expect the Fruit Mix bags to prove a hit, especially as they are great for sharing with others and guessing what the flavours are.”

Earlier this year, Perfetti Van Melle unveiled Mentos Discovery, a category-first 14 different flavour sweets in one roll, which was backed by a £1m marketing investment. The launch consolidates the recent growth of Mentos Candy, which is now a £37.3m brand, with sales up +17 per cent in the past 12 months. Mentos Pouch Bags will be supported with tactical in-store activations and POS throughout the year.

Mentos Fanta Pouch Bag (140g) and Mentos Fruit Mix Pouch Bag (140g) are launching across grocery and forecourt channels from April 2024, with an RRP of £1.50.