Leading cider maker Westons Cider has urges retailers to capitalise on what it predicts will be a historic winter for cider sales.
The producer forecasts record cider sales as the first ever winter World Cup falls among a busy season of celebrations including Halloween, Christmas and New Year.
Previously considered a summer staple, cider is increasingly becoming a versatile year-round beverage ideal for all drinking occasions – with ciders sales soaring in December compared to November (+25%), according to IRI data.
This winter, with many Brits planning to host an at-home celebration, Westons Cider says its crucial retailers do not overlook the category as the nights draw in.
In its latest annual cider report, the Herefordshire cider maker highlighted the importance of major sporting events for the cider industry with sales significantly uplifting around football tournaments.
“With the FIFA World Cup taking place in the winter for the first time this year, an exciting opportunity has opened up for cider. If retailers can stock up in advance, and communicate the events to customers, they will be able to reap the benefits from Halloween right through Christmas party season and into the new year,” says Darryl Hinksman, Head of Business Development at Westons Cider.
“By bringing forward any Christmas offers or advertising to mid-November, creating off-shelf displays and prioritising bestsellerssuch as our Henry Westons Vintage – which now sells one bottle every second – retailers will be able to capitalise on increased sales from the World Cup and see escalated sales transition seamlessly into the festive period.”
To help retailers maximise shelf space and keep up with demand, Westons Cider has added to its variety of bigger pack formats, including six and eight packs of the popular Henry Westons range (+7.8% total range, Henry Westons Vintage 6 pack +14.2% yoy) and the star-performer in multiple retail channels, the Stowford Press ten pack (+292% YOY).
The brand’s recently introduced price-marked pint can four-pack of Stowford Press Apple Cider is also a great way for retailers to maximise profits as pint cans significantly over trade in the convenience channel with a 7.4 per cent share of cans value compared to 3.8 per cent in total market.
“When it comes to family get togethers at home, larger pack formats which cater to moments of ‘togetherness’ are paramount,” continues Hinksman. “Multi-packs continue to be popular choices for shoppers – this can be seen especially in the performance of our Stowford Press 10-pack which is significantly outperforming market growth. By stocking a variety of larger pack sizes retailers can rest assured that they are tapping into a key seasonal trend which will help drive sales year-round.”
The crafted Henry Westons range, now worth a staggering £71.8 million, also provides retailers with an opportunity to drive value sales within the growing cider subcategory, thanks to a higher average price per litre. The portfolio – including Henry Westons Cloudy Vintage (7.3%), Henry Westons Vintage Rosé (5.5%) and Henry Westons Organic Cider (6%) – offers shoppers characterful ciders in a range of flavours perfectly suited to wintertime.
Run by the fourth generation of the Weston family, the company produces popular ciders including Old Rosie, Rosie’s Pig and Mortimer’s Orchard, and distributes Veltins German Pilsener in the UK.
Mondelēz International has on Thursday announced that its Cadbury core sharing bars, manufactured in Bournville and Coolock and sold in the UK and Ireland, will be wrapped in 80 per cent certified recycled plastic packaging, which can be attributed to plastic sourced from advanced recycling technology.
This move is the result of a collaboration with Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing more sustainable packaging solutions and Jindal Films, an industry leader in the development and manufacture of recyclable films designed for flexible packaging.
Starting from 2025, in a phased approach, the project aims to cover approximately 300 million sharing bars across the UK and Ireland Cadbury core tablet portfolio. The move will see the highest percentage of recycled flexible plastic used within the Cadbury brand globally.
As part of this effort, 80 per cent of the plastic used in the packaging can be attributed to recycled plastic through mass balance and ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS certification.
Consumers can also access a new platform via an on pack QR code to find out more about the sustainable packaging journey the Cadbury brand is taking and a consumer-friendly explanation about mass balance. The platform also features the Recycle Now locator from WRAP, enabling consumers to check local collection and recycling points for a wide range of packaging materials.
“This is the latest move in our journey to increase our use of post-consumer recycled plastic across our Cadbury tablets portfolio in the UK&I.” said Louise Stigant, SVP and UK&I managing director, Mondelēz International.
“We remain focused on our long-term aim to offer more sustainable packaging, in particular flexible plastic packaging using advanced recycling technologies. For us this is based around a three-part approach aimed at reducing our packaging, evolving, and designing our packaging to be recyclable and improving systems by supporting the development of UK infrastructure and capabilities to collect, sort and recycle it back into food contact packaging.”
Amcor’s AmFiniti solution converts post-consumer plastic waste into new products, providing Mondelēz International with a packaging solution that is made using 80 per cent certified recycled plastic. This innovative process uses advanced recycling material (ARM) that is suitable for food-grade applications.
Leading confectionery wholesaler Hancocks has unveiled ‘unbeatable’ deals for retail customers this Black Friday.
Their big Black Friday event will be held on 28 November from 8am-8pm.
For one day only, Hancocks are cutting the costs of confectionery treats, seasonal sweets, novelty favourites and big brands including Millions, Cadbury and Haribo.
Retailers have the chance to make big seasonal savings and stock up on the confectionery staples their customers love. All deals are available while stocks last.
On the popular classic Swizzels range, Hancocks is offering customers the chance to buy six and save £10.80.
Retailers can buy six, save £10.00 on Haribo pick and mix, including Giant Cola Bottles, Gold Bears, Happy Cherries, Rhubarb & Custard, Heart Throbs and Fried Eggs.
Novelty lines are also on offer this Black Friday. Customers can buy any three Kidsmania lines and save £5.00, including Peek-A-Poo Potty Pops, Shark Bite, Pooplets and Quick Blast Sour Spray.
From Crazy Candy Factory, retailers can buy one Unicorn Laser Pop and get one Submarine Dip n Lick for free.
Hancocks is also inviting retailers to stack and save with their double deal on Kingsway pick and mix favourites, with the offer of buy ten + bags, save 40p per bag or buy 20 + bags and save £1 per bag.
“Our Black Friday event … is a great opportunity for retailers to benefit from massive savings on the products they always restock,” Kathryn Hague, head of marketing at Hancocks, said.
“This year, we are offering great deals on some of our most popular lines and brands, including Crazy Candy Factory, Swizzels, Warheads, Haribo and Cadbury. This is a great chance to stock up, make your money stretch further and keep your customers happy.”
Nestlé has announced a new partnership between Carnation and the Food Network.
Running until April 2025, the campaign will see Carnation condensed milk tapping into the nostalgia of favourite childhood desserts, showcasing the product as a key ingredient in family recipes.
The integrated campaign sees a 30 second slot running across linear TV, video on demand and in selected cinemas, representing a media channel-first for the brand. The sponsorship idents will also feature in 10 second slots around programmes including repeat episodes of The Great British Bake Off, running across Discovery+ and the Food Network.
“The ‘Carnation Makes Memories’ campaign is designed to remind consumers of the joy of homemade baking. As we move into the festive season - a time of gatherings and celebrations – what better way to get creative, whipping up your favourite desserts and sweet treats,” Kelly Light, Carnation senior brand manager, said.
“Research reveals that half of UK bakers remember having Carnation as a child and 63 per cent cited it as a part of their favourite childhood desserts. We wanted to capture the emotional bond UK consumers have with the brand through collective memories of baking, making and sharing desserts.”
The short film showcases a carousel of baking memories where each dessert has been lovingly crafted with Carnation to create classic family favourites such as banoffee pie.
Dark nights may be drawing in but in the world of stylish, conscientiously sourced chocolate, GNEW has opted for new splashes of colour brand identity, not only bringing a welcome dash of vitality and exuberance to the UK’s bustling chocolate and gifting fixtures announcing the business’s new, adult-orientation.
The makeover includes an appreciation of nostalgic comfort food, ambitious flavour marriages and compelling mouthfeel and textures.
New arrivals to GNAW’s flavour stable include a New York Cheesecake bar (milk chocolate), a Raspberry Mojito (milk), a tangy Seville Orange (dark & milk), a Popcorn & Peanut (milk), an Espresso Martini (milk), a Honeycomb & Caramel (milk), a zingy Peppermint (milk & dark) and a Sticky Toffee Pudding (milk).
From GNAW’s original launch back in 2010, the artisanal business’s unflinching vision has been never to skimp either in terms of taste (best-in-class ingredients, inspirational flavour liaisons) or purpose (work exclusively with ethical Colombian cacao producers, compostable/kerbside recyclable packaging using only vegetable inks, all produced using clean, solar energy).
"Over the last 12 months the team and I have been immersing ourselves within the latest food trends, not simply within chocolate but throughout all the key lifestyle food and drink movements," said GNAW’s Managing Director, Mike Navarro. "We have always known that we made incredible chocolate but needed to reaffirm our commitment to unearth bold, unapologetic flavours that tap into happy childhood memories, comfort food yearnings and happy nostalgic moments.
"Initial feedback from both loyalist and pending retailers has been nothing short of incredible, so we simply can’t wait to see how consumers respond in the run up to the festive season and beyond!
A complaint against a Jam Shed wine point of sale display has not been upheld by the alcohol industry’s Independent Complaints Panel (ICP).
The complaint, made by a member of the public, raised concerns that the display, which featured the marketing slogan “wine for drinking, not overthinking”, may encourage irresponsible and immoderate consumption.
The Panel considered whether the point-of-sale material could encourage irresponsible or immoderate consumption, under Code rule 3.2(f) as raised by the complainant.
The Panel discussed that "overthinking" was generally perceived to have negative connotations and expressed concern that the line "wine for drinking, not overthinking" in isolation, could be misconstrued as encouragement to drink without due care and attention. However, the Panel stated that it was important to consider the line in the context of the overall impression conveyed by the marketing.
The Panel considered Jam Shed more broadly and acknowledged the company’s response that it was a well-known brand marketed on being a simple and easy choice for consumers who may find the perceived complexity of the wine category intimidating. The Panel also noted that there was nothing else on the marketing material that suggested that a consumer should drink irresponsibly or immoderately.
The Panel considered that the brand identity provided a certain level of context to the intended meaning of the line but that there was an element of ambiguity which could have been made clearer as to the intended meaning of ‘overthinking’. On this point, the Panel warned producers that where marketing was ambiguous it could lead to an unintentional breach of the Code.
After much deliberation, the Panel concluded that while the wording was very close to the line of acceptability, the marketing material did not encourage immoderate or irresponsible consumption. Accordingly, the Panel did not find the point of sale material in breach of Code rule 3.2(f).
The Panel also considered whether the point of sale material urged a rapid or ‘down in one’ style of consumption, in breach of Code rule 3.2(g). The Panel assessed the rest of the marketing material and considered that it did not contain any cues which suggested a consumer should drink rapidly or encouraged a ‘down in one’ style of consumption. On that basis, the Panel concluded that the material did not breach Code rule 3.2(g) and accordingly did not uphold the complaint.
On being notified about the complaint, the company voluntarily removed the display and confirmed it would not use the phrase in future campaigns.
“While the Panel didn’t uphold the complaint in this instance, they still considered the wording of the point-of-sale display very close to the line of acceptability," said Chair of the Independent Complaints Panel, Rachel Childs. "It’s important for producers to be aware that ambiguous marketing could lead to unintentional breaches of the Code and I am grateful to the producer in this case for removing the campaign voluntarily which demonstrates their commitment to responsible marketing.”