Friday, 21 March 2014

New retail formats for sweets



The box turned up in the post. Not wrapped, no damage, all intact. It was clear to see what it was so I wasted no time in “pushing and peeling” the four windows as instructed. Six little bags of sweets lay inside to tempt me – I’m now supposed to “graze” all day with any other colleagues in the office…

Confectionery is certainly an evolving category. The fact that we all love a sweet treat from time to time is resulting in the development of some interesting formats and retail styles in order to tempt us to choose a particular avenue.

This example comes to us courtesy of Mr Big Tops. Clearly based on the principle of a Graze box (which admittedly is a little more healthy), a quick look at the website suggests that they ideally want you to subscribe – a box every week even! You give a “thumbs up" to a selection of 60 sweets and then they surprise you each time. The cost of a 375g box is £3.75 with free postage and  you can simply purchase a single box if you are suitably self-controlled.

Nifty idea and the Mr Big Tops brand uses every inch of its box, inside and out, to develop the brand and encourage engagement. Whilst Mr Big Tops is not the only company offering boxes of sweets delivered by post, I certainly smile at their carefully considered format and presentation.

The methods of retailing confectionery are becoming abundant and I really doubt that we have seen the last of them yet. With the benefit of technology and creative flair, our sweet shoppers have ample choice and we must work hard to look after the customers that we have before they are tempted elsewhere.

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