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.

www.sweetretailing.co.uk

192 Sweet Shop Names

Have you spotted our new, resourceful little e-book called 192 Sweet Shop Names? It is quite simply what the name suggests and priced at just £1.25 (less than the price of many bagged sweets), well worth a read for anyone trying to name a new confectionery retail business.

Working in the confectionery industry, we are always thinking of fun names and decided to start jotting them down. Months later and a quick count determined that there were 192! That is the simple story behind this project. We decided to publish the list because it just might be helpful to some of our visitors.

Here is a link to learn more about 192 Sweet Shop Names

Naming a sweet or chocolate shop can be a daunting task and also a very important one. Do you want a modern or traditional feel? Young or grown up image? Witty or serious name? At the end of the day, your gut feel will count for a lot. You might also find a previous article that we wrote of help to you:

Naming a new sweet shop

A final bit of advice would be that once you’ve chosen your final name, live with it for at least a few days. Ask a few friends what they think and try to imagine what your branding and your store might look like as a result of the name. Consider if it is easy to remember and easy to say. If it keeps passing the test, you’ve found your dream sweet shop name!

www.sweetretailing.co.uk

That time already?

Where did Christmas go? We seem to spend so much more time getting ready for it and trading for it than actually enjoying it!

Well a very Happy New Year to you and I hope that it proves to be a prosperous one. The economy has now officially turned a corner and things appear to be looking up. Is that the case in confectionery retailing? We’d love to hear what you think from your own experience.

Valentine’s Day is the next target on the horizon, with Easter and Mother’s Day not far behind. Start planning now for all three events and get that spring gifting display underway. Watch out for impulsive opportunities like all of the self-eat spring confectionery items; Crème Eggs still leading the way. Also ensure that your range is suiting a variety of price points and remember that there is a younger audience for February 14^th too; it’s not all about huge boxes of delicious chocolates.

Bulk hearts come in all flavours and formats now, from foil wrapped chocolate hearts to jelly, mallow and gummy hearts. Even sweets like Cherry Lips can prove to be an opportunity for your Valentine’s Day pick and mix. Think outside the box and have fun doing so. Your customers will thank you for it as they seek out original ideas for their loved ones.

We’ll keep you posted on SweetRetailing so be sure to visit the website often!

Easter looms

December; the month of busy trading in readiness for Christmas. We hope that it is going well for you and you are selling plenty of confectionery!

Meanwhile, the wholesalers are busy stacking their shelves with Easter goodies such as Crème Eggs and Mini Eggs. What a crazy world we live in. But yes, this is just a polite reminder that sales for egg shaped treats such as those aforementioned and many more besides, start to roll in from January onwards.

Easter has become a challenge for many retailers where confectionery is concerned. The supermarkets have well and truly taken over the standard branded egg market and discounted it to the limit. But in doing so, I think that a good proportion of consumers have started to tire of the “plentiful cheap eggs” theme at Easter. Children can now receive so many chocolate eggs simply because they are so cheap! But I’m not sure that is where everyone wishes to be. We want to buy chocolate gifts for our family and friends but we also want it to feel a little bit special and not just a grab-and-go at the local supermarket.

Clever retailers consider the Easter gifting market carefully and develop a range that is different and perhaps a little bit more special than the masses. That doesn’t mean to say it’s a more expensive range; just more carefully thought out, specifically with local shoppers in mind. Consider Easter confectionery gifts that are not simply eggs. You could also contemplate what bespoke packing you might wish to undertake, to create something really unique. Give some thought also to the speciality chocolate manufacturers that are often happy for you to buy from them direct.

You might want to take some time to consider (or re-consider) who your customers are and what they actually want to buy from you in the run up to Easter. Do you serve an older audience or parents with young children? Perhaps you are located in quite an affluent area where premium gifting would sell well? What is the value of your own brand? All of these such factors will clearly have an impact on the range that would perform best in your store.

There are so many more Easter gifting confectionery products to consider beyond the main brands and the core range that the supermarkets collectively attack. So why not make 2014 the year to consider this opportunity (yes, there is still an opportunity at Easter) early so that you can be ready to reap the rewards from a carefully chosen range of confectionery gifts.

www.sweetretailing.co.uk

Do we want "healthy" Kit Kats?

The latest announcement is that both Nestle and Mondelez have committed to the government’s “Responsibility Deal”, agreeing to re-formulate chocolate bar recipes and reduce the level of saturated fat in them to provide a more healthy chocolate.

Kit Kat is one of the first products to be revamped and I think that we will all wait with baited breath to see what it actually tastes like!

Obesity is a serious issue; we all know that. And it is right that the government should be looking to develop policies that could help to address this very real problem. But, do we want our standard main branded chocolate products to be re-created and marketed, dare I suggest it, as “healthy”? Let's face it, they will never be a truly healthy product and that is almost the point of them.

We all seem to be suffering as a result of those that over-eat the wrong things and spend too much time on their backsides! Surely, as it has been for generations, it’s a question of balance and that is what the government should be paying more attention to addressing?

People are obese because they eat too much of the wrong foods and don’t exercise enough. That is surely the essence of it?

We all like to have a treat and chocolate is just that. It’s a sweet treat. Not a daily food substance that our bodies can survive on. If chocolate becomes “healthy”, first of all, is it still a treat and secondly, is that going to make those that need to, eat less of it? I doubt it.

We’ll watch the developments with interest and I look forward (I think) to tasting and comparing the “new” Kit Kat when it arrives. But I honestly don’t think that re-formulating long standing chocolate bars is going to create a healthy nation. For that, we need to change the mindset and habits of a huge number of people that need to understand the difference between food groups, develop some self discipline and become a little more active.

www.sweetretailing.co.uk

Do your customers engage?

We are spotting more and more retailers embrace Twitter for the first time – even the smallest; working to build up a small community of their own to engage with. It’s free and for many, can be very effective indeed.

Smaller retailers can use the likes of Twitter and Facebook to talk with their local customers, getting feedback from time to time and communicating offers and special events when need be.

It certainly cannot harm any confectionery retailer to have a go and build a “community” over time! Of course, you will generally reach out to your most proactive and loyal customers in the main. Those that seek you out on social networks or take action having read that you are there to talk to. So to my mind, social networks can be a great tool for confectionery retailers to engage with their best customers and keep them close.

So how can you engage with the more infrequent customers that you welcome through your doors? Many might pop in just a few times a year when the need arises. Well maybe a need might arise in the run up to Christmas and you could use that to your advantage!

As well as going to town on your product range at Christmas time, it’s a great opportunity to recruit some more customers to engage with beyond the festive season. Think about advertising a weekly giveaway on Twitter or Facebook in your store. Perhaps you supply an exclusive discount code via Facebook every Friday. You could develop a social media promotion whereby every friend on Facebook gets entered into a prize draw to win something rather big.

There are lots of ways to encourage your customers, regular and infrequent, to sign up to your social media and there is no better time than when you might be a bit busier. Use your store, counter and bags to communicate the benefits and look forward to engaging with more customers socially during 2014.

www.sweetretailing.co.uk