1. Sweet biscuit sales in convenience stores – including multiples – grew by 6.9% YoY
2. Focus on indulgence and luxury – impulse stores give ‘Everyday Biscuits’ 33% more space than they generate in value sales
3. Three opportunity areas are under-traded in convenience
4. Price-marked packs have grown by +10% in the past year
5. Consumers are becoming more discerning about ‘healthier’ offerings
6. On-the-go formats are in growth, particularly in the £31.9m ‘Kids Biscuits’ category
1. Sweet biscuit sales in convenience stores – including multiples – grew by 6.9% YoY
Is your cakes & biscuits range fit for purpose? As shoppers continue to swap fancier meals out for affordable treats at home, there are plenty of opportunities for retailers in cakes & biscuits, a category that is thriving in local stores.
“Impulse outlets, outside the major supermarkets, delivered a staggering £267m of sweet biscuit sales in the past year, equating to growth of +3.1% year on year,” says Robin Norton, head of category insight at Fox’s Burton’s Companies. “Despite scale-bringing benefits, the smallest sector of non-symbol independents delivered the fastest growth YoY at 7.1%.
“Size and independence do not need to be a barrier to growing sweet biscuit sales.”
Suppliers recognise the importance of impulse retailers for the category’s success. “Convenience stores generate nearly a quarter of sweet biscuit sales, which is clear evidence that biscuits are a huge profit opportunity for independent retailers who get their offering right,” agrees Aslı Özen Turhan, chief marketing officer at Pladis.
Rising costs of household expenses are playing a role in driving this growth. Gemma Grange, Mrs Crimble’s brand manager at Ecotone, says: “It has undoubtedly influenced shopper behaviour across all categories, including cakes & biscuits. During times of strain, many people seek comfort in the foods that they consider as a treat. This is particularly prevalent in cake. Consumers still seek value for money in the category, and search for trusted brands that deliver joy and delight.”
“Our biggest sellers within biscuits & cakes are a mix of own brand from a value perspective and big popular names that people trust,” says Goran Raven, who runs Raven’s Budgens in Abridge, Essex.
2. Focus on indulgence and luxury – impulse stores give ‘Everyday Biscuits’ 33% more space than they generate in value sales
Despite the opportunity to trade shoppers up to premium lines, data shows that independent convenience operators are over-representing ‘everyday’ products at the expense of stocking higher-value brands.
“Most stores carry too many everyday biscuits like plain digestives, custard creams, rich tea, bourbons, ginger snaps and oatie biscuits,” reveals FBC’s Robin Norton. “These six types of biscuits alone make up 72% of the sales of the ‘cheaper biscuits’. They are great for making your range affordable, but retailers should be wary of trading shoppers down who can afford better.
“By offering too wide a range, too many choices of brand or double-facing lines, retailers are missing an opportunity. Impulse stores – both multiple and independent – tend to give ‘Everyday Biscuits’ 33% more range than they generate in value sales.”
Local brands are a great way to drive a premium in cakes & biscuits, offering shoppers a high-end treat that they can’t get anywhere else. “We stock a range of local cakes that is sold on a sale-or-return basis. Our local supplier also helps with any seasonal opportunities, like themed cakes for Valentine’s Day,” says Justin Whittaker, owner of MJ’s Premier, Royton, Greater Manchester.
“We also stock local cakes and it’s a key range for us. We found ours by researching online, and I recommend other retailers do the same,” says Goran.”
3. Three opportunity areas are under-traded in convenience
Common under-trades for convenience stores include chocolate biscuit bars, special treats and minis. “Minis is where we have seen the fastest growth in sweet biscuits over the past five years, and larger stores have taken full advantage of this format. Smaller retailers should as well. Multipacks of mini biscuits offer portability and portion control for adults and children alike, so they are a popular ‘ready to go’ option,” says FBC’s Robin Norton.
Pladis is helping retailers drive sales in chocolate biscuit bars with McVitie’s Gold Billions Chocolate & Hazelnut, RRP 89p, PMP 79p, exclusively for impulse stores. “This launch builds on the phenomenal success of multi-award-winning McVitie’s Gold Billions, which has grown to be a £5m brand only 18 months after launch,” explains Olivia Haley, brand manager for chocolate biscuit bars & commercial brands at Pladis.
“It is the number one on-the-go sweet biscuit in impulse.”
4. Price-marked packs have grown by +10% in the past year
“While January is all about health trends, we haven’t had a biscuit-free January, so shoppers are still looking to treat themselves,” says Justin Whittaker. “McVitie’s is the main player for us in the biscuits category. Outside of this is Fox’s and Booker’s own label, Jack’s. For McVitie’s, we only stock price-marked packs, as value is such a huge shopper need within the category.”
While pushing for premium, it’s important that retailers do not take their eye off the basics – offering much-loved brands at a great price. Price-marked packs have a pivotal role in the category and the format is continuing to go from strength to strength.
“Price-marked packs are a phenomenal success in sweet biscuits. In impulse outlets they have grown value sales as much as 10% in the past year and now account for 48% of the category’s value,” says Norton.
“British consumers lead busy lives, and they’re turning more often to indulgent snacks for a little lift or ‘me’ moment. In our continuing uncertain economic conditions, shoppers are still being more careful with their cash and are looking to save by swapping nights out for cosy evenings in,” says Pladis’ Aslı Özen Turhan.
“They still want to make the most of their moments of relaxation with a special treat, so are making savings by turning away from more expensive snacking categories and discovering, and re-discovering, the affordable indulgence sweet biscuits can offer.”
5. Consumers are becoming more discerning about ‘healthier’ offerings
Away from the chocolate-covered and sweet varieties, savoury products are a key pillar in your cakes & biscuits range. However, consumers’ increasing awareness of what is – and what is not – considered a healthier choice is raising the bar in the category.
“The issue for many shoppers is that savoury biscuits, crackers and crispbreads seem wholesome and healthy, but savoury snack biscuits tend not to be healthy at all. They’re putting rice cakes in their basket then looking to see if anything else is available,” says Steve Monk, founder of Good Guys Bakehouse.
“As a brand, we’re embracing this head on, tapping into the opportunity for healthy, snackable biscuits at the accessible mass premium end of the market. In fact, we’re one of the very few savoury biscuit brands over-indexing on younger, health-conscious shoppers (including young couples and healthy foodies) driving strong incremental category growth.”
Retailers should be cautious not to forget catering for specialist diets too. “The free-from bakery category continues to grow, driven by the increasing number of consumers adopting gluten-free diets but still wanting to treat themselves. To maximise sales, retailers need to focus on cross-merchandising cake with complementary items such as tea and coffee,” says Ecotone’s Gemma Grange.
6. On-the-go formats are in growth, particularly in the £31.9m ‘Kids Biscuits’ category
Perhaps the biggest opportunity for convenience and forecourt retailers, on-the-go formats are in rude health and are helping retailers increase basket spend around breakfast and lunchtime by offering an alternative to pastries, bars and crisps.
“Traditionally most Brits buy most of their biscuits on large shopping trips and they tend to be a shopping list item. This could be seen to work against impulse outlets; however, we know biscuits are also very versatile and lend themselves to a wide range of shopping missions and consumption occasions,” explains FBC’s Robin Norton.
“Breakfast biscuits can offer an on-the-go early morning solution and single-serve biscuits like Fox’s Cookies go well with a takeaway coffee. Also, grab bags of Mini Maryland can complement a meal deal while Jammie Dodgers can be an optimal after school snack.”
“Customers will buy bakery products with us, as they’re on the go, especially as we’re a forecourt,” says Goran. “We do well on the Nutella sharing packs and three-packs that shoppers can purchase as a snack on the go.”
To succeed in cakes & biscuits this year, look around your store and identify the complementary products that shoppers buy them with and make sure you are stocking biscuits in the right formats at a range of price points to meet their needs.
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