Apple Burst is the latest flavour innovation from Tic Tac.

Retailing at 55p for an 18g single pack, and £1.25 for a 49g 100 pack, the product will launch in the impulse channel next month before being rolled out to grocery later in the year.

The Apple Burst launch will benefit from a £3.6m media investment in the wider Tic Tac brand. The activity will include TV, digital, outdoor and in-store activation. Ferrero has developed impulse specific display solutions to raise visibility and to capitalise fully on this opportunity. Counter top units are for sale in a number of wholesalers, with the opportunity to request POS from Ferrero.

The Tic Tac brand has grown 7.3% year on-year with over half (55%) of all sales made through the impulse channel.

Ferrero customer development director Levi Boorer says: “This latest launch will once again tap into a huge consumer trend for fruit flavours in the pocket confectionery category. Fruit is now the largest segment of this market as well as the fastest growing. Apple is one of the world’s most popular flavours and our consumer research indicates that the new Apple burst flavour will be just as popular as the incredibly successful Strawberry Fields. Confectionery is the most impulsive of all the categories, so we would always encourage retailers to merchandise the full Tic Tac range in a highly visible area with impactful displays that highlight new flavours.”

The launch of Apple Burst follows the strong performance of Tic Tac’s newest fruit flavours Cherry Passion and Strawberry Fields. These flavours achieved huge growth in the last two years and now account for 33% of total Tic Tac sales. Strawberry Fields delivered £3.9m in its first year, becoming the most successful NPD in pocket confectionery in 2012/2013 and was highly recommended at The Grocer’s New Product Awards 2012 (Confectionery – Sugar).

Offering the right fruit range is crucial in retaining shoppers in the impulse channel, states Ferrero. “New fruit flavours have been highly incremental to the category, so it is important to stock a range of flavours as the majority of customers stick to a preferred variant,” says Boorer. “For example, 71% of Tic Tac Strawberry Fields consumers do not eat any other Tic Tac flavours, making it a highly incremental SKU. Apple Burst is sure to be just as successful in bringing in new shoppers, with its unique flavour profile against the current range.”