Life is Sweet: how to sell confectionery now

“Despite everything, confectionery is one of those categories that people keep buying into,” says Tudor Evans, head of commercial at Holleys Fine Foods. Fine food shoppers – indeed, consumers of all kinds – will always have the desire for a sweet treat, but there are powers at play that are shaping what they are seeking, and the smart retailer is one who keeps their ear to the ground. The cost-of-living crisis and rising cocoa prices are important influences, but from innovative new launches to nostalgic family favourites, there’s plenty to keep British appetites sweet.

“Innovation is rife in the confectionery market, and a lot of this creation comes from Europe”, begins Katherine Shipley, consultant to the EU’s More Than Only Food & Drink campaign. “In Britain chocolate often comes to mind first when thinking about confectionery, but actually a lot of the best-loved soft gummy sweets come from the EU – and they’re brilliant at evolving the market.” Indeed, European producers were the first to experiment with sustainable packaging and vegan confectionery, says Katherine, and there’s a Dutch chocolate brand which has created its own fermented plant-based milk with which to produce its range.

British distributors often looks to Europe when seeking out new products and brands to delight its customers. “We regularly visit ISM and often come back with a new discovery,” begins Faye Cookson, a buyer at Cotswold Fayre. “We came across Wally & Whizz – a Danish wine gum brand – and Mallows – who produce caramel-filled marshmallows – there recently, and we’re often impressed by how European producers create their own take on a traditional confection.”

A balancing act
Amongst all the innovation, consumers retain a strong appetite for tradition when it comes to confectionery. “Stockley’s Sweets are a traditional range of sweets, ideal for garden centres,” says Faye, and their nostalgic range including flavours such as Berries & Cream boiled sweets and Clotted Cream Fudge have proven popular with customers. Laura’s Confectionery, fresh from a rebrand, is also ticking boxes with shoppers; its range of familiar favourites such as Wine Gums, Jelly Babies and Strawberry Bon Bons are satisfying the appetite for nostalgic tastes that can be enjoyed by the whole family. 

Traditional sweets are popular at Holleys, too. “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in sales for our brand Barney Jacks,” says Tudor. “Licorice is also selling well, as is Walker’s Nonsuch and the range of fudge and other traditional confectionery from Buttermilk. In terms of trends, pistachio is a real trending flavour so when there’s a pistachio variety in a range we’ll always look to include it.”

Fine food buyers need to tread a fine line when it comes to getting the balance of familiarity and newness right for their customer base. British shoppers are familiar with flavours like rhubarb & custard and sticky toffee pudding, but when it comes to more innovative flavours and formats it pays to let customers dip a toe in the water before purchasing. “We find that samples work well,” says Faye, “and we often provide samples when sending an exciting new product out to retailers so the team can know what they’re selling, and customers can try before they buy.”

“Sweet Dough Things’ vegan and sugar-free candyfloss in a pouch is a great example of this,” Faye continues. “It’s a new concept which is setting us apart in the market, and since we’ve been trialling samples sales have skyrocketed.”

At The Norfolk Deli, Mark Kacary has found that locally-made products sell best. “We have tried boxes of chocolate like Carbonnel & Walker and Roccoco but they have been a hard sell for us. However bars of locally made Gnaw chocolate have been very popular, and more recently boxes of chocolate by the Cambridge Chocolate Co where the chocolate is visible and customer can see what they are buying.” After years of honing a product range that will sell in his shop, Mark advocates “nothing too fancy and nothing too trendy”.

A sweet history
While Europe is a great source of inspiration when it comes to growing sectors such as free-from, producers, retailers and consumers alike can revel in a rich history of confectionery-making. Take marzipan as an example. A number of countries proudly host this almond paste confection – it’s known as marzapane in Italy and massepain in France – but it’s the German marzipan which has gained a loyal following in Britain. A rich almond-scented paste, it is so much more than the Christmas cake-topping Brits most commonly enjoy it as. Glossy, lifelike fruit-shaped confections sell well across Europe, and it’s an important part of Germany’s culinary culture, with celebrations of all kinds often noted with personalised plaques or shapes.

Chocolate also plays a key part in the food history of Europe. “In the early sixteeth century Spanish explorers travelled to the Americas and brought back cacao, establishing a culture of hot chocolate which spread across Europe and Britain.” Each country established its own take on chocolate, with Belgium specialising in cream-rich fresh chocolates, and in 2018 Italy was home to the world’s first PGI chocolate. Made in Modica, Cioccolato di Modica is made by manually grinding cacao beans for a distinctive grainy texture not unlike traditional Mexican chocolate. 

Chocolate hollows are well worth experimenting with, says Katherine, particularly during seasonal periods. “European producers have long mastered the art of creating great quality chocolate hollows, so whether you’re buying a chocolate Santa at Christmas or a chocolate rabbit for Easter, if it’s made in Europe you know it’s going to be delicious and made using great chocolate.”

The appetite for free-from
Free-from is also a growing opportunity for independent retailers, says Faye. “Free-from is growing and here to stay, and we regularly receive queries about it so it’s important to us that we supply vegan and free-from products to our customers.” That’s not to say that free-from trumps taste; after all, shoppers requiring plant-based, sugar-free or gluten-free are just as discerning about flavour and quality as the mainstream shopper. “If a brand comes through and it’s completely vegan that’s a big tick for us, but we wouldn’t stock it just for that reason – it would have to be delicious too.” 

Mark has found his customers don’t have much of an appetite for free-from, demonstrating that it’s vital that independent retailers trial and test new innovations before jumping in with both feet. “Whilst it is true that the trend for vegan and free-from grows, we tend not to stock it for the simple reason that this is still a minority product. If we were to buy two boxes of chocolate – one vegan and the other not – by the time we’ve sold out of the non-vegan chocolate we may have sold a single bar of vegan. This means we get more wastage from free-from products, and economics makes it less of an issue for us to lose the sale of a single bar of chocolate than to throw away nine bars.”

Smart selling
Of course, confectionery is a prime fodder for gifting, with Katharine citing personalised boxes of truffles as her go-to, but invest time into selling it in a way that works for you – gone are the days of shelves piled high with foil-wrapped Rudolphs. “We’ve found that there’s a shift away from overtly seasonal packaging,” says Faye, “so there’s less pressure on the retailer to get all products sold within a certain time period.”

As well as avoiding strongly seasonal lines in case of wastage post-season, retailers need to remain wary of stocking products beyond the budgets of their shoppers. “We are in times when people want to spoil themselves, but don’t necessarily have the funds to do so, so they are looking for quality at a decent price,” says Mark. “Our customers are looking for value for money.” This value can take many forms – provenance, quality and attractiveness – and the more of these boxes a confectionery item ticks the better. “The products from Cambridge Chocolate Company show off the products, they look like good quality and they very much give the appearance that the customer will get a good amount of confectionery for what they are going to spend,” recommends Mark. 

Britons will revel in both nostalgic creations they can share with the family as well as exciting new innovations, but providing a tailored range that suits your shop’s customer base – considering their budgets, palates and appetite for new – will be the key to sweet success.