Branded rabbits and eggs in leading role

Quality is the trend among seasonal sweets. Manufacturers of branded milk chocolate figures won’t have much to worry about this Easter. Last year, real milk chocolate accounted for three out of four HUF spent on Easter sweets. – As a result of our efforts to persuade people to take a better look at what they are buying, the proportion of brand products is growing among seasonal sweets – says Kamilla Harsányi, Senior Brand Manager from Nestlé Hungária. Brands serve as a guarantee of quality, as strong brands use only milk chocolate for making Easter figures. György Seregi, sales director of Bonbonetti is confident that the positive trend will continue in the future, though growth might be slowed down by a drop in purchasing power. However, import will be less of a concern this year, owing to the weak HUF. The market share of chocolate figures continued to grow in the 2008 Christmas season. However, the Easter season has its peculiarities, like having to give gifts to a wider range of acquaintances. Another significant difference between the Christmas and Easter seasons is that gift packages play a less important role during Easter, because this period is characterised by a larger number of less personal gifts. Nestlé, as the market leader in hollow figures takes care to conform to current consumer trends in working out its seasonal assortment. As a result of increasing health consciousness, portions have become more important than before. This is why smaller size versions of Smarties and KitKat products have been developed, like the 48 gram Smarties rabbit, the 17.5 gram Smarties egg, the 20 gram KitKat rabbit and 15 gram KitKat egg. The entire seasonal portfolio of Nestlé is branded, including Nestlé and Boci figures. Bonbonetti is to expand it Easter portfolio substantially this year. A number of new products will appear which have been the monopoly of competitors till now, including rabbits and eggs in pouches, mixed Easter packages and a rabbit figure filled with dragee. The Easter products of Bonbonetti will continue to be sold under the Tibi brand. As hyper markets account for 60 per cent of seasonal sales, in store placement and activities play a key role in successful sales. Both Nestlé and Bonbonetti use a wide range of POS tools, adopted to channel specific requirements.