Magazine: Shape and content

The Easter of 2017 was a successful season for chocolate figure manufacturers and sellers. It helped a lot that last year Easter was in mid-April, and growing purchasing power fell in line with the trend of consumers willing to pay more for sweets given as a gift. Although this year Easter will be in early April, market players are optimistic.

Kitti Végh
brand manager
Nestlé Hungária

According to Kitti Végh, brand manager of Nestlé Hungária Kft., after three years of sales decline, last year finally brought an increase in chocolate figure sales (in both value and volume). In the Easter season 60-70 percent of chocolate figure sales (Nielsen RMS 2017) are realised by rabbit and egg figures. Nielsen’s experience is that among retail channels discounters are becoming more and more important.

Nestlé had a superb season last Easter, for instance the new SMARTIES products were selling very well. Both the rabbit and the ‘other figure’ (chick, lamb) categories are expanding. Each season the company’s goal is to surprise shoppers with new products. Just like in former years, Nestlé will use the so-called Pick & Mix promotion in 2018. There will also be campaigns customised to specific retail chain needs.

Zoltán Kulcsár
key account manager
Foltin Globe

The growing demand for quality milk chocolate products is well indicated by the fact that Foltin Globe’s Riegelein products are increasingly popular. These high quality products are made from 33-percent-cocoa milk chocolate and have a fair trade certification – informed Zoltán Kulcsár, key account manager of Foltin Globe Kft. He told that seasonal sales are the strongest in the hypermarket and discount supermarket channels. The best-selling product is the 60g rabbit figure. This year the company will start distributing the innovative Easter confectionery products of Tago.

In the 2017 Easter season G.I.F.T. Kft. realised a more than 30 percent growth in the volume sales of Lindt chocolate figures – our magazine learned from managing director Zoltán Mihályi. This season they calculate with a similar sales growth. Lindt’s global icon product is the Lindt Gold Bunny, sales of which were growing by two-digit numbers in the last 4-5 years in Hungary; what is more, in 2017 they were up more than 30 percent. This season G.I.F.T. Kft. adds Italian praline egg brands Sorini and Feletti to its product portfolio. //