A wide selection of Christmas gift packs will be available this year

Christmas gift packs realise considerable sales and market players say some shoppers also purchase these products in this period for themselves, because they can get the items in them cheaper. Classic gift packs contain alcoholic drinks, sweets, tea and coffee, and of course there are cosmetic product packs too. According to Sára Palcsó, marketing director of Zwack Unicum Nyrt., Christmas gift pack sales are mainly influenced by two factors, gift type and box quality. Emese Horgosi, junior brand manager of Unilever Magyarország Kft. revealed that volume sales of cosmetics gift packs decreased a little in the last few years, but value sales remained stable.

Sára Palcsó
marketing director
Zwack Unicum

Emese Horgosi
junior brand manager
Unilever Magyarország

Melinda Jáger, marketing manager of Beiersdorf Kft. told that shoppers typically buy gift packs on the last week before Christmas and the main buyers are women. Márk Maczelka, SPAR Magyarország’s head of communications added that sales are stable year after year and new products generate growth.Bettina Kereszt, junior brand manager of Sarantis Hungary Kft. reported that the sales trends of non-food gift packs are negative in both Hungary and abroad. Zsuzsa Tabár, product manager of Target Sales Group let us know that their primary focus is selling Inecto Naturals body care cosmetics packs, for which demand has been growing in the last few years. Zoltán Kiss, managing director of Creative World Kft. told us: this season they are going to come out with new Himalaya Herbals cosmetics gift packs – they plan to sell more than 100,000 of these.

Melinda Jáger
marketing manager
Beiersdorf

Márk Maczelka
head of communications
SPAR Magyarország

Bettina Kereszt
junior brand manager
Sarantis Hungary

Zsuzsa Tabár
product manager
Target Sales Group

Zoltán Kiss
managing director
Creative World

Superio Kft.’s experience is that gift pack buyers belong to two categories: 1. those who are looking for classic gift products; 2. regular buyers of the given brand, who buy gift packs in the Christmas season because products are cheaper if they come in a pack. Brand manager Kata Szekeresné Bartek told: the most important retail channel is hypermarkets because displaying gift packs requires lots of space. The second most important sales channel is drugstores. Petra Juhász, brand manager of Henkel Magyarország Kft. opines that the majority of consumers buy Christmas packs as a gift. Ms Kereszt underlined that the price of gift packs is a decisive factor: in many cases there is a certain budget available for these purchases, as typically not the closest friends get such packs as a gift. Ms Horgosi explained that gift pack buying happens fast, it is an impulse purchase, which means that an attractive packaging can easily sell the product.

Kata Szekeresné Bartek
Brand manager
Superio

Petra Juhász
brand manager
Henkel Magyarország

Ms Juhász informed Trade magazin that Henkel gift packs contain the most popular body and hair care products, this year’s new product Fa Honey shower gels and soaps, plus the Schauma Nature Moments shampoo. Ms Jáger told that packs of 2-3 products constitute the majority of the market, but NIVEA also offers gift packs that contain products from more categories, at a favourable price. Kata Szekeresné Bartek reckons that the main products in cosmetics gift packs are still shower gels, body lotions and face creams regularly used by women. Ms Tabár talked to us about their Inecto Naturals products: 90 percent of their components are natural, and the products are enriched with coconut and argan oils. This Christmas they will be available in three different sets.

Ms Horgosi introduced those new products to us which will be featured in Unilever gift packs: refreshing Dove products with pear and aloe vera, the Dove Glowing Ritual shower gel, and new Axe YOU deodorants and shower gels for men. The company pays special attention to offering gift packs in attractive packaging. Ms Palcsó shed light on the fact that shot glasses are very popular in Unicum packs. SPAR Magyarország compiles gift packs for both women and men, representing different values. Whisky, cognac and cream liqueurs are consumer’s top choices when it comes to alcoholic drinks in gift packs.

When it comes to buying Christmas gift packs, Hungarian consumers are rather price-sensitive, because by the time they are purchasing them they have already spent the majority of their gift budget and what they want is a cheap and useful present. A growing number of consumers are looking for gifts which are a bit more unique, something different than the gift packs which have been available for many years. Kata Szekeresné Bartek reckons that Ziaja gift packs will be able to profit from this trend. Ms Kereszt told us that Sarantis Hungary Kft. prepares for every season with thematic gift pack offers. As for product communication, the company believes in the efficiency of online presence and special in-store product displaying. Target Sales Group’s tetesept brand hasn’t come out with a Christmas gift pack for years, but in 2017 they are making a special offer to consumers, which will only be available in dm stores. Tetesept product manager Mária Krämer explained that this gift pack is special because it contains bathing concentrates that won’t be available in shops in other periods. Ms Tabár remembered that Inecto Naturals packs were very popular last year and the company hopes that this trend will continue this season.

Henkel Magyarország Kft.’s Kids gift packs – targeting both girls and boys – of Fa, Schauma and Vademecum products have been popular for many years. Many packs also contain small presents. The gift packs of Unilever Magyarország Kft. combine quality with a stylish design. This year the company is making channel-specific gift packs, which will only be available in certain drugstore and hypermarket chains. In 2017 Ziaja’s successful cosmetics gift pack for children will return to shops. It will contain 5 different shower gels in fun packaging, developed especially for children.

Besides Himalaya Herbals duo and trio gift packs, this Christmas Creative World Kft. will also be present in stores with a 4-product set. The stylish and high quality gift packs will be available for HUF 600-1,400. Zwack Unicum Nyrt.’s Hungarian (Fütyülős, Hubertus) and international (Baileys, Johnnie Walker, Captain Morgan) brands will be marketed in special-design aluminium boxes or packed together with 2 shot glasses. Both versions reflect the products’ premium quality. SPAR Magyarország’s gift packs will contain glasses, aluminium gift boxes and other nice items. The successful products of former years and new products will both turn up in shops. //