Mars Chocolate UK announces Xmas plans

Mars Chocolate UK is looking forward to a promising 2012 festive period and is building on previous Christmas successes with new introductions and returning favourites from its best loved brands in seasonal formats.

Christmas 2012 plans from Mars Chocolate, which this year celebrates 80 years of operations in Slough, will also focus on continuing to support retailers and growing the category; with POS materials and seasonal in-store display advice as well as exciting NPD.

Mars’ top tips for retailers this Christmas

• Stock up from September to make the most of the extended sales window throughout the season
• Create seasonal displays and in-store theatre to maximise sales and encourage impulse purchases
• Keep in mind the growth of the self eat category as Christmas shoppers look to treat themselves as well as stock up on gifts and sharing products for family and friends
• Make best use of the till point to further capitalise on impulse purchases
• Nostalgia is a key theme at Christmas – stocking clear best sellers from brands which consumers know and love is a winning strategy for retailers

Mars Christmas range

Stocking fillers – tubes

Tubes are a festive favourite and represent the ideal stocking filler. The square format also offers retailers great shelf utilisation and strong consumer stand out, especially with Mars’ Maltesers and Galaxy Minstrels which are two of the top 5 bestsellers in this category.

Selection boxes

Mars’ much loved brands return for Christmas 2012 in seasonal selection boxes, which all featured in the top ten bestselling selection boxes of 2011. This year also marks the arrival of a new selection box – Galaxy luxury selection box featuring Galaxy gift for you – the perfect indulgent choice for chocolate lovers from the UK’s 5th most loved brand .

Advent calendars

With an impressive 8% growth for Mars Advent Calendars in 2011 , the festive favourites make a popular return for Christmas 2012, to capture the excitement of counting down to Christmas with two of the nation’s best loved chocolate brands.

Mars Chocolate’s Christmas self eat category experienced a very impressive 60% growth rate in 2011. With the huge success of Galaxy gift for you caramel, Mars Chocolate is proud to introduce new truffle variant to drive further growth. The indulgent treat is in an elegant present shape, with one half solid Galaxy chocolate and the other filled with delicious caramel or truffle. The addition to the range is sure to be a hit with consumers, and Galaxy fans in particular; retailers are advised to stock up from September.

Sharing – Celebrations and Maltesers

The prevalence of the sharing trend is continuing, and the festive season gives the category an added boost as consumers look to stock up on treats to enjoy with friends and family and to gift to others.

Celebrations is now the number 1 Twistwrap brand , and has been redesigned for 2012 with a modern ‘Christmassy’ style look  and an ‘8 famous brands message’ clearly communicated on pack. The nation’s favourite Twistwrap brand is available in multiple formats, suitable for a range of sharing and gifting occasions and representing huge sales potential for retailers. The mini box is also perfectly suited to a till point display unit to capitalise on 100% footfall and encourage last minute purchases.

Maltesers small and large boxes represent the ideal top up gift or stocking filler for Christmas and are star performers in the boxed category as the number 1 and number 3 classic single flavour formats. The brand is instantly recognisable with shoppers, especially with a £7m media spend support throughout 2012 in the same year that the brand has been celebrating its 75th anniversary.