Leaf to take a bite out of the gum sector
Leaf is set to help retailers unlock incremental sales within the confectionery category with the launch of its new product, Chewie Gum. Chewie Gum, which will be available in all trading channels, is a hard bubble gum sweet in three delicious variants – strawberry & banana, tropical and lemon.
The gum sector is currently lacking investment and innovation, (only 2% in 2012), yet despite this it is in good growth, +3.1% YOY. Within it, the hard bubble gum market is in rapid growth and as there aren’t any branded products that have significant share, it opens a whole new arena to Chewits, a brand that is currently experiencing value growth of +20%, +7% ahead of the category.
Stuart Lane, commercial director at Leaf says: “With the hard bubble gum sector in such significant growth, despite the lack of investment, there is a real opportunity to drive incremental sales through innovation within this market. Chewits have a strong and loyal following from both adults and children, and consistently achieves high repeat sales when merchandised correctly. The sector will benefit from the reassurance of having a popular quality brand coming into the market and are confident that Chewie Gum will be a real hit with existing and new Chewits customers and become a must-stock for retailers.”
“The expansion potential within the Chewits range is huge and the obvious gap in the market for creative gum products for kids is an opportunity Leaf intends to exploit. Already providing many confectionery products for kids, and we plan to create more ‘chew’ format extensions targeting different, unexplored categories,” Lane concludes.
Chewie Gum is an extension to the existing Chewits range allowing shoppers to buy a new and exciting ‘taste adventure’ from a well-recognised brand within the confectionery sector. 89% of bubble gum is sold through the Impulse channel clearly demonstrating the opportunity it offers convenience, independent retailers and wholesalers specifically.
The gum is aimed at 8-11 years olds, with an RRP of 39p and comes in eye-catching individual ‘pocket’ flip top pack formats, enabling kids to eat Chewie Gum on the go and also encouraging children to share. It should be sited with pocket money sweets or alongside other hard bubble gums. The cases have a small compact footprint, enabling an effective use of shelf space.
