As a seasonal celebration, Halloween keeps on drawing UK consumers into its spooky embrace.
Widely considered to be one of the most lucrative trading periods of the year – the 31 October is second only to Christmas – this year’s Halloween spend is expected to be somewhere around £687 million (up from £607m in 2021).
The UK grocery market has embraced the Halloween season wholeheartedly over the last decade, turning over significant store space to costumes, decorations, pumpkins and – of course – food and drink. And with confectionery now outselling pumpkins in the run-up to Halloween, suppliers are already highlighting a number of new Halloween ranges, featuring themed goodies.
“Halloween has become a valuable opportunity for retailers, with last year’s seasonal sales growing by 13% and three-quarters of shoppers buying their spooky treats in-store,” Mondelēz International trade communications manager Susan Nash told Grocery Gazette.
The company is strongly positioned to help retailers make the most of the season, as sales of its Halloween portfolio grew ahead of the market last year with a spooktacular 42% year-on-year increase.
“There is enormous opportunity for retailers this year, largely due to the first ‘normal’ Halloween since 2019,” agrees Premier Foods brand director for Sweet Treats, Mathew Bird.
“We expect consumers to return to old habits, and plan ahead to make the most of the Halloween season.”
Here are some of the upcoming Halloween products consumers will be keeping an eye(ball) out for…
Soreen
Cherry-fying Jellies Mini Loaves
Soreen is launching a limited-edition Halloween Scream multipack, with their new flavoured Cherry Jellies Mini Loaves.
The Jellies are loaded with chopped cherry flavoured jellies, with a surprise jelly centre.
Both of the spooky Scream range flavours come in the form of Lunchbox Loaves with Halloween-themed packaging, which are individually wrapped.
“Back by popular demand, our Halloween range features a new Cherry Jellies flavour to delight our fans with highly impressive health credentials,” commented Soreen’s marketing director, Liz Jacobs.
“The beauty of these snacks for parents is that they are delicious and treat-like for children, but also highly convenient as they are HFSS compliant, a great source of fibre and low in saturated fat.
“Therefore, an ideal healthy treat and a great alternative to sweets over the Halloween period. Plus, as they’re vegan friendly they can also be enjoyed by those who need to follow a dairy free diet.”
They will be listed in all major retailers and will feature an RRP of £1.25.
Bear Snacks
Bewitched Blackcurrant & Spooktacular Strawberry fruit yoyos
This Halloween, BEAR is rolling out two spooky-themed twists of its popular fruit yoyos.
Available from August in Bewitched Blackcurrant and Spooktacular Strawberry flavours, each version will offer kids one of their five a day in the form of a special edition fruit yoyo and spooky packaging.
At a time when BEAR currently has a 36% share in the kids’ fruit snacking category and has experienced +25.3% growth in the last year, the special edition yoyos are set to drive further relevance for the brand among families.
The fruity snacks also enable parents to make healthier choices, while still retaining the enjoyment of Halloween with individually wrapped portions perfect for trick or treating.
“Our growth over the last year truly showcases the appetite parents and children alike have for BEAR, a brand that brings fun and enjoyment to snacking,” said, marketing director at Urban Fresh Foods Ltd, Jo Agnew.
“Our aim is to always make the healthier choice simpler for parents and help grow the category as a result. Halloween is an opportunity to do just this and particularly with the first HFSS regulations set to come into effect in October, the occasion is bound to look different in stores this year.
“BEAR’s use of 100% natural ingredients means the range is fully HFSS-compliant, and as a brand that parents already know and love, is a great option to still entice families to Halloween displays.”
Mr Kipling
Toffee Apple Pies & Fiendish Fancies
Premier Foods has announced its plans to fill the gap of healthier cake options for Halloween, by introducing its new Mr Kipling Deliciously Good Toffee Apple Pies.
With 15% of shoppers looking for healthier sweet treat options at key seasons – equating to over 10 million people – and with the growth of Halloween cake last year, the launch aims to help retailers capitalise on this demand.
“Whether those celebrating will opt for trick or treating or holding get togethers at home with friends and family, our range of returning favourites will offer ideal treats and the latest addition will help retailers target an even broader range of shoppers,” said Premier Foods brand director for Sweet Treats, Mathew Bird.
Available from September, Mr Kipling’s Toffee Apple Pies are made with real fruit and have 30% less sugar than standard pies, making them a popular choice for shoppers.
Mondelez
Cadbury Pumpkin Patch Cakes, Goo Heads and more
Returning this spooky season will be the Premier Foods family favourite Halloween products across both the Mr Kipling and Cadbury ranges.
These include the Cadbury Mini Bonfire Logs, Cadbury Pumpkin Patch Cakes, Cadbury Goo Heads Cake Bars, Mr Kipling Terrifying Toffee Whirls, Mr Kipling Fiendish Fancies and Mr Kipling Chocolate & Marshmallow Slices. The Premier Foods Halloween range is available from September across all channels.
“Treatsize chocolate bags, such as Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons, Cadbury Fudge, and Cadbury Crunchie are always a popular choice for shoppers hosting gatherings or catering for trick-or-treaters,” said trade communications manager at Mondelēz International, Susan Nash.
“Consumers find Mondelēz International’s treatsize range eerie-sistible – last year, it grew ahead of the category by over 54%, and with many different treats available across several different SKUs, there’s something for everyone.”
What’s more, the Cadbury Treatsize bag was the season’s #1 best-selling product – the ideal individually wrapped treat for trick-or-treaters.
Fondant-filled Cadbury Goo Heads are firm shopper favourites and are making a return for this year’s season in both five-pack and mini sharing bag formats. Brand-new for this year, however, Cadbury Goo Heads are available in a convenient and impactful clip strip format which are perfect for retailers’ impulse and incremental sales in-aisle.
Also returning this year are Cadbury Skeleton Fingers, which sees the delicious-yet-spooky combination of Cadbury White chocolate and crispy biscuit in a convenient sharing box. Another product perfect for sharing are OREO Spooky Biscuits.
This exciting treat has orange-coloured creme middles that are perfect for celebrating the season, while keeping their well-loved vanilla flavour. The biscuits feature a special spider-web embossed detail.
Spook-tacular for any Halloween festivities are the Maynard Bassetts sharing range, with Wine Gums, Jelly Babies, and Liquorice Allsorts available in 400g packs. These larger formats make them perfect for gatherings and spooky visitors.
