Finns want more and more high quality from bulk food. New bulk candy shelves have caused bulk candy sales to grow dramatically.
In Kupitta K-Citymarket, the direction of travel is marked on the floor in front of the bulk candy shelf. At the top of the line are hand sanitizers, buckets, bags and cups that belong to the new Premium Mix concept. Cloetta
Candy lovers may have already seen new types of bulk candy shelves in many grocery stores. In more than 120 stores, the usual Candyking bulk candy shelf has already been replaced by the Candyking Premium Mix shelf, which has a wider candy selection than the usual shelf.
In addition to a wider selection, the Premium Mix shelves contain more chocolate, especially branded chocolates packed in wrappers, which consumers perceive as particularly high-quality.
The new concept started when the sale of loose candies stopped as a result of the first wave of corona.
– We thought about how we could get bulk candy sales to pick up after the corona virus. We had already done a study before, according to which consumers especially want high quality from loose grains. Hygiene was also an obstacle to the purchase, so we developed the Candyking Premium Mix concept based on these, says Cloetta’s product group manager Elina Levonmaa.
In addition to a selection of up to 250 sweets, the Premium Mix shelf includes buckets that are washed after each use. The concept has quickly proven to be a hit.
– The development percentages have been amazing. Changing the regular shelf to Premium Mix has invariably increased the store’s sales. We are even talking about double-digit development percentages and in some cases even more, says Levonmaa.
So the candies really taste good to Finns. While the sale of loose candies has so far always decreased during the summer season as sales shifted to ice cream and drinks, this past summer there was no decrease, but on the contrary, sales increased.
– Changing the selection to a higher quality and in line with consumers’ wishes has also brought new customers to loose candies, Levonmaa believes.
On premium shelves, the kilo price of loose sweets is 1–2 euros more expensive than the regular selection. According to a recent study commissioned by Cloetta, the price of a bag of loose candy is around 3.5 euros. The size of the bag has decreased somewhat.
– Now we want to choose a few high-quality candies for the bag instead of buying a huge bag. This is partly due to the high-quality selection and partly to the fact that there have been fewer price campaigns now.