Ferrero is working with wholesalers to help retailers make the most of their confectionery offering. The supplier has already started working with cash & carry chain Dhamecha to help the business create displays and to communicate to its customers what new products are available and how they can help with sales. Priyanka Jethwa found out more.
Range, visibility and availability are three key points that wholesalers need to educate their retail customers about to maximise confectionery sales. To help you provide the best advice, leading supplier Ferrero plans to assist wholesalers across the UK, with a focus on how offering crucial stand-out can boost sales. The project has launched in conjunction with cash & carry chain Dhamecha, which has depots in London, Leicester and, soon, Birmingham.
The Nutella brand is worth £50.8m, growing at 55.8% in the past four years alone. For the first time in the UK, the family-favourite chocolate spread has moved into the countlines category with the launch of Nutella B-ready – a mid-morning wafer snack containing less than 120 calories per bar.
Ferrero has been working with Dhamecha to help the business create impactful displays in its depots and to highlight why it is becoming increasingly important to communicate to retailers what NPD is on offer, and what it can do for their sales, focusing particularly on in-depot theatre.
Jodie Wood, business unit controller at Ferrero, says: “The Ferrero wholesale team is working hard with our cash & carry partners to build impactful displays in depots. We know these are an important way to communicate new product launches to retailers.”
Working closely with customers to understand live retail trends and allocating share of shelf to the right brands is also extremely important in-depot, as it lowers the risk of out-of-stocks and customer frustration.
To help its wholesale partners build innovative displays in-depot, Ferrero’s retail field team are driving distribution across independent retail to create demand for the wholesalers, all supported by a full trade press plan.
Gary Silver, area manager at Dhamecha, says that Ferrero products play an important role in the success of its business. In his view, Ferrero not only has innovative and popular products, it also leads the way in category management, while offering retailers and wholesalers good margins, especially on pricemarked packs: “Ferrero helps us to educate our retailers and boost sales by calling on our independent retail stores, offering merchandising advice,” Silver says. “Furthermore, the field sales team also give us advice on where to place items regarding countlines location.”
Silver adds that the impact of displays, such as Ferrero’s in-depot promotional stand, gives a “guaranteed rise in sales”.
Alongside trade press coverage, it gives retailers the confidence they need to make purchase decisions.
Viewpoint
“It is really important for wholesalers to educate retailers about the current retail trends and shopper missions, such as food-to-go. We would recommend that wholesalers encourage retailers to dual-site impulsive products such as Nutella B-Ready next to their coffee machines or their sandwich chiller to increase impulsive purchasing and drive up the basket spend.”
Jodie Wood, business unit controller, Ferrero
Ferrero’s wholesale advice
- Stay stocked up
Ensure you keep your shelves full of product and well-organised so that customers can easily find what they are looking for. - Highlight products
Use bespoke point-of-sale material to create in-depot theatre and draw attention to new products. - Follow the ads
Be aware of which brands are being heavily supported by marketing activity as this increases consumers’ awareness, which you can translate into sales. - Try new products
Look for innovation from leading brands, such as Nutella, in order to expand into new categories and gain growth opportunities. - Work with suppliers
Identify opportunities to work collaboratively with suppliers to drive distribution across your key retail customers, creating demand and volume opportunities for your depots.
