Premier Foods has been working with Bestway since its inception 40 years ago, but this year it took the partnership to a new level to drive sales of take-home cake to convenience retailers through the wholesale channel.
For the first time, Premier Foods has implemented planograms and brand-blocking in depot for the cake display. PMPs across the Mr Kipling and Lyons cake ranges are also driving sales, while seasonal NPD is keeping customers’ cash tills ringing all year round.
Merchandising
Having identified that the take-home cake category was experiencing a year-on-year decline over a two-year period, Bestway worked with Premier Foods on creating an eye-catching display across its estate. In June they rolled out planograms to make shopping in-depot easier and to reinforce to the retailer how they should display bestselling lines in store.
“The way we were merchandising products was poor and, with the knowledge and experience that Premier Foods has brought to the party, we’ve been able to put in place a consistent planogram across 60 cash and carries,” says Bestway’s trading director, Steve Carter. The importance of brand-blocking was also highlighted by Premier Foods. By displaying brands like Lyons, Cadbury Cakes and Mr Kipling together it capitalised on retailers looking out for specific lines as opposed to cakes for different usage occasions.
“Within four weeks sales of our core cake range grew by 31% value sales across the Bestway group,” says Premier Foods’ channel director Nick Wood, adding that in June, sales of the total cake portfolio saw an uplift of 45% and in July that reached 86%.
Range
Premier Foods supplies wholesalers with a range of the nation’s leading cake brands – Cadbury Cakes and Mr Kipling alone has seven products in the top ten bestsellers. With this in mind, PoS, including branded shelf risers, has helped signpost big brands and attract retailers to the cake aisle.
Premier Foods worked with Bestway on identifying how they can maximise sales through focusing on a core range. “With the cake category growing in convenience we believe there is a strong opportunity for wholesalers to capitalise on this. We’ve focused on the bestselling lines to maximise that opportunity,” explains Nick Wood.
Promotion and PMPs
Pricemarked packs have also been intro-duced, working on the insight that 85% of retailers say pricemarking is really important.
“We recognised the need to have a strong pricemarked pack presence,” explains Nick Wood, adding that the PMP range launched this April across Lyons, Mr Kipling and Cadbury Cakes has contributed to the sales uplift.
“We’ve seen a fantastic uplift in the take-home cake category and we’ve had positive feedback from wholesalers and retailers,” he says. “Pricemarking reinforces that price message to retailers ensuring the consumer gets the right deal in an independent store,” adds Bestway’s Steve Carter.
NPD and Seasonal Sales
NPD and flavour extensions help attract new shoppers to the market, in particular at Christmas. Premier Foods has introduced several new products to support seasonal events such as Halloween and Christmas which are key cake occasions.
For Halloween, Premier Foods launched Cadbury Pumpkin Patch Cakes and continues to have the top five performing products within the Halloween cake category. Mr Kipling Fiendish Fancies, currently the number one Halloween performer, saw sales reach £1m during 2015.
For Christmas, Premier Foods is introducing Mr Kipling Stollen Slices also available within wholesale. Good overall sales uplift in cakes has opened the way for Bestway to engage in further conversation with Premier Foods around NPD. “NPD and new product launches are feeding the growth of the future,” says Steve Carter.
