Nestlé Confectionery to Launch Wonka Chocolate Brand

12 Aug 2013 --- Nestlé Confectionery is bringing the spirit of Willy Wonka to life with the launch of the deliciously imaginative Wonka chocolate brand. The brand will launch with three new products: Wonka’s Millionaires Shortbread, Wonka’s Chocolate Nice Cream and Wonka’s Crème Brulee and will be available in retail stores later this year.

Stock of Millionaire’s Shortbread (36g) and Chocolate Nice Cream (37g) will be available in impulse bar format from 26th August 2013. The bars contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and are made from 100% sustainably sourced cocoa.

Innovation in confectionery is key to growing the category and has driven over £600m sales in the past four years . However, the majority of this is from flavour variants and format extensions of known brands. Consumer feedback shows that they want something exciting, genuinely new and different and the Wonka brand is aiming to provide just that.

In consumer testing an impressive 80% said they would either definitely or probably buy the new Wonka chocolate bars versus a product norm of 60% . And, whilst the brand’s core target audience will be mums aged 30-45, testing has proven the bars are just as popular with 16-25yr olds as they are with 55-64yr olds. What’s more, 87% of those questioned thought the brand was suited to the whole family.

The brand will be supported by a major £3.6m media campaign which looks to bring the spirit of Willy Wonka to life in a new and distinctive way, and will include new TV advertising, digital advertising and huge in-store investment. In fact the campaign will reach a huge 42 million adults (85% of the population) which opens up a huge opportunity for retailers.

In order to maximise sales from launch, retailers should be sure to stock up quickly and site the Wonka bars on the main fixture within the “Pleasure” need state, with the ideal place being next to AERO chocolate bars. Retailers should also create high impact off-shelf displays to ensure shoppers can’t miss Wonka in store.

“The launch of the Wonka brand is set to be the biggest news from Nestlé Confectionery this decade,” said Graham Walker, Nestlé UK trade communications manager. “It’s not often in chocolate that we see genuine innovation and that is what we aim to deliver with Wonka.

“Everything about the brand is designed to be ‘deliciously imaginative’, from the flavours to the look of the bars to their advertising. Shoppers love the concept, with a huge 80% of those asked saying they are likely to buy the bars. Therefore, retailers can be confident that the Wonka brand will generate lucrative incremental sales for their stores.”