Maltesers, the chocolate balls with a light honeycomb centre, hold a unique place in British hearts.
In 2009 Maltesers wanted to be a top three British chocolate brand. They were number four. Despite strong sales in bitesize, Maltesers lost market share during the key chocolate events of Easter and Christmas.
They saw two ways to grow penetration. Both involved the seasons:
- Seasonal self-eat treat that was true to Maltesers but diversified their offer
- De-seasonalise the successful Teasers from tubs of Celebrations (sold mostly at Christmas) with a permanent Maltesers Teasers bar
However, both would involve changing the very essence of Maltesers - their small roundness. This could backfire if Maltesers lovers felt the brand was throwing away what makes it unique.
The first jump was a bunny. Maltesers' first seasonal self-eat treat, MaltEaster, brought success climbing the penetration ladder up to 7.1% in the season by 2014, which is as large as Cadburys’s Crème Egg - but more was needed.
In 2013, Maltesers Teasers established Maltesers in block chocolate, chocolate’s largest segment. It was the number one chocolate single just 12 weeks after launch, with first year sales totalling £28.5m.
The next leap was a reindeer. Like MaltEaster, the Christmas Merryteaser offered the Maltesers taste in a new limited-edition playful format.
Both Maltesers Teasers and Merryteaser won Product of the Year.
These extensions, by looking to the seasons, and rolling on from small chocolate balls, Maltesers total brand penetration grew from 48.6% in 2008 to 57.4 in 2014, without cannibalising Maltesers' Core penetration.
From 2009 to 2011, sales were increased from £145m to £151m, but crucially, since 2012, through a seasonal strategy, Maltesers sales were increased from £151m to £200m.
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To book your table or to find out how to enter the next Awards for Excellence visit our Awards site.
Login to download the full case study below:
(Please note: parts of this case study may have been redacted for confidentiality purposes.)
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