Page 46 - Conveniece World Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

CONFECTIONERY NO STOPPING DEMAND FOR ROBERN MENZ EITHER There has been no shortage of demand for Robern Menz confectionery throughout the pandemic. Robern Menz CEO Phil Sims attributes this demand to the nostalgia around the company’s confectionery. “We all have happy memories of enjoying certain products in childhood, and the response we’ve received from the public when acquiring the Violet Crumble and Polly Waffle brands from Nestlé has shown that there is a demand for these products,” Mr Sims said. “It doesn’t seem like any crisis or pandemic can slow this trend down.” Mr Sims points out that Australians are often at the forefront of trends and “love” seeing something new on convenience shelves. “The challenge is introducing new and novel concepts that will endure. We are fortunate that as an independent, family owned business we can develop new formats and get them to market fairly quickly, which means we can deliver new novel products, but also prioritise our core range,” he said. One of the company’s priorities is portion control, he says. “Portion control is the reason why formats such as the Violet Crumble Bag and Nuggets have been popular – they are easy to share and make it easier for parents trying to control their children’s confectionery intake.” He emphasises that as P&C is a competitive space “securing share of vision” is critical. Hence the confectionery company makes use of off-location displays such as gondola ends in-store, or branded display towers. “They are critical elements to enable a successful promotional program. For us, it’s also about ensuring share of voice outside of that space, which means investing in social media and PR. “We always want to be at the forefront of change and innovation – but it’s essential to make sure this doesn’t come at the cost of core range or seem too gimmicky. We love introducing new flavours and varieties, but also ensure we focus a lot of time and attention on our hero brands – Violet Crumble and Menz FruChocs.” Iconic chocolate bar transformed into flavoured milk Robern Menz and Bickford’s have collaborated to transform one of Australia’s most iconic chocolate bars into a 500ml flavoured milk. A hundred and seven years in the making, Violet Crumble Chocolate Honeycomb Flavoured Milk is available nationally for a RRP of $4.50 in Coles Express and Caltex stores. Bickford’s, which was inspired by Violet Crumble to turn the nostalgic bar into a milk drink, is set to manufacture the beverage at its Salisbury South facility using milk sourced from another local icon, Golden North. “We are thrilled to confirm that we have collaborated with Bickford’s to launch the only nationally available chocolate honeycomb flavoured milk in Australia,” Mr Sims said. “Violet Crumble is an iconic Australian brand and flavoured milk is part of Australian pastime, so we knew that chocolate, honeycomb and milk would make sense.” CONSUMER BUY-IN BEARS FRUIT The Rocky Road House sells rocky road bars and recently its new rock candy lolly range in P&C outlets. According to The Rocky Road House Executive Manager Danielle Proctor, the brand’s products are doing extremely well in P&C, especially its new lolly range. “We launched our new lolly range in July and since the pandemic we have seen a large increase in sales,” Ms Proctor told Convenience World. “The range is available in 10 flavours – a flavour for everyone.” Sales of the confectioner’s allergy friendly products have also continued to grow in line with an increase in consumers suffering from allergies. “Our products are gluten free, peanut free and egg free so they are appealing to a specific demographic which is after a special allergy free treat they know they can eat with confidence.” She highlights that Australians are predominantly “creatures of habit” and continue to “choose what they have always known and liked”. “Once a consumer knows, likes and trusts a product it can be hard to break that cycle,” she said. “Let’s face it – we all have our favourites! This resulted in new rocky road bar flavours not being as well received as our original flavours from the past.” Having said that, she points out that it’s also important that confectioners remain innovative. “Balance is important as now, more than ever, consumers are open to exploring and testing new and exciting products 44 CONVENIENCE WORLD NOV/DEC, 2020