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CONFECTIONERY FROM PAGE 67 “There will still be a hangover feeling that gathering in large crowds is not the way to go, ideally, but that activity ticks all the boxes.” Tucker's Natural Managing Director Sam Tucker tells Convenience World people will be out and about to get the best of the fine weather this summer. “With social distancing here to stay, activities such as walking, picnics in parks and on beaches will have consumers looking for snacks for outings while on the move or for meal replacements,” he said. “This makes healthy yet tasty snacks that are easily accessible at convenience stores key to making the most of summer. Stores can especially benefit from high margins on fresh and healthy snacks in grab-and-go portions. “Sometimes it’s even a case of someone seeing the queue at Subway and deciding to rather grab some cheese and crackers or a sandwich at a convenience outlet.” Sex and summer fun As summer fun becomes synonymous with sex, easily accessible condoms are a must, with bare bodies, pools and the sea coming into play. This is where Australian Therapeutic Supplies plays a role as a pioneer behind a full range of lubricants and condom sizes, including Australia’s thinnest latex condoms. According to the company’s Sales and Marketing Director Michael Porter, the company entered 2020 with its annual planning session aligning on key areas for NPD consideration and building a strategy for the sales channels to focus on. "As the pandemic began to spread from country to country, we started to see anxieties in some of our consumers, which led to panic buying within the category as people didn’t know how long they’d be in lockdown,” he told Convenience World. “Understandably, as outdoor activities began to shut down, people spent more time being sexually active indoors with their partners, which meant we had to pivot our strategy from developing NPD to a focus on simply meeting the demands of existing customers as Australians started to more traditional channels, which would usually target their once normal daily routine.” He emphasises that with the Australian economy now in its first recession in 29 years, there has never been a more important time for brands to truly understand their consumers and deliver on their changing needs. “The economic landscape may be quite different by summertime,” he said, “making it imperative that companies manage expectations and focus on getting the basics right by offering a clear and differentiated value proposition to deliver on shoppers’ needs. “As shoppers continue to return to their usual daily routines, we expect they’ll return to the bowser, which is why it’s crucial we continue to have a strong presence within the P&C channels. “Also, there’ll be a larger need for ‘along the journey’ and ‘final destination’ P&C stores to offer a complete range of contraception products as Aussies will visit less frequented travel destinations, such as rural communities, due to overseas travel restrictions during the summer months.” Mr Porter highlights that, as condoms are often categorised within P&C as a distress purchase, the company is set on ensuring its Four Seasons Condoms are available when shoppers need them, to ensure it continues to help protect the health and safety of Australians in the post-Covid-19 era. “Summer is no doubt a time for fun and wellbeing,” he said, “and condoms help keep it that way by preventing the transmission of STIs, which are on the rise in the country.” Mr Porter added: “We can assure that our condoms are electronically tested to the highest ISO 4074 international standards.” "As outdoor activities began to shut down, people spent more time being sexually active indoors with their partners, which meant we had to focus on meeting the demands of customers". 68 CONVENIENCE WORLD SEP/OCT, 2020 stockpile on essentials less frequently.” Mr Porter says that as shoppers tried to limit exposure to the virus on perceived high-touch surfaces such as petrol bowsers, there was concomitantly a softening of sales in the P&C channels and an increase in penetration within grocery and pharmacy. “In the depths of lockdown, Australians leveraged technology to start connecting, communicating and shopping,” Mr Porter said. “With shoppers spending more time online indoors, we shifted our marketing mix towards establishing a higher presence in the digital space and limited investment on some of the