Delicious Airheads Filled Ropes!

 

May 2021

 

Candy has been a critical growth driving segment for the total convenience category. Airheads innovation has proven to be mainly incremental to the category, including gum, and has proven to have more incremental innovation than the competition. Airheads Gummies had 50% incremental to Airheads brand at a major retailer. Also, Airheads sub-brands are driving incremental household penetration. 56% of Airheads’ households are unique.

 

Ropes are the fastest-growing segment in the category and are worth $96MM. Market share leader SweeTarts Ropes only offers a single pack option, and other key players are entering the marketplace, but with limited flavor offerings. Incremental growth through format innovation is working for SweeTarts and other brands.

 

Airheads are about inspiring consumers to play through our flavorful products. There is only one Airheads. They purposefully differentiate to delight current consumers and to attract new users. Airheads are a product that encourages you to play with the candy itself before you eat it. It delivers a playful experience in the mouth – pop, bite, chew yield a total taste encounter (multi-textures, flavors, colors).

 

Introducing Airheads Filled Ropes! This delicious new product features five favorite Airheads flavors: blue raspberry, watermelon, cherry, strawberry, and orange. There are many reasons why Airheads will be unique within the ropes segment:

 

1. Preferred 2 to 1 over top competitor SweeTarts Ropes

2. Flavor variety drives the strongest purchase intent.

3. Incremental to the category – 64% of shoppers will purchase in addition to their current NCC products

4. Optimized artwork features a front window panel that displays the deliciously sweet sugar-coated product.

 

Stock up on this delicious new product today! Check with your wholesaler for availability.

Mentos Gum Continues to Grow!

 

October 2020

 

Consumers love Mentos Gum! They enjoy the long-lasting freshness of Mentos Pure Fresh Gum and the convenient on the go package that it comes in. The brand has grown nearly 13% in the last six years and is now a $250MM+ brand. Mentos Gum is one of the fastest-growing leading brands, up to double digits.

 

It is awe-inspiring that Mentos Gum continues to be on a steady growth path. The brand is thriving in a declining category and is somehow able to continue to captivate consumers as a quality, premium gum that keeps them coming back for more.

 

One of the reasons the brand continues to grow is its constant innovation. In 2014 with the launch of their Mentos Gum Pocket Bottles, the brand saw 17% growth. In 2015, with the launch of their Mentos Gum Big Bottles, the brand saw 27% growth. Lastly, in 2017, with the new Mentos Velcro Wallet Packs launch, the brand new grew 15%. To say the brand continues to thrive is an understatement.

 

Are you carrying Mentos Gum in your store? If not, you are missing out and need to be! Check with your wholesaler for availability and to place an order.

NEW Airheads Filled Ropes!

 

October 2020

 

Candy has been a critical growth driving segment for the total convenience category. Airheads innovation has proven to be mainly incremental to the category, including gum, and has proven to have more incremental innovation than the competition. Airheads Gummies had 50% incremental to Airheads brand at a major retailer. Also, Airheads sub-brands are driving incremental household penetration. 56% of Airheads’ households are unique.

 

Ropes are the fastest-growing segment in the category and are worth $96MM. Market share leader SweeTarts Ropes only offers a single pack option, and other key players are entering the marketplace, but with limited flavor offerings. Incremental growth through format innovation is working for SweeTarts and other brands.

 

Airheads are about inspiring consumers to play through our flavorful products. There is only one Airheads. They purposefully differentiate to delight current consumers and to attract new users. Airheads are a product that encourages you to play with the candy itself before you eat it. It delivers a playful experience in the mouth – pop, bite, chew yield a total taste encounter (multi-textures, flavors, colors).

Introducing Airheads Filled Ropes! This delicious new product features five favorite Airheads flavors: blue raspberry, watermelon, cherry, strawberry, and orange. There are many reasons why Airheads will be unique within the ropes segment:

 

1. Preferred 2 to 1 over top competitor SweeTarts Ropes

2. Flavor variety drives the strongest purchase intent.

3. Incremental to the category – 64% of shoppers will purchase in addition to their current NCC products

4. Optimized artwork features a front window panel that displays the deliciously sweet sugar-coated product.

 

Stock up on this delicious new product today! Check with your wholesaler for availability.

Perfetti Van Melle Gum is Growing at Double Digits!

 

August 2020

 

Perfetti Van Melle’s gum brands continue to see double digit growth year over year! The company continues to exceed total category growth at 7.9% in convenience as well while the total gum/mint/non-chocolate category only grew 2.7%. The total gum category continues to grow slowly. The total gum category in convenience only grew 1.5% in 2018 while Perfetti Van Melle’s gum brands Mentos and AirHeads Gum grew 38.4%.

 

It is truly impressive that Mentos Gum continues to be on a steady growth path. The brand is thriving in a declining category and is somehow able to continue to captivate consumers as a quality, premium gum that keeps them coming back for more!

 

One of the reasons the brand continues to grow is their constant innovation. In 2014 with the launch of their Mentos Gum Pocket Bottles the brand saw 17% growth. In 2015 with the launch of their Mentos Gum Big Bottles, the brand saw 27% growth. Lastly, in 2017 with the launch of the new Mentos Velcro Wallet packs, the brand grew 15%. To say the brand will continue to thrive is an understatement.

 

Are you carrying Mentos Gum in your store? If not, you need to be. Check with your wholesaler for availability and to place an order.

 

Perfetti Van Melle® Has a Portfolio of Thriving Brands

 

July 2020

 

We all know and love Perfetti Van Melles® confection brands. From AirHeads® to Mentos®, the company’s brands continue to thrive. In fact, their portfolio of brands outpaces the total category by 7 TIMES! These brands continue to demonstrate strong growth in a weak and declining category with total confection down 3.9% and Perfetti Van Melle® UP 1.4%. One of their biggest successes is in the gum category. Gum continues to be a declining category, but AirHeads® and Mentos® Gum have demonstrated astounding growth in the category. Total gum only grew 1.5% in 2018, while Perfetti Van Melle’s® gum brands grew 38.4%!

 

Perfetti Van Melle® has a variety of pack types for their mint brands. Stand-up bags currently represent a small share of the category but see all the growth. In fact, in the total mint’s category, stand-up bags share grew 4.3% while dollar sales grew 12.2%. Be on the look out for more mints to be popping up in stand-up bag pack sizes in the future.

 

Now where do mints sell the most in the store? Over 60% of mints sold in the food channel are purchased from the checklane. In fact, over 90% of convenience channel mint sales come from the checklane. Mentos® is the 4th largest mint brand in the country and is the 3rd largest mint brand in convenience. Make sure you are stocking Mentos® in your checklane in order to maximize sales on this top selling brand. It is recommended to place the following Mentos® Rolls in there: Mint, Fruit, Strawberry, Rainbow, Cinnamon and Spearmint. Fruit and Mint Mentos® Rolls are the top sellers, so those are a must have. Two other products you should stock in your checklane are the NEW Mentos® CleanBreath Mints. These new mints are available in Peppermint and Wintergreen.