Mondelēz International has unwrapped its new festive range, designed to help retailers drive seasonal sales this year.
The run-up to Christmas begins in September with a ‘fast start’, where 25% of all Christmas confectionery sales come in the first period of the season. Mondelēz advises retailers to prepare for the increase in Big Night In occasions as the weather gets cooler and shoppers look to spend more nights at home by stocking up on sharing formats, tablets and self-eat treats. These products appearing on shelves act as the first indicator of Christmas to shoppers, beginning to drive seasonal excitement.
This includes Cadbury Mini Snow Balls tablet, the No. 1 Christmas block in independent retailers and symbol groups, as well as sharing ranges including Cadbury Roses and Cadbury Heroes, which both feature stunning new designs. All these products also cater to those shoppers stocking up for Halloween.
As shoppers start to get into the festive spirit, self-eat products such as Cadbury Puds are key. Cadbury Puds are the No. 1 KU in the self-eat novelty in independent convenience and symbol stores and grew 5% in 2024. The Cadbury Puds range expanded last year with Cadbury Mini Puds, bringing this festive favourite into a bitesize bag format for the first time. The bags feature Puds’ festive design and appeal to shoppers looking for a stocking filler gift. Clip strips are available too with Cadbury Mini Puds, which aim to disrupt shoppers in-store and drive pick-up.
OREO Christmas variants include the second year of a limited-edition OREO Gingerbread, one of 2024’s biggest branded seasonal launches. OREO is also launching a new OREO Assortments pouch, featuring three different types of OREO. The brand is also bringing back OREO White Enrobed, Mondelēz’s No. 1 festive biscuit in 2024. Cadbury Snowy Fingers, the winter twist on the classic Cadbury Fingers with a milk and white chocolate coating, is also returning to shelves for 2025, alongside Cadbury Festive Animals.
This year, Mondelēz is bringing something unique to shoppers’ advent countdown with the launch of the Cadbury Dairy Milk Biscoff Advent Calendar, featuring 24 Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates. Twelve of these are Cadbury Dairy Milk chunks, while the other 12 are Cadbury Dairy Milk chunks with crunchy Lotus Biscoff pieces and Biscoff spread. Mondelēz also recommends that retailers stock the Cadbury Dairy Milk 90g advent calendar, the No. 1 category SKU that marks an accessible entry point to the category.
December remains a key sales period for retailers to drive sales through gifting and sharing formats, including selection boxes such as the Cadbury Medium Selection Box, the No. 1 SKU in the category, as well as Cadbury Milk Tray. There’s also a nationwide rollout of a Cadbury Dairy Milk Mixed Chunks sharing tin, featuring individually wrapped chunks of Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Dairy Milk Whole Nut and Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel, as well as a 360g Cadbury Mini Snow Balls bar.
Gifting blocks make up 5% of total winter confectionery sales, so they are recommended for retailers to stock in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day. Cadbury offers a wide range of gifting blocks, including the classic Cadbury Dairy Milk 360g bar. For 2025, Mondelēz is introducing a Cadbury Dairy Milk Biscoff 350g block to shelves, helping retailers further tap into the sharing occasion.
Finally, Mondelēz is bringing back a family favourite from Christmas 2023, with the return of the Cadbury Dairy Milk Coins. In 2024, Cadbury Milk Coins was the No.1 gifting novelty SKU across the whole market, having sold over 4.5 million packs since its relaunch in 2023.
Nicole Partridge, Senior Brand Manager, Christmas, at Mondelēz International, said: “With Cadbury being the leading Chocolate supplier, we’re in a great position to spruce up retailers’ ranges this winter, with our much-loved seasonal range. Our iconic seasonal products allow consumers to tailor their festive snacking to their own requirements. Whether that’s a quick bite while relaxing in front of the TV with our Cadbury Dairy Mini Puds or providing an array of snacks for the whole family with a Cadbury Dairy Milk Mixed Chunks sharing tin, it has to be Cadbury this Christmas.
“This Christmas, we’re extending our successful partnership with Lotus Biscoff even further, introducing our second piece of NPD with our new Cadbury Dairy Milk Biscoff Advent Calendar, the most indulgent way to count down to the big day. Our hugely successful Cadbury Dairy Milk Biscoff bars are also expanding into a new, larger gifting format, as they’re simply too delicious to be enjoyed alone.”
