Storck makes big US push with Toffifay

09-Feb-2017 - Last updated on 10-Feb-2017 at 08:42 GMT

White packaging rebrand sees Toffifay enter untapped affordable luxury segment in the US. Photo: Storck

August Storck has repositioned its Toffifay brand in the US to appeal to female shoppers and hopes to compete in the affordable premium space.

The brand – created in Germany in 1973– has been on the US market since the Eighties.

Brand awareness

It maintains mainstream listings in Walmart and Walgreens, but hasn’t resonated as strongly as hoped with US consumers.

"It's not quite taken off in the US market... Aided brand awareness is below 20% today,” Kelly Cook, marketing director at Storck told ConfectioneryNews.

She said the brand’s ‘all-family' global positioning had struggled to prove attractive to American households.

toffifay four-piece — Four-piece pack to retail for around $1.19. Photo: Storck

The company has spent the last several years conducting market research and the brand has now been re-positioned as an indulgent treat for women, featuring new white packaging.

Everyday premium

"We found that the white had a more feminine feel to it," said Cook.

The marketing director added the brand now had a unique positioning in between a mainstream everyday product and a premium confection.

"It's priced within the premium chocolate space - but we really believe it's this bridge between everyday brands,” she said.

Toffifay will come in a 12-piece pack for a suggested retail price of $2.49 and a four-piece pack for $1.19.

Target consumers are the 92m US women aged 25-49, who are family focussed.

The re-branding sees Toffifay become a priority for Storck in the US this year, rather than just another SKU in the portfolio.

Hazelnuts gain US recognition

Toffifay is a chewy caramel cup, containing a whole hazelnut, a hazelnut filling and a drop of chocolate.

Toffifee - SlayStorm — Toffifay – spelt Toffifee in the European market – had been positioned as an everyday family brand globally, but will now come in white packaging in the US. Europe will continue to use the orange packs. ©iStock/SlayStorm

Cook said: "In America over the past twenty years, hazelnuts are not so synonymous with American lifestyles as hazelnuts are in European countries.

"Where an American is more likely to enjoy a peanut product, hazelnuts are less common and less well known."

But, she said, hazelnuts were growing in popularity in the US, evidenced by Hershey’s recent Kisses Deluxe launch.

Storck plans a national TV ad for Toffifay to air from April. It has created a character it calls 'Mr Irresistible', which it describes as the playful voice of Toffifay, who will feature in the ad

Germany is the largest market for the brand along with other European markets. Products for the US will be produced at Storck’s existing factory in Berlin, Germany.