With nearly every consumer already snacking and two-thirds of confection sales tied to the “big four” shopping seasons, Mars is betting that the next big growth opportunity for sweets will come from smaller moments.
Rather than relying solely on big gains at Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and winter holidays, which the National Confectioners Association estimates generated $4.2 billion, $4.6 billion, $5 billion and $5.6 billion in sales, respectively, Mars is building a sales strategy around a growing calendar of “micro-seasons” that create more reasons, and occasions, for consumers to buy sweets and snacks.
“Seasons are incredibly important to the confection channel, and the big four seasons drive roughly 63% of all category sales, according to the NCA State of Treating report. So, it is incredibly, incredibly important to get those right,” said Mike Gilroy, VP, industry engagement & sponsorship at Mars.
But “they are not the only important thing,” he added, noting that micro-seasons and micro-moments are equally “incredibly important” when it comes to engaging with more consumers more often and ultimately drive incremental sales year-round.
Micro-moments create multiple touchpoints for Mars to drive sales year-round
For example, Memorial Day kicks off “road trip season,” in which family and friends will pack sodas and snacks to share as they drive to a vacation destination or on a shorter day trip, Gilroy said.
Snacking doesn’t end when summer does, he added. “Back to school is another micro-season,” in which parents buy snacks and confections to pack in children’s lunches or to have after a long day of classes and extracurricular activities.
Sports – like football season – create other cultural moments in which consumers look for sweets and snacks.
“Our partnership with the NFL is incredibly important to us. The NFL has really become a year-long event. You have the Super Bowl, that is the anchor point, but then you also have the draft, kickoff is just around the corner, and then of course following your team. And Snickers plays a big role in terms of the partnership there,” Gilroy said.
For example, earlier this year, Snickers teamed with NFL prospect Carnell Tate to offer fans limited edition Snickers Ice Cream X Carnell Tate “Chill” bars in 6-packs. The brand also tapped Josh Allen, quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, to promote “one-of-a-kind Halftime Hacks and offer solutions for when “halftime hunger hits.”
Gilroy said the “long-term” partnership with Allen and the NFL has “driven Snickers to new heights, double-digit growth, which has been outstanding,” and helped Snickers become the No. 1 candy bar in the convenience store channel.
At the Sweets & Snacks Expo this spring, Mars showcased new football shaped Snickers to help to kickoff the sport’s season.
Halloween is more than one night of magic
Mars is also extending Halloween – one of the big four seasons – with micro moments throughout the year, including celebrating “Halfway to Halloween” in May and Summerween in late June.
“We see ourselves as the leader on Halloween and so we celebrate our lineup for ‘Halfway to Halloween’ at our Halloween headquarters, which is in Topeka, Kan., where they make the majority of minis and fun-sized variety bags that are handed out on Halloween night. They celebrate by counting down the days to Halloween by doing free trick-or-treating for the community in Topeka,” said Hannah Messinger, Mars’ senior manager of external communications.
She noted that this year for Halloween, Mars will not only bring back its beloved Snickers Pumpkins, but also offer a new Twix in the shape of a skull and Skittles POP’d Creepy Crunch, which is a freeze-dried version of the classic candy.
Returning staples include M&M’s milk chocolate pumpkin pie and Halloween blends in milk chocolate, peanut and peanut butter, as well as Twix and Snickers Ghoulish Green and Skittles Shriekers.
Many of the specialty offerings will begin hitting shelves this summer to correspond with the small but growing Summerween.
As younger generations embrace Halloween, Mars is becoming more sophisticated in how it merchandises the holiday line-up.
“Gen Z is really engaging with Halloween in a big way. As I keep saying, they are coming early and they are staying late,” and Mars wants to be there, he said.
He explained merchandising now happens in three phases: The early phase is people who want to have fun and that includes immediate consumption with seasonal shapes, including pumpkins and skulls. The middle phase is about going to parties, dressing up and enjoying a candy dish, for which revelers might bring a themed bag of M&M’s to share. And the third late phase is classic trick-or-treating, which is where the variety packs come into play, Gilroy explained.
Mars’ new playbook
The addition of micro-seasons and cultural moments to the classic ‘big four’ seasons creates a full calendar year packed with more reasons and occasions to buy confections, and illustrates Mars’ new playbook for driving incremental sales.
“We really have a simple growth model, and that is more people, more occasions and then better conversion – and there that is in the store or digital – those occasions and seasons, both big and micro, really give us that opportunity to engage with people across multiple points all year,” Gilroy said.
