Cadbury Imports Big Brands From Global Portfolio

Cadbury is importing big brands from its global portfolio to boost its sugar confectionery sales. Given the problems Cadbury is having with its chocolate, it is no surprise that it is looking elsewhere for inspiration, first in gum and latterly with a line of ''healthy'' sweets. It has been a murky 12 months for the confectionery giant, disrupted by the crisis of a salmonella contamination at one of its plants last June, and compounded last week by its recall of 20 Easter products due to missing nut allergy labels, just days before announcing its full-year results. Its sales statistics reveal how chocolate-focused Cadbury currently is: in the year to October, its biggest-selling chocolate brand was Cadbury Dairy Milk, with sales of £367 million; the second-biggest was Cadbury Roses on £66 million. In contrast, its biggest sugar confectionery name was wine gums brand Maynards, with sales of £54 million. Cadbury''s diversification suggests that it is seeking to reduce this cocoa-based dependence in the UK. At the end of January, it launched into the gum market with Trident, before last week announcing plans to introduce Natural Confectionery Company, an Australian brand of healthy sweets, in the UK (Marketing, 14 February). At first glance, the introduction of these brands appears a risky strategy; though it is worth more than £1 billion in the UK, the sugar confectionery market is in decline, falling 2.3% over the past year, including a 4% drop in the £250 million gum sector, according to ACNielsen. Cadbury is not alone in considering the introduction of healthier sweets a route worth experimenting with. Last month, Chewits owner Leaf UK launched Red Band, a range of sweets lower in sugar than standard sugar confectionery and with added calcium and fruit juices.