The company has launched a range of sugar confectionery designed for warmer months including sour candy wheels, mallow sandwiches and jelly bean filled ice lollies.
Is summer the ‘fifth season’?
The firm believes the themed branding will help it maintain sales outside peak periods such as Halloween and Christmas.
Jonathan Summerley, Hancocks purchasing director said: “With a warm summer currently underway, it’s usual to experience a dip in sales of chocolate and we recommend retailers put efforts into ranging and displaying light sugar confectionery which is more in demand.”
Print Cates, vice president of product management for J. Sosnick & Son, who worked at Powell’s Sweet Shoppe franchise, previously said at a the US National Confectioners Assoication conference in February that summer was the “fifth season” and said confectioners should create an in-store genre for the period.
Beach-themed products near vacation spots
Hancocks said in a release today that British families were swapping holidays abroad for day trips in the UK, creating an opportunity for summer themed confectionery around holiday spots.
“Whilst consumers are also watching their pennies, it’s advised to offer an enhanced range of value confectionery alongside more premium products,” said the company.
It added that beach-themed products were particularly popular.
Hancocks was sold to H2 Equity Partners for around £50m ($78m) in November last year after being in family ownership since its inception in 1962.