When its first tubs and tins of 2019 hit supermarket shelves this week, shoppers will also see a fresh new look and vibrant redesign, which takes its cue from the famous multi-coloured foils and twist wraps of classic Quality Street adorning a traditional purple background.
Quality Street, at 83 years old, was the number one Christmas confectionery brand in the UK for 2018 and this year will feature a new sweet addition in the selection; the limited edition Chocolate Caramel Brownie.
Along with the regular 650g tub and 1kg tin available across most major retailers, Nestlé has announced a special 800g gold tin exclusively for Tesco and 2kg tins stocked only in Costco.
Acting on its own consumer research that suggested chocolate sweets are more popular than their toffee based counterparts, Nestlé has switched up the ratios in each assortment so that the mix of chocolate sweets has gone from 35% to 46%.
Ellie Worley, senior brand manager for Quality Street said: “2019 is a huge year for Quality Street. We’ve got a new sweet, a new design and we are developing the brand in all areas ahead of the Christmas season.
“I know just how much people love Quality Street and we work really hard to find that balance between keeping things fresh but also familiar. We’ve been listening and I think we’ve got the perfect mix this year and made the changes that people have told us they’d like to see.”
Nestlé has also invested in new hardware at its Halifax factory in West Yorkshire where Quality Street has been made since its launch in 1936. The new technology wraps Quality Street sweets in a more advanced and modern way, using seven new state-of-the-art machines, wrapping up to 750 chocolates per minute almost double the speed of previous equipment.
The 2019 launch is being backed by a £2m ($2.46m) marketing campaign running until Christmas.