United Biscuits hungry for impulse channel growth

The European snack major will visit 22 retail depots throughout October displaying its savory snack options to visiting retailers with a particular focus on its Jacob’s cracker brand. The ‘snack happy’ tour comes as United Biscuits pumps £4m ($6.3m) into a field sales team for impulse, grocery and independent outlets.

Phil Nicolle, impulse director at United Biscuits, said savory snacks had untapped growth potential in convenience and independent stores.

“We believe there is a huge sales opportunity for savory biscuits in the impulse trade, however there is still a lack of awareness among retailers on which products they need to stock to help achieve this,”​ he told BakeryandSnacks.com.

“…The ‘snack happy’ tour will provide the opportunity for us to have one-to-one conversations with retailers, with Jacob’s brand ambassadors on hand to provide category advice aimed at helping retailers grow their biscuit sales,”​ he said. 

Shoppers looking for value and selection, but it’s not there… ​

Nicolle said shoppers in independent and convenience stores were equally interested in value for money, presenting prospects for wider savory snack choice in store.

“Although these stores may be smaller outlets, shoppers still expect to be able to find a range of products available; however we believe this is not currently being executed consistently across the channel,”​ he said.

Working directly with the retailers in the impulse channel to realize growth potential was critical, he said - “after all, they are the lifeblood of this channel”.​

By investing in building stronger relationships within the channel and offering stock advice, Nicolle said United Biscuits would not only drive category growth, but sales for its own brands too.

“However, the campaign is about doing more than just driving sales through promotions. It is an awareness initiative, designed to facilitate discussions with customers on what products shoppers are expecting to see in store, and therefore understanding what ranges to stock in order to meet these needs,”​ he added.

United Biscuits ran a similar depot tour earlier this year to drive convenience channel sales for its McVitie’s brand. The company said the campaign drove revenues of more than £300,000 ($477,118) across five weeks.