Limited-edition candy provides short—but sweet—sales boosts

Drug Store News, April 11, 2005 by Michelle L. Kirsche

Limited-edition sweets are generating excitement and driving sales in the candy aisle.

During a fourth quarter conference call, Hershey Foods president and chief executive officer Richard Lenny said the chocolate maker's limited-edition items continue to be a source of profitable growth, which, along with new product innovation, increased sales for the candy maker by 7.5 percent for the quarter ended Dec. 31 and drove market share gains for the tenth consecutive quarter.

With a typical life span of between eight and 12 weeks, limited-edition items are traffic generators and buzz builders.

When consumers discover a limited-edition variety they like, they often become quite passionate about it. A Google search using the words "limited edition" and "candy" generates numerous Web sites, including one devoted specifically to lovers of white chocolate and dark chocolate Kit Kats. Hershey's also has introduced the limited-edition Inside Out Kit Kat, Triple Chocolate Kit Kat and Mint Kit Kat.

As illustrated with Kit Kat, white and dark chocolate often are easy targets for limited-edition items. So is peanut butter, as in products including Nestle Crunch Limited Edition Crunch with Peanut Butter.

"Confectionery is a mature category, which means that a lot of the top sellers have been around for 30, 40, 50, sometimes 60 or more years," said Susan Fussell, spokeswoman for the National Confectioners Association. Fussell offered Hershey's Kisses as a prime example. The candy dates back to 1907, but when limited-edition Hershey's Dark Kisses Were brought out in July 2003, they were so popular with consumers they became a permanent item.

That kind of draw especially delights retailers these days, as chocolate candy volume sales were down 0.4 percent in 2004, though dollar sales grew by nearly 2 percent, according to Information Resources Inc.

"In the face of flat sales ... major mass-market players in chocolate candy are devoting much of their energy to nurturing and leveraging their power brands, often turning to brand extensions, limited editions and seasonal [variations] as ... a low-risk new product strategy," according to the MarketResearch/Packaged Facts report "The U.S. Market for Chocolate." Masterfoods spokeswomen Joan Buyce adds that limited edition items do not encroach on sales of traditional items but instead build incremental volume

Shrek-themed, ogre-sized M&Ms--50 percent bigger than regular M&Ms--were one of the company's most successful promotions to date, Buyce said, receiving 50 percent more display space on store shelves than traditional M&Ms and generating incremental dollar sales. Fully one-third of consumer calls regarding the limited-edition item were to encourage Masterfoods to bring out the ogre-sized M&Ms on a permanent basis.

"We take a lot of time in reviewing comments and heeding what consumers tell us, said Buyce. "You're giving consumers something new, but you're, also giving them a choice. It has a cachet that's driving [sales].

Part of the appeal of limited-edition items, especially those tied in to a movie property, lies in consumers' interest in collectibles. Masterfoods earlier this month began offering limited-edition dark chocolate Star Wars-themed M&Ms.

Fussell said the limited-edition trend in confectionery should continue to build and noted that more limited-edition items will be announced between now and the All-Candy Expo in June. "It's just a little bit of excitement injected into the brands consumers already love and are familiar with, she said. Even if it ends up not being one of your favorite candy items, you re probably still going to want to try it just because it's different. ... It's a way to become re-interested in your favorite brands of candy."