Confectionary has to be sold in the right place, which is where distribution becomes important. If the product is not readily available, then the impulse buying public would be unable to see the product to buy it. So it is important that confectionary is sold in local shops as well as supermarkets. Finally, promotion is important so potential customers know about the product and can see what it has to offer.
The confectionary market is dominated by several large companies – Cadbury’s, Mars and, to a lesser extent, Nestle. Each of these companies have multiple chocolate brands and one flagship brand, which are Dairy Milk, Mars, and Kit Kat respectively. They are all sold in local shops, garages and supermarkets, are priced at roughly the same (around 30p for an average size), and are promoted extensively. Indeed, catchphrases (for example: ‘Have a break. Have a Kit Kat’) are commonly recognized for major brands.
Poppets – The Product
Poppets come in many different flavours, a range which is frequently being changed and added to. At the current time, flavours include: Toffee, Toffee with white chocolate, Raisin, Peanut, Fruit cream, Toffee popcorn, Mint cream and Peanut & Raisin (combined).
These flavours cover many different tastes and so appeal to a wider target audience. As the flavours are so differentiated, it means that someone who detests toffee, for example, could still like Poppets in general as they could like peanuts. By not having a common ingredient (apart from chocolate, of course) they aren’t ruling themselves out of the market. Their wide selection means they are sure to have a flavour that appeal to everyone.
Packaging is very important for confectionary, in order to attract impulse buyers and to draw attention to the product. Colours are varied depending on the flavour, which I think is effective as customers can spot their favourite flavour from a distance. The packaging also shows a picture of the product so even impulse buyers who have never heard of it may be tempted.
Poppets are mostly aimed at teenagers, as they spend most money on sweets. The advertising is also very much aimed at teenagers, but I will cover that later. Poppets can of course appeal to anyone but the majority of sales are to teenagers. There is no particular social class that Poppets are aimed at, simply impulse buyers who like chocolate!
Poppets have been on the market for a long time, so are at an advanced stage in the product life cycle. It is impossible to know for sure, but I would guess that Poppets are starting to go into decline. They have reached and passed the maturity stage, and are probably between saturation and decline stages.
Poppets – The Prices
Poppets are sold primarily in boxes, but also sometimes in larger bags. The average retail prices are about 35p for a small box (45g), 65p for a larger ‘king size’ box (75g), and 99p for a bag (200g). Prices, however, do vary from shop to shop, with prices such as 63p and 32p being found in various places. This variation is due to shops adding on profit for themselves. Some shops may add on a lot and so charge a larger price for them, while others may not take so much and so sell at lower prices. The difference in price could also occur due to changes in Paynes’ prices. This could be due to distribution, for example foreign shops will buy the product from Paynes at a higher price due to the distribution costs involved.
