Seasonal
Easter 2021 confectionery roundup
With fewer social gatherings to exchange gifting, the confectionery industry is expecting these rituals to evolve for Easter 2021 with more egg hunt events hosted at home and Easter activities such as baking and crafting becoming more popular. Here’s our round-up of what is on offer in stores this year, from the giants like Mars and Ferrero to small free-from companies including HiP and Happi.
Love Cocoa
Ethical British chocolate brand Love Cocoa kicks off our Easter roundup with two giant luxury eggs indulgently filled with the brand’s signature truffles. Promising to deliver the ultimate grown-up chocolate fix. The new boozy Prosecco Milk Chocolate and vegan-friendly Sea Salt Dark Chocolate egg launches are designed to make the most out of the upcoming seasonal sales period.
Created by James Cadbury, the eggs are handmade in the UK, and are palm oil free with plastic free, 100% recyclable packaging. The company also points out that buying any product from Love Cocoa’s Easter range supports the brand’s ‘Plant A Tree’ commitment, which saw 508,000 trees planted in northern Cameroon in 2020 to fight against climate change.
“With consumer appetite for premium chocolate continuing to soar since the pandemic and with our two smaller eggs completely selling out last year, we decided to bring out two new even more luxury options to satisfy consumer demand and drive incremental Easter sales. With three out of the four-strong Easter range available via Ocado, we’re looking forward to sharing even more of our award-winning flavours and unique designs with the British public,” said Cadbury.
HiP
James Cadbury stays on our Easter radar with the launch of his new oat milk chocolate brand, HiP (Happiness in Plants), aimed at the growing Flexitarian trend as demand grows for plant-based products. The HiP Salted Caramel Oat Milk Chocolate Easter Egg promises a deliciously creamy, dairy free alternative to traditional milk chocolate eggs and will be available exclusively via Selfridges and HiP.
“Ditching dairy no longer means missing out on a proper Easter egg – good news for millions of us Brits who are trying to adopt a more flexitarian approach to our diet. We believe our oat milk chocolate is second-to-none, delivering a deliciously creamy hit that tastes just like traditional dairy milk chocolate. The secret recipe has taken over a year to perfect and I’m delighted to be able to bring out an egg version in time for Easter,” said Cadbury.
Happi Free From
New confectionery brand, Happi Free From, which launched last month to fill the gap in the market for ‘delicious and ethically-sourced oat milk chocolate' has produced a new range of vegan and allergen free Easter eggs.
Made using gluten-free oat milk and rice syrup, the new Happi Easter eggs are dairy, gluten and soya free, and packed into 100% recyclable boxes with zero single-use plastic.
The all-natural eggs are available in three delicious flavours: Plain Milk, Orange and Salted Caramel. Happi said it “promises a perfect allergen-free chocolate egg, with no compromise on taste”.
Using 47% single origin chocolate sourced directly and ethically from farmers and growers with a full ‘farm-to-bar’ supply chain, Happi puts great taste and quality above all else. It is also 35% less sugar than other mass market chocolate brands.
“Why should allergy sufferers and vegans miss out on delicious Easter eggs just because they can't or don't want to consume dairy?,” said Gavin Cox, founder of Happi Free From.
The new range of Happi Free From Easter eggs are available in 170g fully-recyclable boxes, which use zero single-use plastics. They are now on sale in Selfridges and available to all retailers. RRP £9.99 per egg.
Ferrero
Ferrero's Easter products are rolling out in-stores now, in addition to being sold through ecommerce retailers, including Instacart, Target, Walmart and Kroger. Leading up to Easter, consumers can also head to Ferrero's Pinterest for Easter celebration ideas, and more.
The company has partnered with influencers as its Kinder Kalendar allows families to countdown to Easter together with spring-themed activities ranging from seasonal crafts and games to recipes with new activities being revealed every day until 4 April. From creating DIY mason jars, to playing bingo together, or making bunny cupcakes, the Kinder Kalendar aims to ‘spark moments of happiness and help families create memories together’.
The iconic Kinder Joy Egg will be available in eight new ‘egg-citing’ Easter themed designs, with new limited-edition toys. In addition, the eggs will be available in a Kinder Joy 4 Pack and a Kinder Joy 6 Pack, featuring fun designs that are great for Easter baskets and decorating.
Ferrero’s Fannie May Milk Chocolate Bunny is another Easter classic. Featuring 3 ounces of premium milk chocolate, this bunny is sure to delight anyone.
Mars Wrigley UK
Mars Wrigley UK is another of the confectionery giants to unveil a host of exciting Easter chocolate aimed at the British public with seasonal takes on brand classics including Maltesers Easter Mix, and Celebrations Easter Mix.
With fewer social gatherings expected this Easter, more Easter egg hunt events will be hosted at home, alongside Easter activities such as crafting and baking becoming a popular pastime and Mars’ Galaxy Caramel Mini Eggs are not only available in brand-new bold packaging design but are also perfect for decorating baked Easter creations.
With lockdown encouraging more time spent in the kitchen and bringing families together, home baking has become increasingly popular in the UK and Mars Wrigley UK said it is eager to tap into the market and get more of the nation baking in 2021. Its research has revealed that 30% of consumers are cooking or baking more than they did before lockdown and more widely 60% of shoppers enjoy baking.
Hames Chocolates
Lincolnshire Chocolate maker Hames Chocolates has announced it has launched a new premium chocolate egg range for Easter, aimed at the UK consumer. Featuring two milk chocolate, one milk and white chocolate and two vegan-friendly eggs, the range is made with high-quality, thickly-moulded chocolate and is available from its website.
Designed to appeal to the increasing number of consumers who are looking to buy eco-friendly products as a result of Covid-19, the range’s packaging is either recyclable, reusable or compostable. It is also made with sustainably grown cocoa from Cocoa Horizons and the milk in the milk chocolate comes from cows who graze in British meadows.
Carol Oldbury, Director of Hames Chocolates, said: “With this year set to be another challenging one, we predict that people will continue to look for premium food options to brighten up everyday life, which is why our new range is all about high-quality ingredients. It also taps into the ongoing trend for environmentally-friendly products, as living sustainably continues to be high on the consumer agenda during the pandemic. We also know that good food is often a form of escapism for many and chocolate is no different. Therefore, the Hames Chocolates Easter Egg range offers a variety of unusual flavours for consumers to enjoy, such as Gin and Tonic, salted caramel and blood orange.”
Pierre Marcolini
What if we could capture the sweetness, joy and promise of the first days of spring? What if we celebrated Easter with childlike excitement? Asks luxury chocolatier Pierre Marcolini, who has launched six recipes of Maison petit praline eggs, featuring Piedmont, hazelnuts, Iranian pistachio and Sicilian almonds, aimed at fans buying in the luxury end of the market who appreciate the Belgian chocolatier’s crisp and velvety artisanal pralines.
Not only a chocolatier but also a pâtissier, Marcolini also presents a dessert for all food lovers in the form of a delectable Easter garden as well as cute Amaretti biscuits.
Cadbury
Cadbury has launched a virtual Easter egg hiding experience where consumers can hide an Easter egg anywhere in the world for someone they love.
Using Google Maps Street View, and working with international integrated communications agency VCCP, the hider can hide an easter egg anywhere in the world and then share a personalised clue with a loved one to help them find their egg. The recipient will then be sent the clues to help them find the virtual Easter Egg. The hider has two options; to either purchase one of four Cadbury Easter Eggs from our special Cadbury Worldwide Hide range that their seeker will physically receive once they’ve found the egg online or they can choose to simply hide a virtual Easter egg for free for a loved one to find.
Physical connection has been restricted by the global pandemic and that’s why this year’s Cadbury Easter campaign sets out to connect people across the UK through the power of generosity, according to the company.
Markéta Kristlová, Senior Brand Manager Easter UK, Mondelēz International, said: “This year, we felt it was important for us to create something that would help people feel close, even when they cannot be together. There is something so generous in taking the time to hide an egg at Easter and we wanted to capture that in a way everyone could do.
“With travel restricted for a lot of us, the Cadbury WorldWide Hide takes the usual garden egg hunt and helps you travel the world in search of the Iconic Purple Cadbury Egg, hidden somewhere that is meaningful to you and the hider. We can't wait to share it with everyone and make people feel a little more connected however far apart they may be this Easter.”
The campaign will span TV, VOD, social, digital, OOH, PR, in-store and online.
Hotel Chocolat
How do you like your eggs? Maybe it’s Ostrich, Extra Thick or Hard Boiled, or maybe it’s Soft Boiled, Tiddly or Speckled? Premium retailer and producer Hotel Chocolat said it has the perfect egg for whatever your preference is this Easter.
The best things stand the test of time and Hotel Chocolat’s iconic Extra Thick Eggs are coming of age this Easter as it celebrates 20 years of mould-breaking lavishly thick shells.
"We’ve got something for every palate and personality, from cute seasonal characters to abundant wicker hampers; and because it’s us, you know it’s all made with more cacao, less sugar, 100% Engaged Ethics cacao and nothing artificial, ever," a spokesperson said.
