Nestlé reports strong Christmas demand for its personalised Quality Street tins
The Nestlé group has reported a strong response to its recently-unveiled personalised Quality Street confectionery tins, which have offered some festive cheer amid challenging times, reports Neill Barston.
As the company explained, UK families have traditionally loved the traditional debate of which is the brand’s ultimate chocolate twist-wrapped treat – with the Purple One emerging as shoppers’ first choice in the selection.
The company’s online offering launched two months ago (www.qualitystreet.co.uk), with the second most favourite pick and mix chocolate being the Green Triangle, followed by Fruit Crèmes take third and fourth spots for Strawberry Delight and Orange Crème respectively. Others to feature in the top ten were Caramel Swirl in fifth place, followed by the Toffee Finger, as the leaderboard continued to shift throughout this month for Christmas orders.
According to the business, its website allows visitors to select up to six different sweets for their tins or opt for the classic Quality Street mix. They can personalise the tin with a name of their choice and have it delivered straight to their door.
So far, it’s a close race between the north and south of the UK for most Quality Street orders received. London is the city with most orders, and Kent, Essex and Surrey lead the county list. However, Cheshire, West Yorkshire and Lancashire are not far behind, while Glasgow, Nottingham, Leeds, Liverpool and York are among the top ten cities.
Ellie Dent, Senior Brand Manager for Quality Street said: “We knew that the web shop would be popular, but it has outperformed all our expectations since its launch. We’re delighted by the reaction but sorry that orders are taking longer to dispatch than we had hoped.
“We would like to assure customers that we have put in a series of measures to help manage the high demand, and that we are working around the clock to speed up delivery times. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
Named after a J.M. Barrie play, Quality Street is still made at the same factory in Halifax, West Yorkshire where it was first manufactured in 1936. It was originally developed by Mackintosh’s of Yorkshire which was founded in the town in 1890 by John and Violet Mackintosh. Their son, Harold Mackintosh, developed Quality Street in the 1930s to create an affordable, brightly coloured assortment of chocolates and sweets. The original tin contained 18 varieties, had paper bunting around the edge and all the sweets were wrapped differently, providing a visual and sensual experience. The tin went on sale for two shillings.