Exclusive: Concerns over lack of Easter shelf space for SME confectioners in major retailers
Can UK retailers be doing more to highlight smaller and emerging enterprises key Easter confectionery. Pic: Neill Barston
Key industry concerns have been expressed over a perceived lack of smaller and medium-sized confectionery manufacturers being represented on major British retail shelves this Easter, reports Neill Barston.
Sophie Jewett, managing director of York Cocoa Works, raised the issue on social media, highlighting an apparent lack of UK-made products featuring within the isles of some of our biggest supermarkets.
Posting on Linkedin, she asserted that there ‘were no British made chocolate eggs on supermarket shelves this year – I would love to be proved wrong,” explaining that her statement was on the basis of products meeting a legal definition of chocolate, as well as being made in Britain, and featuring in supermarket chain stores.
As Sophie (pictured above at our World Confectionery Conference in 2023), noted, the purpose of her post was in noting that the artisan and small to medium sized manufacturers, who have collectively continued to provide high grade confectionery offerings for Easter, deserve retail space and recognition in prime shopping environments, which has largely not materialised in the UK. This is at variance with a number of European countries, including France, Germany and Switzerland, that have been prominent in backing domestically produced brands alongside major producers.
The York Cocoa Works director’s comment received hundreds of responses from across the industry, with many sector professionals sharing her concerns regarding the perceived quality of products, and a seeming lack of diversity of UK-produced ranges hitting retail spaces at one the busiest periods of the year.
As Confectionery Production has reported, major manufacturers have released their Easter ranges this year – but at least some of them fall short of the UK definition of milk chocolate, which must have a minimum of 25% cocoa solids, under the 2003 Cocoa and Chocolate Products regulations governing the UK sector.
Under these regulations, milk chocolate is held to a lower standard than products branded as being chocolate – that must contain 35% dry cocoa solids, including not less than 18 per cent cocoa butter and not less than 14 per cent of dry non-fat cocoa solids.
While the level of cocoa in chocolate is far from the only factor in creating its flavour profiles, many sector experts have continued to hail it as of critical importance, alongside recipe formulation that determines the overall quality of products. For ranges being sold as chocolate with lower values of cocoa, this is often substituted with far higher levels of sugar, alongside additional sweeteners and additives.
As for the cacao itself, this remains largely sourced from Ghana, Ivory Coast, as well as South America, with crops requiring specific warmer climates to enable their cultivation, which remains a constant factor for the sector, which is now facing added pressure from lab-created cocoa, which poses another potential disruptive consideration.
Brands’ performance
Among leading brands, Cadbury, which has long been in British ownership, but for more than a decade is US-owned, falls short of being classified as milk chocolate for its eggs, which are “up to 24%” cocoa, which would also not meet European standards. These are higher than in the US – that has a requirement for just 10% cocoa to be defined as being chocolate.
US-owned Mars is offering its own hollow Easter Egg in British stores, which has 25% cocoa solids, so would just make the grade for being described as milk chocolate. However, the company recently took over Hotel Chocolat, which has recently released its own “Extra Thick Easter Egg,” (priced £34), which is manufactured in the UK, containing dark elements of 70% cocoa and 40% minimum cocoa solids, as well as its Milk Egg at 40% cocoa solids, priced just over £11 in the UK.
For its part, Nestlé, operating from several key British sites including its York facilities, has for some period been in Swiss hands since the late 1980s, with this year’s offerings such as a Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream Giant Egg, Aero Melts Neapolitan Ice Cream Giant Egg, KitKat Chunky Chocolate Brownie Crunch Incredible Egg, KitKat Mini Eggs Sharing Bag and Rowntree’s Jellytastic Mini Egg Bar. Its Caramel Collection Giant Easter Egg is set at 25% cocoa solids for its shell only.
Within once British-owned businesses, Thornton’s, now under the European-based Ferrero, does in fact offer a higher cocoa grade of chocolate (at 30% cocoa solids) for its Derbyshire production facilities, priced between £5-11 across its range.
Similarly, another once UK-owned major brand, Terry’s, has been sold to a French company, which has released its latest Chocolate Orange Easter egg offering, which claims “at least 25% cocoa solids” enabling it to be described formally as milk chocolate, available from £4 from UK retailers).
Another example, Kinnerton confectionery in Yorkshire does enjoy retail presence, yet this was ultimately sold to German food group, Zertus, and also claim 25% minimum cocoa solids it its latest ranges.
Independent businesses
As previously reported, despite the lack of mainstream retail space being devoted to smaller UK confectionery companies, many are doing their bit to be as sustainably sourcing as possible, and are starting to score some limited retail presence.
For its part, West-Sussex Montezuma’s chocolate, which has continued to manufacture from its site at Birdham near Chichester, has previously gained listings for some of its Easter ranges, as well as selling through its own stores.
Meanwhile, another prominent independent British business Love Cocoa, led by James Cadbury, has made headway in placing its sustainable sourcing through Colombia’s ethically-focused Luker Chocolate supplier (which can be seen at this year’s World Confectionery Conference taking place in Brussels this September).
Though the UK company’s manufacturing is now understood to be based within mainland Europe, it has gained added retail recognition within the travel retail space, teaming up with JES Travel Retail, and has placed considerable energy into opening its first UK retail store near Oxford Street in London.
In the vegan confectionery space, Plamil, as a pioneer of its category, remains one of the most significant producers for the sector in the region, with its So Free series achieving listings with wholesalers and health outlets such as Holland & Barrett.
But as Adrian Ling, director of the Kent-based business (pictured below), has previously explained to Confectionery Production, major retailers have been unwilling to devote space to vegan ranges such as its offerings in contrast to ‘conventional’ product series, which continue to dominate the vast majority of stores aisles – though the picture is slowly changing.
Furthermore, one of many other independent businesses that have risen in recent years, Harry Specters, is also releasing its latest range, including its “Golden Egg” priced at £14, promoted as a 40% milk chocolate egg, which made headlines for its founding principles aiming to offer employment opportunities for young autistic people who had experienced challenges gaining employment.
The company’s story gained national prominence, with the company gaining an opportunity to gain major retail exposure through a limited edition bar from its series achieving listings with Aldi. But as the company’s story highlighted – the higher volumes being insisted upon by the company were not sustainable as a long-term venture for the emerging enterprise.
