Mars backs frozen treats

Branded desserts that hit the spot

Mars Mud Pie
The recently-launched Mars Mud Pie. Mars reckons brands help to entice consumers to the freezer aisle

NOTHING says ‘big night in’ like a tasty treat from the freezer, and with home entertaining as popular as it’s ever been there’s plenty of scope for Scottish retailers to offer a bit of indulgence.

New figures provided by Mars Chocolate Drinks and Treats show that the UK frozen dessert market is currently worth £173.5m, up 2% year on year, and the firm behind some of the biggest brands in confectionery reckons branded products in particular are performing well.

For the Scottish consumer, it seems cheesecake hits the sweet spot, according to Mars, with the subcategory accounting for 24% of the frozen desserts market, while pavlovas contribute 7% of total sales.

From Mars’ perspective, the confectionery giant’s range of branded desserts, which include Twix Cheesecake, Malteser Pavlova and the recently-launched Mars Mud Pie, are ideally placed to meet consumer demand.

Promotions of frozen desserts are shown to increase sales and are an ideal way to introduce new products.

Michelle Frost, general manager at Mars Chocolate Drinks and Treats, said: “Our frozen dessert range, including Maltesers Pavlova and Twix Cheesecake, continues to prove popular with consumers.

“We’re sure that the new Mars Mud Pie will continue to attract consumers to the freezer aisle, bringing familiar brands and great tastes to offer something new and different at dessert time.”

It’s not just the brands, but the way that you use them that really gets results at the till and figures provided by Mars suggest that it’s quality that determines whether the freezer door opens or stays closed.

Mars found 53% of consumers are looking for quality when selecting a shop-bought dessert to serve at home, with 38% seeking indulgence and 34% motivated by price.

Snickers ice cream
Mars brands feature across a range of ice-cream tubs and frozen desserts.

With this in mind, Michelle Frost suggested retailers consider running promotions on their frozen dessert range to help bring more customers into the category.

“Promotions of frozen desserts are shown to increase sales and are an ideal way to introduce new products to consumers.

“These also encourage shoppers to buy additional items to their normal shop, including frozen desserts. And as a result benefit from repeat purchase.

“For customers looking for an ‘emergency’ dessert solution, frozen desserts offer something for everyone.”