Sean McAllister
Nestlé Rowntree is breathing new life into Aero, its bubbly chocolate brand, with bitesized new product development, revamped packaging, an updated recipe and a £6m marketing programme.
The Aero makeover is expected to add more than £28m in sales over the coming 12 months to turn Aero into a £100m brand, said Nestlé.
The big news is the launch of dual-coloured bitesized peppermint chocolate balls called Aero Bubbles. The newcomer, which comes in 42g impulse packs (rsp: 43p) and sharing resealable 147g pouches (£1.49), is expected to add £25m in sales to the Aero brand after it rolls out on April 4.
Aero brand manager Cheryl
Wells said Bubbles would add incremental sales to both the brand and the category. “It’s not a me-too product. They’re a differentiated offering,” she said.
Nestlé is also introducing two new block chocolate variants - Aero Sticky Toffee and Aero Irish Cream - as part of a revamp of Aero’s block chocolate offering. All Aero block chocolate bars now have flow-wrapped instead of the foil and wrap packaging and have been upsized from 125g to 150g, with no change to the £1.29 rsp.
The new products will also benefit from a packaging redesign across the brand to increase shelf standout, and a new chocolate recipe to give Aero a creamier taste.
Nestlé will support the Aero Bubbles launch with a £500,000 spend on point-of-sale and a £6m advertising spend.
Television advertisements in May and June will support both Bubbles and the generic Aero brand, while Aero Caramel - Nestlé’s first attempt at revamping Aero, launched last September - will benefit from a £1m television advertising campaign during March.