Cadbury has taken on
the might of McVitie’s
Cadbury had been content to concentrate on its confectionery range for years but it’s now taking on cake and biscuit manufacturers.
Manor Bakeries is using Cadbury branding on muffins, flapjacks and brownies to compete with UBUK’s similar impulse products under Masterfoods’ confectionery brands, such as Snickers, Galaxy and M& M’s.
Alongside the traditional Fingers, Burton’s Foods has brought out the Cadbury Digestives biscuits brand in two variants (milk chocolate and fruit) in direct competition to McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives. It expects the brand to be worth £6m within three years and has put a £1.5m marketing budget behind it.
McVitie’s has retaliated with a £7.5m ad campaign and bespoke radio ads supporting the new ‘best-ever’ McVitie’s chocolate digestives.
Sarah Glenton, Asda’s buyer for bought in cakes, says Mr Kipling is by far the strongest brand in cakes, with 12.5% value share, followed by Cadbury with 6.3% and McVitie’s with 5.9%.
Sarah Lewis, the Co-operative Group’s category marketing manager, says McVitie’s is in front with loaf cakes and cake bars, while Cadbury is ahead with Mini Rolls.
Paul Selvey, head of consumer marketing for convenience at United Biscuits, insists his company has by far the strongest brand credentials. “Cadbury is a big brand but in biscuits it’s relatively small.” UB’s McVitie’s is a national institution for many consumers who regularly buy its chocolate biscuits. They obviously think the chocolate topping is already pretty good. Dominic England, senior consultant at brand agency Dragon, isn’t sure that Cadbury could overtake them with its offer.
He believes that although going into biscuits was a natural move for Cadbury, it was a big risk to take on McVitie’s. “Cadbury doesn’t bring any biscuit credibility - just chocolate credibility - and with digestives it’s not about the chocolate, but the biscuit.”
However, Cadbury is confident about its chances of success, largely because it is such a trusted brand and the number one chocolate brand, says Toby Barty, senior brand manager.
This means it can bring in new users: “The biscuit category generally is predominantly an older consumer category and because Cadbury appeals to younger consumers that’s a huge advantage moving forward,” says Barty. “McVitie’s has had credentials in biscuits but I’m not convinced they’re still there. The age profile they appeal to is more mature - Homewheat and Rich Tea are bought by a more mature profile - and they’re not making the products more contemporary.”
In six months, Cadbury Digestives have reached £3m in retail sales and the manufacturer says it’s getting those all-important repeat purchases. “We’re also got ambitious plans for next year,” promises Barty.
the might of McVitie’s
Cadbury had been content to concentrate on its confectionery range for years but it’s now taking on cake and biscuit manufacturers.
Manor Bakeries is using Cadbury branding on muffins, flapjacks and brownies to compete with UBUK’s similar impulse products under Masterfoods’ confectionery brands, such as Snickers, Galaxy and M& M’s.
Alongside the traditional Fingers, Burton’s Foods has brought out the Cadbury Digestives biscuits brand in two variants (milk chocolate and fruit) in direct competition to McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives. It expects the brand to be worth £6m within three years and has put a £1.5m marketing budget behind it.
McVitie’s has retaliated with a £7.5m ad campaign and bespoke radio ads supporting the new ‘best-ever’ McVitie’s chocolate digestives.
Sarah Glenton, Asda’s buyer for bought in cakes, says Mr Kipling is by far the strongest brand in cakes, with 12.5% value share, followed by Cadbury with 6.3% and McVitie’s with 5.9%.
Sarah Lewis, the Co-operative Group’s category marketing manager, says McVitie’s is in front with loaf cakes and cake bars, while Cadbury is ahead with Mini Rolls.
Paul Selvey, head of consumer marketing for convenience at United Biscuits, insists his company has by far the strongest brand credentials. “Cadbury is a big brand but in biscuits it’s relatively small.” UB’s McVitie’s is a national institution for many consumers who regularly buy its chocolate biscuits. They obviously think the chocolate topping is already pretty good. Dominic England, senior consultant at brand agency Dragon, isn’t sure that Cadbury could overtake them with its offer.
He believes that although going into biscuits was a natural move for Cadbury, it was a big risk to take on McVitie’s. “Cadbury doesn’t bring any biscuit credibility - just chocolate credibility - and with digestives it’s not about the chocolate, but the biscuit.”
However, Cadbury is confident about its chances of success, largely because it is such a trusted brand and the number one chocolate brand, says Toby Barty, senior brand manager.
This means it can bring in new users: “The biscuit category generally is predominantly an older consumer category and because Cadbury appeals to younger consumers that’s a huge advantage moving forward,” says Barty. “McVitie’s has had credentials in biscuits but I’m not convinced they’re still there. The age profile they appeal to is more mature - Homewheat and Rich Tea are bought by a more mature profile - and they’re not making the products more contemporary.”
In six months, Cadbury Digestives have reached £3m in retail sales and the manufacturer says it’s getting those all-important repeat purchases. “We’re also got ambitious plans for next year,” promises Barty.
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