Cadbury is planning to lay down the gauntlet to luxury chocolatier Thorntons this Christmas. The confectionery giant is throwing its Roses brand into the premium arena with a Luxury Collection of milk, white and dark chocolates.
Retailing for £4.99, the offering is a considerable step up for the perennial favourite.
And Cadbury portfolio manager Sarah Hiscox said the offering would be pitched against offerings from rival Thorntons. “Our research found that people find their brand quite cold and so many do not even enter their stores.We will give them the same type of chocolates as Thorntons but in a less austere way.”
She said the Roses brand would benefit from £6m this year, including £1.2m which is specifically dedicated to the new luxury offering. Meanwhile, Flake will also be aiming to find a fresh avenue for sales this year with a new range of boxed bite-sized offerings called Flake Moments.
Retailing at £3.99, the newcomer will be yet another extension for the 84-year-old brand whose recent innovations have included new variants Flake Snow and Flake Dipped.
Cadbury’s head of customer relations, Mike Tipping, said the latest Flake format was the result of “more genuine innovation”.
“We are keen to make the best use of our key brand assets and this takes Flake into a whole new area of both purchase and consumption,” he added. “The feedback we have had has been positive and we expect retailers to have great success with the product.”