Nestlé Rowntree has declared war on its chocolate competitors by launching a new bar called Blue Label to undercut Cadbury’s Dairy Milk.
And it has insisted that it will be the company to drive the category forward, not its rivals.
The confectionery giant’s salvo comes just a week after The Grocer revealed how Cadbury was attacking Kit Kat with a new Dairy Milk Wafer offering, which is due on shelves in September (‘Cadbury wafer targets Kit Kat’, The Grocer, July 17, p5).
Nestlé Rowntree’s sales communications manager, Graham Walker, said: “Make no mistake, Nestlé Rowntree is serious about this launch.
“We are the ones who are leading the innovation in this category and it is us - not our competitors - who will continue to drive its growth.”
Nestlé’s Blue Label will be available from August 9 at a competitive price point of 79p for 200g - 50p cheaper than Dairy Milk’s rsp of £1.29 for the same size.
Blue Label will initially be available in two flavours - milk chocolate and fruit & nut, and only in the 200g block chocolate format.
Nestlé plans to grab a larger share of the UK block chocolate sector, which is seeing good growth and is a sector in which Nestlé dominates in most of continental Europe.
“We are after this category and we are after the competition,” declared Walker.
Nestlé added that the launch of Blue Label would also give the confectionery giant a strong presence in each of the ‘good’, ‘better’ and ‘best’ segments of the chocolate block sector.
“Nestlé Double Cream operates in the ‘best’ segment, Aero and Milkybar blocks in ‘better’ and Nestlé Blue Label will operate in ‘good’,” said the company.
Last year, Cadbury turned its Dairy Milk brand into Britain’s favourite countline by throwing existing offerings, including Caramel and Crispies, under the banner.
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