Bournville Buttons copy

Bournville’s value surged by 6.6% last year to £15.3m

Cadbury continues to cash in on the rising popularity of dark chocolate with the launch of the first sharing bag for Bournville in its 111-year history.

The new format, Bournville Giant Buttons (rsp: £1.99/110g), is set to roll out next month, following a successful 2018 for the Bournville brand. Its value surged by 6.6% last year to £15.3m [Nielsen 52 w/e 8 December 2018] – as the result of “the growing trend for heritage brands and dark chocolate” according to Cadbury.

Taking on plain dark chocolate sharing bags from the likes of Montezuma’s and Lily O’Brien’s, the Bournville NPD will join a Cadbury sharing pack portfolio worth £126m and growing at 6.6%, led by Cadbury Dairy Milk Giant Buttons [Nielsen 52 w/e 29 December 2018].

Made with a minimum of 35% cocoa solids, Bournville Giant Buttons is slightly lower in calories and satfat than CDM Giant Buttons – with 510kcals and 16g satfat per 100g compared with 535kcals and 18g.

The launch comes weeks after Bournville revived its Orange variant in January as a 100g tablet containing real orange pieces. The bar made its debut in 1927 and was previously brought back in 2009, albeit for a limited time only.

“Dark chocolate penetration is growing in the UK, and we know there are only a few players present within sharing bags,” said Bournville brand manager Mathieu Maggi. “By teaming the most recognisable dark chocolate brand with the iconic Cadbury Giant Buttons format, we believe we’ve created a real opportunity for retailers to drive sales”.

Last August, Cadbury launched Darkmilk – a high-cocoa milk chocolate promising “a more grown-up taste” with the aim of “democratising dark chocolate”. Backed by a £6m spend, including a TV ad in May, Darkmilk is expected by Cadbury to reach £10m RSV in its first full year of distribution.