Sweets and toys: surpise, surprise Novelty is the name of the game when it comes to maintaining child appeal. Sheila Eggleston reports on the fun factor of Yowies, Kinder Kool and Chupa Chups Years ago kids were content with a sticky sweet which whistled when you sucked it. Not so today. Manufacturers need to be more acute in quality, value and child appeal. Sweets with toys, particularly noisy ones, and anything that's irreverent, shocking or oozes goo are winners as far as kids are concerned. Chupa Chups says it prioritises its marketing to kids, not their parents. Its Shocking Pop is a good example. Suck the lolly and press the side of the hand-held case and out pops a bloody eyeball, a blood sucking insect or a snarling cobra. But music, sport, fashion and computer games are also relevant to the brand and promotional activity is cued in to these areas. Many of these products are bought on impulse, says the company, the purchase being strong before and after school. Grabbing the little darlings' attention is paramount, and one only has to look at the Pokémon craze to see how appealing collectables are. Cadbury and Ferrero went head to head 18 months ago when the former introduced Yowie from Australia. Cadbury, which claims a 36% share of the £269m children's chocolate market [Information Resources 52 w/e May 21 2000], says since its launch, 16 million Yowies have been sold equivalent to £12m at retail. "We have something like 80% brand awareness and retrial is running at more than 70%," says Cadbury spokesman Tony Bilsborough. Cadbury targets children between seven and 14 years old with six characters and 50 collectable Aussie animals and says, in value terms, kids do well with the toy, games, puzzles and 52g of chocolate. This month it unveiled its Golden Yowie promotion where 2000 Yowies will contain a Yowie pencil topper with a token redeemable for £10. "It's a realistic prize to win. Children like novelty and winning £10 is highly attractive," says Bilsborough. Cadbury also believes in working responsibly with school teachers and has set up a learning zone on the net, where it also has a collector club for kids to swap on-line. Ferrero claims it has maintained distribution of Kinder Surprise despite the launch of Yowie. It values its brand at £15.6m, and despite a fall [­7% year on year, AC Nielsen], claims that 52 million Kinder Surprise eggs are sold every year. Ringing the changes is important and Ferrero updates the 120-strong range every summer and adds a limited edition family. This year it launched the Kinder Kool collection of 123 new surprises, including a mini series of the Flintstones, backed to the tune of £2m. Earlier this year the company launched a horizontal three-pack which now accounts for more than 10% of Kinder's volume. A school link, like Cadbury, has also been launched targeted at 28,000 primary schools where kids can collect Kinder Surprise capsules for their school, which can redeem them for performing arts related teaching resources and equipment. But Ferrero's coup has been its Kinder Surprise tie-in with popular tweeny band Steps. An instant win promotion gives children the chance to win VIP tickets to see and meet their idols during the band's Christmas tour, which Ferrero is sure will be a sell out. A spokesperson says: "Steps are popular with younger kids and parents like them too." Taking the same route in sugar confectionery, Chupa Chups has combined a lolly with a toy in Chupa Chups Surprise. Another new line is +Gum, a sugar candy coated lollipop with bubble gum centre (rsp 10p) which comes in a specially designed PoS unit which contains 100 lollipops. Interactive sweets are a speciality of toy manufacturer Hasbro. In two years its Cap Candy has become a £10m brand consisting of Spin Pops, plastic character dispensers and a host of character licensing properties. Oozing body parts is one star attractions. Joining Pokémon Treat Keepers and Dinosaur Spin Pops are Dinosaur Icky Licky Sticks, which ooze green slime from its nostrils or drools. Its tie-up with Mars has seen the M&M Minis candy holders and M&M Power Candy. Chicken Run and Man United Spin Tops are being launched in October and November. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}