Burton’s Foods, best known for its biscuits, is moving further into branded confectionery this autumn with two new ranges.
The most notable of these will be a licensed product for Granada Enterprises, linking up with ITV’s flagship reality TV programme I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The brand, called Bushtucker, will feature creepy-crawly jellies in the shape of grasshoppers, cockroaches, millipedes and witchety grubs with a liquid centre. The aim is to capitalise on memorable episodes of the I’m a Celebrity programme, such as when former cricketer Phil Tufnell had to eat the real insects as part of the show’s Bushtucker trials.
The range is due to be launched to take advantage of the fourth series of the show in the autumn. The last series
attracted 11 million viewers and the new one will be widely trailed on all ITV channels.
Bushtucker will be targeted mainly at impulse retailers and the 40g bags will have an rsp of 39p. Brand manager Hayley Elliot said: “We are confident that this association will tempt people to buy Bushtucker. It is also the first time that we have used above-the-line media to attract consumers to our confectionery brand.”
Burton’s is also set to launch a new line of branded chewy gums called Squirting Skulls in October, in time for Hallowe’en.
Ronan Hegarty