Simon Mowbray Masterfoods has launched the latest of its Harry Potter sweet offerings, insisting it is pleased with the way the range is performing despite some criticism from the trade. The confectionery giant is now dispatching batches of Harry Potter Sherbert Lemons, its third launch since it announced last June that it had beaten a number of confectionery suitors in the race to secure a licence to the schoolboy wizard. At the time, the company was confident that the deal, signed for an undisclosed sum with Warner Bros, would help the company cast an even bigger spell on the £3.5bn-plus confectionery sector. However, sales of the first two launches have disappointed some retailers with Information Resources putting sales of Harry Potter Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts Beans at under £6m in the six months since launch. One independent retailer said: "Sales have not been bad but we would have expected a bit more." A senior buyer at one multiple added: "The Harry Potter sweets face the same problem as all these things. When the hype is there they perform well but in the dry times they just trickle along." Sam McElligott, trade relations manager at Masterfoods, said the latest addition to the range had been launched to coincide with the release of a DVD and video of the first Harry Potter film. She said: "We are pleased with the way the range has performed so far and we will be sticking with it for a long time yet." {{P&P }}