Premium snacks are key to pub profits at Christmas
In less than two months time, dads all over the country will be getting their nuts out in front of the Queen.
The ritual of cracking a Brazil at Christmas goes further than that, though. Yuletide provides a terrific opportunity for all kinds of snacks down the pub.
People will be keen to try something new and maybe trade up to a bigger bite.
Kettle Chips proved the point when its new seasonal flavour mature cheddar and burgundy immediately became its number three seller when it was launched last year. Not surprisingly, it is back again this Christmas.
"It is so different from anything else, and that makes it an excellent Christmas product," said trade marketing manager Andy Verney.
Kettles attract two types of consumer, he added, "people who are into potatoes and people who are into flavours and always happy to experiment. They are the CAMRA-types of crisps."
As ever with snacks, however, the real key to boosting pub sales this Christmas lies in display and the amount of space you are prepared to give over to them on the back-bar.
"Display is vital because it has been proven that crisps and snacks are an impulse purchase," said Stephen Flanagan at KP. "By having them on display, you can certainly expect an increase in sales.
"Another point to make is that premium snacks are key to the licensed trade as people are often looking for something different to the normal crisp in a pub - looking more for a 'big eat' product," he continued.
Towards the end of the year, KP will be running sampling activity for its bigger-eating McCoys brand, focusing on the major sporting events. "Some pubs will clearly benefit from this," Stephen added.
For Gary White at Golden Wonder, the best thing a licensee can do for snacks at Christmas is to get their customers to try something new - especially if it's Golden Wonder's own Bugles.
"People are more receptive and will try something a bit different," he said. "It could be a good idea to put some free product in bowls on the bar for people to sample.
"It's something pubs don't do so much these days, but because snacks are very much an impulse purchase, customers are likely to buy a packet if they try one and like it."
