Average Easter egg prices have barely changed since last year despite soaring ingredient costs and shallower promotions - although shoppers have been shelling out more for the most popular SKUs.
The average price-per-kilo of confectionery eggs stocked by the big four over Easter 2013 and this year has risen less than 1% year on year after promotions are taken into account.
The average unit price, meanwhile, has fallen by 1.4% from £4.22 to £4.16 [BrandView.com 1 January to 23 March 2013 vs 1 January to 13 April 2014].
These changes fly in the face of a 20% year-on-year hike in the production costs of a 100g wrapped milk chocolate bar, as ingredients including cocoa butter and milk powder have soared [Mintec].
Average Easter egg volume prices have remained virtually static at Asda at £20.64 a kilo, but have dropped 0.1% at Tesco to £20.76 and are down 1.9% at Sainsbury’s to £20.72.
With a longer lead time to this Easter compared with 2013, Tesco and Sainsbury’s have run shallower promotions for longer periods. Across the three retailers, the average discount offered by promotions on confectionery eggs fell from 28.2% in 2013 to 25.6% this Easter. Asda bucked this trend and has offered average discounts of 30.1% this year - the same level as in 2013.
However, while average unit prices have fallen, the prices of the five Easter eggs recorded as the top sellers of 2013 by Nielsen - such as the 178g Cadbury Creme Egg egg and 122g Smarties egg - have risen by an average of 9% year on year, from £1.22 to £1.33.
Looking at complete egg ranges - not just lines stocked both in 2013 and 2014 - retailers have used NPD to add value this year. Average unit prices have risen by 5.3% to £4.51 in Sainsbury’s, by 7% to £3.92 in Asda and by 8.4% to £4.73 in Tesco, which is stocking the priciest Easter egg offering available at any of the big four - the Finest Premium Medley of Eggs, which comes with a wooden box and a £25 price tag. Last year, the most expensive offering was a Thorntons Continental egg, which sold for an average of £22.08.
As The Grocer reported last week, Sainsbury’s has ramped up its own-label offer as it takes on the brands. Activity included five new medium By Sainsbury’s eggs, and own-label products account for 16% of its egg range, up from 9% a year ago. Tesco is also offering a greater proportion of own-label eggs, 14% compared with 12%, while Asda has slightly fewer, at 6% versus 7% in 2013.
Sainsbury’s has, however, launched a raft of late deals on branded eggs - including 3-for-£3 offers on some of the most popular medium eggs. In the week ending 13 April, Sainsbury’s dropped the price of 44 branded items compared with the previous week, while Tesco cut the price of six lines and Asda just two.
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