Mars Wrigley targets £23m in first year for new M&M’s Block quartet

Mars Wrigley Confectionery is anticipating £23m first-year sales for its latest innovation, an new M&M’s chocolate bar range.

Four variants of M&M’s Block will roll out on 17 July exclusively to Tesco, before becoming widely available later in the summer. Chocolate, Crispy, Hazelnut and Peanut (rsp: £2.49/150g-165g) comprise mini M&M’s encased in Galaxy-like milk chocolate.

Aimed at attracting younger shoppers to larger-format chocolate bars, they marked Mars Wrigley’s biggest launch of the year and the most significant M&M’s NPD in 10 years, said M&M’s senior brand manager Cordelia Linacre.

M&M’s Block made its debut three years ago in Australia, before making its way last December to the US, where it has already achieved sales of $31m (£24.7m).

It was “a fantastic example of our new operating model, which sees us identify the best products in other markets for rollout globally” Linacre said. “Block’s success alongside our consistent UK brand growth gives us great confidence this product will be a hit with retailers and consumers alike.”

Mars Wrigley also expects £10m through the tills in the first 12 months of its new Salted Caramel variant of regular M&M’s. Created for the European market, it will be available as a 36g single (rsp: 66p), 80g bag (rsp: £1.19) and 109g pouch (rsp: £2.09).

Both innovations come as M&M’s – the world’s biggest chocolate brand – is up 11.9% in value in UK grocery to £99.4m, having sold an extra 7.8 million packs last year [Nielsen 52 w/e 29 December 2018].

CDM adds Mini Bars

Mondelez has expanded its Cadbury Dairy Milk portfolio with Mini Bars, a format aimed at portion control. It is a pouch of eight 18g chocolate bars providing 96g each (rsp: £2.49/144g).

Smaller portion sizes were “one of the key healthy snacking drivers, meaning the product is ideal for consumers looking for portion-controlled treats” according to Mondelez.

The company’s Katrina Davison, brand manager for Cadbury Dairy Milk, added: “With 114 years of heritage behind us and sales worth £520m, Cadbury Dairy Milk is perfectly positioned to bring adult consumers a new smaller format within chocolate. We know from our extensive consumer research that this six-chunk mini bar is the perfect size for shoppers looking for a little treat.”