Guinness-branded nuts are winning listings at the supermarkets as sales of the stout plunge.

Sharing bags of Guinness peanuts and cashews went on sale at Sainsbury’s last month and will soon be appearing at Asda and Waitrose.

Confectionery and snacks group Zetar, which makes the products under licence from Diageo, is now working on a smaller pack of Guinness nuts for convenience stores, as well as a pack in the shape of a pint glass for gifting.

It is also planning to bring Guinness truffle bars, caramel bars and dark chocolates - which have so far only gone on sale in Ireland - to the UK next year.

“Guinness is an iconic brand so we’re confident these products will do extremely well,” said Zetar CEO Ian Blackburn.

A growing appetite for Guinness snacks and chocolates will be a boost for the stout brand, which dropped seven places on The Grocer’s survey of Britain’s 100 Biggest alcohol Brands this year after off trade sales dropped 11% to £64.2m [Nielsen 52 w/e 28 April 2012].

The Guinness-branded snack products follow the launch of Zetar’s Tango chocolates - which feature popping candy for a “fizzy orange taste” - into Tesco last month.

The Tango products were not in full distribution but were “exceeding our forecasts where they are on sale”, said Blackburn.

He added that just months after setting up a French subsidiary in Lille, Zetar had won listings in five of the country’s seven major food retailers for a range of advent calendars.

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