Haribo steadfast in face of HFSS rules as revenues hit new high

Revenues at Haribo have soared to record levels despite the sweets maker battling government restrictions and rising costs.

Against a category backdrop of flat volumes for sweets, Haribo pushed sales past £200m for the first time in its history, up 17% to £218m in 2022, according to newly filed accounts.

Haribo highlighted major changes to supermarket store layouts ahead of new HFSS rules for contributing to a decline in confectionery volumes as a whole, alongside higher prices and the cost-of-living crisis.

The Yorkshire-headquartered group attributed its performance, which also included volume growth, to a recovery in on-the-go sales as consumers bought more from c-stores, forecourts and travel outlets than in the years affected by lockdowns.

Sub-brands Starmix and Tangfastics enjoyed more than 20% growth thanks to increased marketing investment across traditional media and social media and experiential campaigns.

The business also continued to expand its own retail estate, opening the latest shop in Swindon in the fourth quarter to take the base to nine strong.

Operating profits increased 52% to £32m, while pre-tax profits jumped 76% to £35m.

MD Jon Hughes said Haribo achieved the record performance in the face of “a challenging year for the UK confectionery industry”, with “high inflation, the introduction of government regulations on promotions and increased costs of raw materials, packaging, energy and labour”.

“We continue to meet consumer demand and invested in an additional production line and commissioned associated packing lines at our Castleford site in West Yorkshire in the last year,” he added.

“We are proud to have invested in Yorkshire food manufacturing for over half a century and will continue to invest in the region and in our retail presence across the UK. Our success is down to the hard work of our colleagues, whose passion for sweet making is key to our growth, and our relationships with customers, whose support helps us create more moments of childlike happiness across the country.

“We will continue to invest in our brands to deliver value for money and choice for consumers creating the quality products everyone knows and loves.”