FEATURE
BIG NIGHT IN
19 SEPTEMBER 2025 ASIAN TRADER 21
outperform total snacks, showing
how important value is in a
market where household budgets
remain under pressure.
Matt Smith, Marketing
Director for Tayto UK explains
Golden Wonder’s success, “We
know how important the £1
price-point is to both consumers
and retailers. By sticking to this
key price-point we have contin
ued to deliver great tasting, great
value snacks with strong retailer
margins”.
Mr. Porky is the leading brand
in scratchings. Its innovative
products Crispy Strips and Puffs
have all the flavour of
scratchings with a
crispier bite for a
lighter eat, helping
bring new consum
ers into the category.
For the ultimate
in traditional
scratchings, Midland
Snacks is a must-stock
item.
Smith says,
“Scratchings are the
perfect partner to a drink and so,
should be displayed with BWS and
soft drinks as well as with crisps
and snacks.
“We’ve made this easy to do as
our top-selling Mr. Porky snacks
are in SRP and clip strips and
Midland Snacks the pub tradi
tional scratchings are available in
clip strips and pub cards, so there
is a solution for every store - no
matter how big or small.”
When it comes to Big Night
Ins, one cannot ignore the
confectionery section. Having
the right format is the key here.
Susan Nash, Trade Communi
cations Manager at Mondelēz
International, says, “shoppers
want variety so it’s important to
have a range of flavours and in
candy different types of sweets
from hard to soft to appeal to all
shoppers.”
Value too is important here,
where 70 per cent of sales in are in
PMPs. So to build a successful and
efficient Big Night In range within
confectionery,
retailers must focus
their space on the
best-selling lines
across these key
formats and pack
types, she adds.
“Overall, shopper
confidence is
improving at a total
level as inflation
rates recover. Our
latest insight indicates
both penetration and frequency
of convenience shopping has
increased, reflected in the
shopper shift to smaller more
frequent shops, with shoppers
prioritising their immediate
needs, be that for immediate
consumption or for that evening,”
Nash says.
Lauren George, External
Communications Manager, Mars
Rustlers, the £118m chilled ready
meals brand which has recently
undergone a total brand refresh,
comes into picture.
Ross Davison, Head of
Convenience at Kepak (Foods
Division), home of Rustlers, adds,
“Products often bought with
Rustlers includes complementary
Big Night In food such as fries and
drinks, underlining the role
Rustlers has to play in the Big
Night In as it continues to
outperform the micro-snacking
category.”
The world has moved on from
the Covid days but this habit of
preferring to stay-in rather going
out rather seems to be increasing.
Madina Kaiumova, Brand
Manager at Empire Bespoke
Foods (EBF), agrees, saying that
Big Night Ins have increased
significantly in popularity from
being the ‘only’ option for
socialising during the long days of
lockdown.
“Consumers are spending
considerably more time at home
with affordable treats topping the
Wrigley, adds, “M&M’s has a
long-standing association with
shared screen time, making the
range a key consideration for
convenience retailers looking to
drive sales for the Big Night In
occasion.”
SKITTLES has experienced
good growth, driven by a regular
release of category-leading NPD,
and has continued to grow its
range with the addition of
SKITTLES Squishy Cloudz.
According to Ben Cooper,
National Account Controller –
Wholesale at Swizzels, just as
taste remains the key driver for
sugar confectionery, value
remains essential especially
during seasonal occasions such as
Big Night In, which has to be an
affordable treat.
This new line up follows the
launch of Swizzels Tropical
Refresher Bar earlier this year in
celebration of the brand’s 70th
anniversary.
Eat, repeat
Cost of living pressures have also
seen a move by consumers to “eat
in” more, again providing
opportunities in convenience
retailing for ‘meal for tonight’ and
“Big Night In offers” as consumers
see staying in with friend and
family as a cost-effective
alternative to going out.
As they’re enjoying these
events, no one wants to spend too
much time in the kitchen.
That’s where market-leading
Keep it big
Stuart Graham, Head of
Convenience and Impulse at KP
Snacks, rolls out some crunchy
snacking sales tips
Big Night In fixture: Dedicated fixtures and promotional offers
that make shopping easy are a good way to drive impulse
purchases.
Cross-category purchase: Encourage trial and boost cross-
category buying amongst shoppers by positioning nuts and
crisps in the Beers, Wines & Spirits aisle.
Interruption: Window posters and shelf barkers are great ways
to catch the eye on the path to purchase and encourage impulse
sales.
Secondary display: Retailers should implement more than one
site of best-sellers at high footfall areas of the store.
Boosting sales in beer
Golden words from Rob Hobart,
Marketing Director, Asahi UK, on
how to boost Big Night In sales
Stock premium lagers. Premium lager continues to show
growth in the market, despite total lager being in decline so
retailers should stock a wide selection of brands.
Showcase value. Introduce a Big Night In meal deal, paired with
premium drinks such as pairing a taste of Italy with pizza or
pasta and Peroni Nastro Azzurro, while Asahi Super Dry.
Merchandise effectively. Make it easy for the consumer to find
what they want by merchandising lagers, including alcohol-free
drinks, close to linked purchases, such as snacks, if licensing
restrictions allow.
Low- and no-alcohol. Low- and no-alcohol is the fastest-
growing beer segment so retailers are advised to focus on
brands that meet this demand and taste great, too, such as
Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0%.