Leading confectionery manufacturer Perfetti Van Melle is claiming a category first with the launch of Mentos Discovery, offering 14 different flavoured sweets in one roll.
Launched in Morrisons, Mentos Discovery will roll out to other store formats over the coming months.
Mentos, which is the fastest growing top 10 sweet brand with sales of £31.2m, is targeting growth in the chewies segment, where sales are up 9% on the previous year, and fruit flavours specifically – 57% of the brand’s roll sales come from mixed fruit.
Launching the NPD, Mentos brand manager Sarah du Plessis said taste and flavour was the number one decision in the purchase hierarchy, ahead of price and value.
And there is strong category demand. Sweets have 90% household penetration, over half of users eat sweets more than once a week, 63% of sweet consumers want a wider range of flavours and 25% of people want sweets with exotic flavours, especially Gen Z, du Plessis said.
Vegan friendly Mentos Discovery is available in four pack formats: a single roll (65p), five pack (£1.80), three pack and a price-marked three pack (£1.25).
“It’s a category-first,” said du Plessis. “Every single dragee is different – I can’t think of any other product with 14 flavours.”
The flavours will be presented in a specific order and that will not change, she added.
Perfetti Van Melle, which is now the second largest confectionery company in the world with sales on target to hit £150m across all brands, is supporting the Mentos Disovery launch with a £1m multi-media campaign. The campaign will include radio ads on Kiss Fresh and Kiss FM and Out Of Home (OOH) executions on buses and digital six-sheet posters.
Mentos Discovery will be rolled out across the brand’s 100 markets globally, beginning in the UK, the Netherlands, Benelux and Italy.
According to du Plessis, the product has recorded an 84% purchase intent. “Flavour is at the heart of the Mentos brand, and Mentos Discovery is an opportunity to drive further appeal among younger audiences,” she said.
