Pladis has predicted that the biscuit category will grow to £3bn by the end of the year after a bumper year for the sector, which demonstrated the strongest growth in more than five years.
“Biscuits had an incredible year amid a tumultuous 2020,” explains Scott Snell, vice president of customer at pladis UK & Ireland. “And, while there were certainly winners and losers in this mix, overall, biscuits began to play an increasingly important role in consumers’ lives.
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“This category has always been important to shoppers, and biscuits are purchased by virtually all British households (99.5%), but last year we saw more people reacquainting themselves with the category and buying in more frequently to complement an uplift in hot drink moments at home.
“This year’s Review will be an essential resource for retailers large and small as we work together to build on this momentum, continue to drive category growth and look ahead towards the £3 billion mark for the first time.”
The latest pladis Annual Biscuit Review tracks a year like no other for the grocery industry as it was rocked by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It won’t shock anyone to learn that the pandemic had a meteoric impact on the way British people shop,” adds Snell.
“In the UK, suppliers and retailers faced challenges aplenty as we hastily adapted in the face of rapidly changing shopper needs – first solidifying supply chains as worried Brits added a few extra items to their trolleys and baskets, then through facilitating the roaring consumer demand for online delivery slots and local shopping via the convenience channel.
“Of course, all these changes marked a significant shift in the way British people shopped for biscuits.”
The Review reveals that while sales of Healthier Biscuits were hit as locked down shoppers turned away from on-the-go formats like breakfast biscuits, value sales in classic subsectors such as Chocolate Biscuit Bars (+11.5%), Everyday Biscuits (+15.1%) and Everyday Treats (+11.9%) grew.
