One of the UK’s largest biscuit manufacturers, Border Biscuits, is investing £3.5 million to boost sales in its hero product, the Dark Chocolate Ginger.
Sales of the Dark Chocolate Ginger – which the company claim is the No.1 selling chocolate ginger in the UK – have increased by 38%* in the last two years. The family-owned business, which produces 10 million packs of biscuits per year, is now using the Dark Chocolate Ginger as the vanguard of its business growth strategy.
The company’s plans for the brand will see the launch of a UK-wide campaign, Famously Fiery, including advertising, TV sponsorship and distinct content for its online media presence. The company’s aim is to increase its market share which is currently at 11% of all branded biscuits within the special treat category.
“For the last 35 years, the flavours in our traditional recipes have played an important role in our customers enjoyment of our beautifully crafted biscuits….”
The launch of this campaign follows another major move by the Lanarkshire-based company which earlier this year announced the removal of over 90% of plastic from its packaging. The changes save 537 tonnes of CO2e from the manufacturing process annually and reduce the overall weight of the packaging by 50%.
John Cunningham, Managing Director, Border Biscuits which has a turnover of £17.9 million per year said: “For the last 35 years, the flavours in our traditional recipes have played an important role in our customers enjoyment of our beautifully crafted biscuits.
“The decision to focus on our hero biscuit, the Dark Chocolate Ginger and our new Famously Fiery campaign is a reflection of this. We are a growing family-owned business and we have an ambitious strategy to continue to build sales.
“A key focus over the last 12-months has been innovating to reduce single-use plastic. We know our customers are concerned about the environment and the new packaging means we can address this without compromising the quality of our biscuits. Consumer feedback since the packs were introduced has already been overwhelmingly positive.”
Border Biscuits recently secured a listing with online retailer Ocado for its full retail range and exports across the globe.
*Source: Kantar Worldpanel (16th June 2019)