Who's winning Halloween?
There’s no doubt, Halloween is becoming more popular with consumers and brands. Around half of British shoppers spent money on celebrating Halloween last year, according to a Mintel Seasonal Shopping report,
We’ve been keeping an eye on our local supermarkets to see who’s getting into the spooky spirit! Here’s what we’ve spotted on the way to and from Activation HQ…
Limited edition, Halloween products
Some brands decide to pull out all the stops this time of year, releasing Halloween themed products available in-store in the run-up to the big night!
These are some of our favourites…
Soreen renamed as SCREAM!
Malt loaf brand Soreen has brought back its limited-edition Halloween Scream range for the third consecutive year due to popular demand. The range is available in chocolate and blood orange flavours, alongside toffee apple, which is made with apple purée and gooey toffee pieces. Great illustrations really make these stand out, and are sure to be a hit with both kids and adults alike.
Spooky treats from Cadbury
Cadbury’s seasonal range is always popular, and this year they’ve launched another strong line-up. A new spooky Cake Bar joins returning Halloween favourites, which include novelty twists on classic Mr Kipling and Cadbury cakes, as well as larger packs to cater to trick or treaters and family parties.
Onpack / AR from Fanta
Fanta’s new Halloween campaign celebrates transformation, with the limited-edition Fanta packs carrying ‘snapcodes’ with access to exclusive Snapchat filters and lenses. Lenses include ghoulish bat, pumpkin and creepy skull transformations. The packs are available in stores across the UK for a limited period. We, of course, had to try them out!
Old El Paso Day Of The Dead On Pack
Old El Paso has brought back its Day of the Dead campaign to help celebrate the annual Mexican festival and provide shoppers with some Halloween inspiration.
The themed campaign introduces limited edition Day of the Dead packaging across its range of Mexican products. We think the creative for these is amazing, and certainly has real standout on shelf.
Chris Doe, senior brand manager at Old El Paso, said: “October is a key power period for us, with the ‘Big Night In’ and Halloween occasions bringing family and friends together to share food and have a fiesta!
Plus… outfits aplenty for really getting into the SPIRIT of things!
It’s not only brands that are going big this Halloween… retailers are realising their customers also love the opportunity to get creative with costumes and themed food & drink. Dressing up is at the very heart of Halloween and spending on costumes grows year on year. Don’t expect traditional witches and vampires; however, as social media channels are apparently inspiring us all to think bigger!
Plenty of choice…
Swizzels instore promotion
We’ve also been getting in on the act by helping confectionary brand Swizzels launch their themed activation in stores in the run-up to Halloween. The FSDU features a ‘text to win’ promotion, with a range of movie night prizes up for grabs including streaming subscriptions and widescreen TVs.
So that’s Halloween done… Can we start talking about Christmas yet?!