Sebastien Deflandre, Marketing Manager, Ferrero
Ferrero Rocher, Rondnoir, Manderly, Tenderly Nougat and Cappuccino make up the Golden Gallery boxed offering, and present a dedicated SKU for the channel that puts classic Ferrero flavors together with new exciting combinations. “With Golden Gallery we are targeting the higher end range of the praline segment, using refinement and new tastes as the entry point. Variety is crucial in this segment as well as having a premium positioning,” remarks Deflandre. A gifting ‘natural’, he believes that Golden Gallery will put Ferrero in a position to “own the [premium pralines] segment.” Global rollout began in Europe and Asia in February this year, followed by the Middle East with a high profile launch at Dubai Duty Free. While it is still too early to comment on initial results, Deflandre says that acceptance has been positive and is in line with expectations. “The trade retailers were expecting something new from Ferrero and we are very happy with the initial response, and have very good distribution, so now we are waiting for consumer acceptance,” he notes. Increasing distribution in the Americas region is a major strategic focus for Ferrero, as Deflandre explains: “It is crucial for us to develop in North America, particularly the US. It’s a tough market because there are many retailers and it is very complex to build something big. Secondly, the space for confectionery is quite limited. “Our strategy is to push on priority and for this market we want to focus on the pralines and Kinder to build standalone categories.” For the Americas, Ferrero is working on securing presence in top-ranked airport locations and is using a different argument to convince prospective partners. “If we look at South America where we have a huge brand portfolio and significant presence in the domestic markets in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, as well as Canada in North America, this is the first message that we convey to retailers as we know it drives business. However, it isn’t always enough, so we also concentrate on highlighting how Ferrero is dynamic in terms of product innovation, which is our company strength,” he says. Ferrero is also innovating through its other portfolio brands with a new minis platform set to be released under the Kinder label, Nutella continuing to capitalize on its multi-generational family appeal, and TicTac a potential ‘one to watch’ for the future. “The sugar category is becoming more and more focused because it taps those chocolate ‘rejectors’, plus it is more affordable, so all the big confectionery brands are looking at opportunities in this category—as are we.”
The Ferrero Golden Gallery collection targets the higher end range of the praline segment, using refinement and new tastes as the entry point
Nutella continues to capitalize on its multigenerational family appeal in all major markets
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