Your Budgens February 2022

February 2022

Budgens Alva gets into the driving seat Healthier products mean healther profits Booker provides a million free meals

Volume 12

NEWS • RETAILER PROFILES • SOCIAL MEDIA • VALUE FOCUS • SUMMER PRESELL

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Your Budgens: Contents

… e u s s i s i In th Charity stars A million meals for the needy

7

STEWART FENN’S WELCOME A year of opportunity

9

NEWS Booker provides a million free meals

WELCOME TO BUDGENS

11

More stores join Budgens

INDUSTRY NEWS

13

Retailers gain better protection

GROCERYAID UPDATE

19

Diversity milestone reached

RETAILER PROFILE

9

20

Kalyan Akisetty puts himself in the driving seat in Alva

RETAILER PROFILE

26

Noel Kavanagh takes a fresh focus in Hinchley Wood

GETTING SOCIAL

34

Top tips on upping your social media game

HEALTHY PROFITS

38

Shoppers seeking out healthier options

VALUE MATTERS

42

Value for money more important than ever

DISPOSABLE HEROES

46

Disposable vaping lines in big growth

SUMMER PRESELL

50

Get ahead of the game

NEW PRODUCTS

52

A roundup of the latest new lines

46

Healthy profits Healthy 38 products, healthy sales

Disposable heroes Vaping’s new direction

BUDGENS Email enquiries@bookerretail. co.uk Your Budgens Team Email yourbudgens@budgens. co.uk

Cover Story

Kalyan Akisetty has transformed a former car showroom in the small town of Alva in Clackmannanshire into a bustling, service-focused 3,000sq ft Budgens store after a major refit. An extensive fresh produce and fresh meat range has made the store an instant hit with the local community while a strong food to go offer is helping drive footfall, sales and profits in the new store.

IT and customer services helpdesk Tel 0800 298 0758 All rights reserved. ©Booker Retail Partners.

All information within correct at time of printing.

Volume 12: February 2022

34

5

WIN

1 of 4 Costa Coffee Kits Buy any case of Costa RTD in NP11 and enter online for a chance to win 1 of 4 Costa Coffee Kits

Scan QR Code to enter M267212

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M250808

GB 16+ only. Purchase required. Promotion opens 00:01 on 27.12.2021 closes 23:59 on 26.01.2022. See costa-gift.co.uk/terms-and-conditions for prize description, entry routes and rules. Promoter: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB. © 2013 - 2021 Costa. All rights reserved.

Welcome: Stewart Fenn

A YEAR OF

opportunity!

A fresh new year opens up a world of opportunities for Budgens retailers.

Another key focus for shoppers over the next few months will be value for money.

This is a trend that has been growing for years and looks set to remain at the front of many shoppers’ minds in 2022.

In this issue you can read some great ideas on how to deliver fantastic value to your shoppers through the Budgens promotional programme, Every Day Low Pricing and our Own Brand ranges.

A very warm welcome to this first issue of Your Budgens of 2022 with another exciting and opportunity-filled year ahead of us. There is plenty to look forward to and I look forward to working with you all to make 2022 a successful and profitable year.

In this issue, you will find news on a number of major initiatives that will help you grow your footfall, sales and profits this year. With 2022 a year full of major events and occasions, there are plenty of chances to grow your business and in this issue we take a look forward to the year, highlighting the major sales opportunities that exist.

From Mother’s Day and Easter to Wimbledon and the World Cup, this year promises a packed calendar that can help set the tills ringing all year long.

One key focus worth highlighting in the early months of every year is the increased shopper interest in eating and drinking more healthily. That, of course, means different things to different shoppers but it’s a trend worth keeping an eye on and it’s certainly worth taking a fresh look at your offer in-store to ensure you are reflecting this shift on your shelves.

To help inspire you for the year ahead, why not check out our store profiles in this issue where you can learn how fellow Budgens retailers are evolving and growing their businesses in new and creative ways, growing their footfall, sales and profits into the bargain. You’ll find some great ideas in those profiles and lots of lessons you can apply in your own business.

With social media now a fundamental tool in the retailer’s armoury, we offer some advice and support in this issue to help you make sure that you are leveraging the enormous power of digital channels these days.

Plus there’s the usual mix of news, fantastic new products and an inspiring Guest Column from Jason Kelk on how to take your drinks offer to the next level.

Volume 12: February 2022

7

W IN

A NINTENDO SWITCH AND THE NEW POKÉMON™ LEGENDS: ARCEUS

5 TO BE WON!

When you purchase a minimum of 4 cases, of different varieties, across the range below in one order during 13.12.2021 – 08.03.2022 you will be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a Nintendo Switch and the new Pokémon Legends: Arceus game. Entrants must be 18 or over. One entry per transaction. One prize per retailer. Full terms and conditions apply, see

www.grocerypartners.co.uk/whats-new/ batchelors-gaming-brp-2022

EXCLUSIVE ON PACK CONSUMER PROMOTION FOR BOOKER GROUP

BATCHELORS ARE THE PERFECT MEAL FOR GAMERS ON A BREAK Case & Pack Size

Price Marked Sale Price

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BATCHELORS SUPER NOODLES CHICKEN POT PMP £1.20

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£1.20

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BATCHELORS PASTA N SAUCE POT CHEESE & BROCCOLI PMP £1.20

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M248847

BATCHELORS SUPER NOODLES BBQ BLOCK

8 x 90g

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BATCHELORS SUPER NOODLES CHICKEN BLOCK

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BATCHELORS SUPER NOODLES MILD CURRY BLOCK

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BATCHELORS PASTA N SAUCE CHEESE & BROCCOLI

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BATCHELORS PASTA N SAUCE CHICKEN & MUSHROOM

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Product Description

*Price marked packs.

©2022 Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK. Prize draw open to residents of Great Britain, who own a Budgens store or Londis store and who have an account with Booker Limited (“Eligible Retailer”). Promotion Period: 13/12/21 – 08/03/22. To enter, purchase a minimum of four (4) cases, of different varieties, across the range above qualifying Batchelors products (the “Qualifying Purchase”) during the Promotion Period and you will automatically be entered into the prize draw. A Qualifying Purchase must be placed in a single order to qualify for entry. You will receive an entry into the prize draw for each Qualifying Purchase made. Batchelors products that are considered a Qualifying Purchase are subject to availability. Please retain proof of purchase. Five (5) winners will be selected at random from all valid entries received into the prize draw during the Promotion Period and will each win x1 physical copy of the Pokémon Legends: Arceus game and x1 Nintendo Switch with Neon Blue / Neon Red Joy-Con Controllers (the “Prize”). Only one Prize will be awarded per Eligible Retailer. Entrant’s personal data held by Booker Limited shall be used by Booker Limited, the Promoter or the Promoter’s agents, for the purpose of administering this prize draw.

Full T&Cs apply, see www.grocerypartners.co.uk/whats-new/batchelors-gaming-brp-2022. Promoter: Premier Foods Group Ltd, Premier House, Centrium Business Park, Griffiths Way, St Albans, AL1 2RE.

News: Charity

Booker provides one million meals for needy Booker has redistributed enough food to provide the equivalent of one million meals through FareShare’s network of charities.

Working with FareShare, the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste, Booker has redistributed enough food to provide the equivalent of one million meals for communities across the UK.

for working with FareShare and OLIO to redistribute the equivalent of one million meals. This food is needed now more than ever and is making a huge difference to people in need across the country.

Booker is the first wholesaler to redistribute food directly to FareShare’s network of charities through the FareShare Go programme and the free sharing app OLIO. ‘Food Waste Heroes’ collect food directly from Booker and Makro branches, which is then added to its app for people in the local area to collect.

“We’ve received lots of positive feedback from our network of charities collecting food through Booker and the colleagues in Booker branches are building strong relationships with their local community thanks to this programme.”

Through FareShare Go, Booker sites are matched with charities and community groups in the local area that collect the items and turn that into food parcels or hot meals for the people they support.

The food redistributed by Booker includes a range of large catering size packs, vegetables, deli and sandwich fillings, as well as smaller packs of meats, fish and fruit.

Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive at FareShare, said: “Thank you to Booker Volume 12: February 2022

Catherine Marston, Head of Sustainability at Booker said: “We are delighted that our teams across the whole Booker business have worked so hard with their local partners to reach this fantastic milestone.

Not allowing any edible food go to waste is something that everyone at Booker is passionate about and we are proud to be the first wholesaler to work in such a collaborative way with FareShare and OLIO. “Our food waste represents just 0.15% of total food handled which is marketleading. We are off to a great start with this partnership and I’m really looking forward to building on this success.”

BOOKER EARNS GROCERYAID GOLD AWARD

Booker has earned the highest possible accolade from industry charity GroceryAid, a coveted Gold Award.

Gold winners have participated in at least eight activities across all three GroceryAid pillars: awareness, fundraising and volunteering.

During an immensely tough year, Booker raised its game even further for GroceryAid, taking part in 11 separate major activities including GroceryAid day, communicating GroceryAid internally, fundraising and offering free advice to the charity. Booker also took an active part in numerous GroceryAid committees including the Independent Retail Strategy Group.

For more, visit groceryaid.org.uk

9

GREAT

LIGHT LIFE.

TASTE.

ZERO’S

M000039

M913690

75%

will contribute

of sparkling soft drink growth IN NEXT 3 YEARS2 M341791

M144607

80% of consumers

are trying to LIMIT/AVOID

SUGARS1 © 2022 The Coca-Cola Company. All rights reserved. COCA-COLA ZERO, DIET COKE, FANTA, SPRITE and The CONTOUR BOTTLE are registered trade marks of The Coca-Cola Company. Source: TCCC Category Vision 2021, (1) IFIC Food & Health Survey, (2) Industry Estimates EU Top 10.

Your Budgens: New Stores

e m o c l We udgens to B

8

1

7

Store openings and refurbs

9

5

3 2 4

6

We’re delighted, as always, to welcome new stores to the Budgens family.

3

MEPPERSHALL

“This is my second Budgens store and I’m incredibly excited by what we’ve achieved here. The store is located in a rural hilltop village and is the only convenience store around, so we have an excellent opportunity to provide our local shoppers with a strong one-stop grocery offer.

We bought what was a small 500sq ft unit and have extended it to a 1,700 sq ft store which majors on fresh and chilled produce with a strong frozen offer thanks to Cook freezers. Shoppers looking for on the go solutions are also well catered for with an impressive food and drinks to go offer including Tango Ice Blast and Costa Coffee.”

1 COTSWOLDS SERVICE STATION Bourton On The Hill, Gloucestershire

2 FRENCHMANS CREEK Fleet, Hampshire

3 MEPPERSHALL Meppershall, Bedfordshire 4 OLD BARN STORES

North Waltham, Hampshire

QUAY 5 OSPREY Mereside, Dorset

Rishi Chandarana Budgens Meppershall

STORE 6 RAW Old Street, London

5

EDEYRNS 7 ST Old St Mellons, Cardiff

OSPREY QUAY

“Operated by Falcon Retail, Budgens Osprey Quay on the isle of Portland is a new-build 2,600 sq ft forecourt store offering a range of footfall-driving products and services.

The store has a strong food to go offer featuring Greggs, Costa Coffee, Rollover Hot Dogs, F’real, Tango Ice Blast and Cook freezers.

We also have a Gluten-free bay, a large Laithwaites wine offer, a standalone vaping fixture and a strong promotional focus.

We expect the site to benefit from high levels of seasonal trade in the summer months thanks to its location close to popular beaches and its proximity to the holiday town of Weymouth.”

8 THORNLEY Thornley, Co. Durham 9 TORQUAY Torquay, Devon

Tom Orford, operations director Falcon Retail

Volume 12: February 2022

11

Industry

s w Ne

House of Lords passes an important amendment that will add further protection for workers in independent convenience stores.

Peers agree protection of workers amendment in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, which includes retailers.

The Government says it will reinforce in statute the seriousness with which the ourts should treat these offences and send a very strong signal to the public that assaults of this kind are totally unacceptable. The new measure will be reviewed in 12 months.

The House of Lords has passed a new protection of workers amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in the House of Lords.

The amendment places in statute the aggravating factor applied by the courts Volume 12: February 2022

ACS Chief Executive, James Lowman, said: “After many years of campaigning we are please the government has introduced tougher penalties for attacks on shopworkers. This sends a much-needed signal to our colleagues that violence and abuse will not be tolerated.

‘One in three’ go low or no UK shoppers are increasingly choosing low and no alcohol products all year round and not just for the recent Dry January festival, according to the fourth annual online study by drinks watchdog The Portman Group, carried out in December.

Conducted by YouGov, the report found that almost one in three (32%) UK drinkers now ‘semi-regularly’ consume low and no alcohol products compared to one in four (25%) in 2020.

A fifth (20%) of those who have tried low and no alcohol say they are more likely to drink these products now compared to a year ago, almost double the number saying this in last year’s survey (11%).

The most popular reason given is ‘being able to drive home from social events’ (33% of respondents) while healthier consumption concerns were cited by 22% of consumers. More than one in 10 consumers (12%) said they currently alternate between low or no products and regular strength alcohol to moderate their overall consumption.

However, well over half (58%) of non-drinkers have never even tried a low or no product and just 14% are semi-regular consumers.

“We still need more resources for police forces to focus on neighbourhood policing and delivery of the drug rehabilitation strategy to reduce acquisitive crime that often leads to violence in local shops.”

13

News: Industry Update

Government

Update ACS has called on the government to provide more support for rural convenience stores.

Government must not leave rural shops behind in Levelling Up Agenda Key findings: l In 2021 rural retailers invested £195m in their businesses l They provide local, secure and flexible employment to over 138,000 people l Rural stores added £3.5bn of value to the economy l 79% are independently owned

The Association of Convenience Stores has called on the Government to provide more support for rural convenience stores as part of the levelling up agenda, highlighting the vital role that these businesses play to the economy and to their local communities.

ACS’s new 2022 Rural Shop Report has revealed that half of rural stores operate with no other retail or service businesses close by, acting as a lifeline for their customers by providing access to vital services including free to use cash machines (48%), local grocery delivery (26%) and Post Offices (22%). This year’s report also shows that if their local shop was no longer there, customers would have to travel an average of 3.3 miles in order to access these services and to feed their families.

Volume 12: February 2022

Findings from the report show that over the last year, rural convenience stores have achieved around £15.8bn in sales and the average rural customer visits stores around 2.5 times per week.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Rural shops are a lifeline to thousands of communities and have gone above and beyond to ensure that they can keep providing essentials throughout the ongoing pandemic. This is despite rural shops facing significant additional challenges compared to their more urban counterparts. Providing targeted support to rural shops and other rural businesses must be integral to the Government’s levelling up agenda to ensure that the gap between rural stores and their urban counterparts doesn’t widen even further.”

Home entertaining now ‘key’ for retailers A new report has found that entertaining at home is a fundamentally important legacy of the last 18 months.

A TWC survey in the run up to Christmas found that almost seven in 10 shoppers said they had entertained friends at home in the past month and plan to do so in the future.

This is a higher number than those that said they had met friends and family in a pub, and implies a significant opportunity for retailers.

Sarah Coleman, TWC’s Director of Communications, said: “Retailers have an opportunity to target home entertaining occasions, to meet the needs of those that don’t want to go out, or indeed those who have enjoyed entertaining at home through the pandemic and wish to continue. If current concerns lead to further restrictions, retailers need to be prepared for an increase in at home occasions.”

The report also suggested that home delivery can play an important role in helping retailers service shoppers entertaining at home, as well as allowing retailers to get closer to shoppers and understand their buying behaviours better through data collection and analysis.

15

News: Industry Update

Sustainability opportunity for Budgens retailers Over a third of shoppers believe shopping in convenience stores is ‘better for the environment’.

A new report from data and digital experts TWC has found that over a third of consumers believe that shopping at convenience stores is “better for the environment”. The report also found that sustainability concerns are already influencing consumers’ decisions on where they shop for groceries – and will do so more in the future.

The TWC Trends “Do good, feel good” report revealed that over 70% of consumers are concerned about environmental and sustainability issues. The youngest shoppers, Gen Z (aged 18-24) were most likely to ‘strongly agree’ with this statement while shoppers aged 55 and over were more likely to consider themselves ‘more concerned about environmental issues than they were three years ago’, suggesting that older consumers are ‘catching up’ with their younger counterparts in terms of concerns about sustainability.

What is also clear from the report is that sustainability concerns are already affecting where consumers shop. Over

four in 10 respondents agreed with this statement – and almost half said that it will be an even greater influence in the future.

The reasons behind shoppers’ beliefs include the fact they they commonly visit convenience stores on foot, independent stores support the local economy and local suppliers, and smaller baskets tending to mean less waste.

Sarah Coleman, Communications Director at TWC, commented: “Almost two-thirds of consumers agreed that food retailers who don’t take sustainability or environmental issues seriously are likely to lose out in the future. There is a real opportunity here for Budgens retailers to talk up the environmental benefits of shopping at their stores.

For example, walking to store (both customers and staff) and collaborations with local businesses that drive the local economy. We believe this would really resonate with consumers.”

Local store spending ‘up 67.3%’ Consumer spending on essential items like food and drink in local retailing outlets grew by 67.3% in January compared to the same period in 2020, according to the latest data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions.

The huge increase in spend was driven by consumers shopping locally due to workfrom-home guidance, said Barclaycard.

Supermarket growth over the same period was a subdued 13.6%, the lowest growth rate since before the pandemic began.

The report predicted that growth in independent retailing should continue with a number of important seasonal occasions such as Mother’s Day and Easter on the horizon which should help to keep footfall and sales in strong growth for the coming months.

17

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News: Industry Update

Take care of yourself and your team! Self care tips.

GroceryAid is reminding retailers to look after themselves during this period of disruption and stress caused by the pandemic.

The charity says supporting others, while juggling increasing workloads, can take its toll and has issued some tips from its helpline partner Care first to help alleviate some stresses retailers might be facing.

The tips are: take regular breaks, stay active, learn to switch off, stick to a routine, plan your day, try to avoid carrying emotions from work, don’t try to be all things to all people, prioritise your tasks, dedicate time to yourself, and remember GroceryAid can support you too.

The charity said: “You will often be the first point of contact for colleagues when it comes to work and personal related issues which can take a toll on you personally. Utilising the support available through GroceryAid to help can make a difference. Signpost colleagues to the Helpline for support from a professionally trained counsellor.”

GroceryAid’s free confidential helpline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on 08088 021 122.

Diversity programme reaches milestone

A day for the industry to come together

GroceryAId has celebrated more than 50 partners joining its Diversity & Inclusion in Grocery programme for 2022.

GroceryAid is asking people in the industry to save Tuesday 26 April 2022 for its next GroceryAid Day.

The 12-month programme provides access to a packed annual agenda of Shared Learning, Mentoring and the annual D&I in Grocery LIVE! event.

The theme for the day will be “Let’s Talk GroceryAid”. The charity’s goal is to raise awareness about its free welfare services to even more people in the grocery industry to ensure those colleagues who need its support know how we can help.

Programme Partners nominate candidates to be matched with someone who can support their career and personal aspirations.

This 12-month process starts in January.

Volume 12: January 2022

The charity said: “From factory and shop floors through to head offices, we want everyone to get involved.”

Last year more than 200 companies in the trade took part in GroceryAid Day and the charity reached millions of people through company engagement.

19

Your Budgens: Kalyan Akisetty

In the driving seat Independent retailer Kalyan Akisetty has transformed a former car showroom into a servicefocused convenience store.

There’s a new noise echoing up the streets of Alva: The revving of engines has been replaced with the ringing of tills and swishing off shopping bags thanks to an ambitious refit by independent retailer Kalyan Akisetty, who has transformed the town’s old car-showroom into a thrumming Budgens convenience store.

“I first came across the site in early 2020 and as soon as I saw it I just knew it was ripe for conversion into a convenience store.

“The opportunities that it presented were huge. For one thing, being a car-showroom meant that it had a large carpark which is a luxury that most of the other stores in this area and our nearest competitor, don’t have.

“Secondly, at the time that I came across the site, the town’s only Post Office had closed down meaning that local shoppers were in sore need of a store that could offer them this crucial service.

“Thirdly, while the area has a high elderly shopper demographic, it was about to get a fresh rush of young families thanks to a new housing development which at the time of purchase, was in the early stages of being built but is now close to completion.

20

Volume 12: February 2022

Retailer profile: Kalyan Akisetty

STORE FACTS Store name: Budgens of Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland Store size: 3,000 sq ft Best performing categories: Fresh, chilled, BWS Services: ATM, National Lottery, Paypoint (Post Office coming soon) Opening Hours: 6am-10pm Mon to Sun

“Given all of these factors I knew that I had a real opportunity to offer the shoppers of Alva a fresh, convenient and exciting shopping experience that ticked all the boxes.”

However, with Covid-19 and a national lockdown hitting just a matter of weeks after Kalyan purchased the site, the finishing line took a little longer to reach.

“It was a long time in the planning, almost a year before we actually started on the conversion process but that pause gave me a lot of time to sit and think about the plans and work closely with my Budgens Recruitment Development Manager Victoria Nicholson who gave me so many wonderful ideas.”

“Alva is a small village in the central lowlands of Scotland with a population of around 5,000 - many of whom are elderly.

“This high mix of elderly shoppers presented us with an array of unique challenges but also opportunities.

Volume 12: February 2022

“Many elderly shoppers are creatures of habit and I knew that for the store to be the success that I knew it could be, we would have to give those shoppers numerous reasons to change their daily habits and ingrained behaviours and shop with us, rather than our nearest local competitor where they had been shopping for years.”

Well, if reasons were apples, Alva’s shoppers certainly now have a veritable orchard of reasons to visit their new 3,000 sq ft Budgens store – not least of which is its quality-focused 1.2m produce offer.

“The new store opened on 3 December 2021 following an extensive refit,” Kalyan says. “I bought everything that the team at Budgens recommended as I wanted the range to be as comprehensive as possible to ensure that we offered shoppers everything they needed under one roof giving them more reasons to visit us.”

What that look like is a wide-ranging fresh and chilled offer at the front of the store comprising of more than 12 meters of chilled including a fresh meat offer from Budgens as

21

STOCK UP ON

Sqwituhaadsdhed VITAMINS

M268756

two most popular Squash flavours*

Std RSP £2.19 POR 31.5%

Purchase intention of 74% among GB consumers**

M268757 CAPRI-SUN© is a trade mark of the Capri-Sun group.

Source: * Source: Nielsen, Grocery Multiples, MAT to 16.05.20 ** Quantitative concept test, March 2020, N = 200

well as local butchery items plus a strong deli range and sandwiches.

The smell of new cars has also been swept away by a coffee and pastry-scented breeze thanks to a on-trend food and drinks to go offer including a Costa Express machine, Tango Ice Blast, Jolly Ranchers Slush and Fwip ice cream.

“We know that ranges such as those will prove popular with the young families who are moving into the new housing development just a stone’s-throw away from the store, so it was important to get them in from the start.

“They are actually doing surprisingly well already, generating £250 a week which is not bad for a small town in winter with a predominantly elderly customer base,” Kalyan adds.

Promotions also play a critical role in driving footfall, especially offers on the store’s impressive 6.2m BWS range and thanks to its large glass windows and abundance of natural light, those special offers truly shine.

“We are seeing more and more new faces every day which proves that we are tempting them to change their daily behaviours as hoped.”

Kalyan Akisetty, Budgens of Alva, Clackmannanshire

“Natural light is another of the store’s big draws,” Kalyan adds. “As a car showroom, the site always had very large glass windows and that sense of light and space was something I was keen to preserve in the convenience store as it’s actually quite rare.

“Most stores don’t really allow shoppers to see in and rely heavily on artificial light but we wanted to let as much daylight in as possible and allow shoppers to both see in and out.

“We removed all of the old car-show room windows and replaced them with more convenience retail appropriate windows but have ensured that visibility remains very good.”

“Allowing shoppers to see exactly what we have on offer from the street plays a crucial role when it comes to changing those behaviours.”

Service does too and again this is an area into which Kalyan is investing significant time and effort.

“Obviously we have a very strong range but we are also focusing hard on customer service because we want to make shopping with us an experience to remember.

“With the elderly shoppers we help them to navigate the store, we pack their shopping into bags and we carry it out to the car should they need us too.

“I also spend as much time as possible on the shop floor.

Those initial weeks after opening are crucial for intelligence gathering and I speak to shoppers as much as possible to find out what they think, what they like and what more they might need.

Volume 12: February 2022

23

PM N P

K W C E PA

Stock the No1 * Dry Cat Food

M272722

POR 36.1%

The choice of over 1 million households** *IRI Market Advantage, Total Petfood, IRI All Outlets UK, Dry Cat Food, Value Sales 52 w/e 27th March 2021, **Purina ONE Adult Chicken 800g is the #1 selling SKU in Grocery Dry Cat Source IRI MAT Pet Outlets & Ocado 20th April 2019 ®Reg. Trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.

Retailer profile: Kalyan Akisetty

“I’m committed to making this a true community store, a place that local shoppers turn to for so much more than just their daily shopping needs.”

Kalyan Akisetty, Budgens of Alva, Clackmannanshire

“A couple of shoppers have asked for particular products that we hadn’t been stocking when we first opened and I’ve personally visited the local Booker depot to buy them in for them. Small acts like that add up to big positive impressions.”

A concerted local marketing campaign involving flyers and adverts on the local radio station are also helping to raise awareness of the new store.

“We opened just a few weeks before Christmas so we wanted to do a really big push and by chance I got speaking with a shopper who worked for the local radio station Fourth Valley Radio. He suggested that we run some ads with them which turned out to be a great idea. The station is run as a social enterprise and broadcasts across the Forth Valley area so it really helped to raise our profile.”

And with average basket spend cresting £9 just seven weeks after opening it’s clear that all Kalyan’s hard work is paying off.

Volume 12: February 2022

“Shoppers seem really pleased with what we’ve done here and we are seeing more and more new faces every day which proves that we are tempting them to change their daily behaviours as hoped.”

The addition of a Post Office counter in the spring - along with a new Vape Station fixture are also sure to give new and existing shoppers even more reasons to visit.

Kalyan has also approached the head teachers of the two local schools to offer his assistance with any fundraising or sponsorship opportunities.

“I’m committed to making this a true community store, a place that local shoppers turn to for so much more than just their daily shopping needs,” he adds.

From all of the above, it certainly seems as though he’s on the right track.

25

Retailer profile: Noel Kavanagh

The talk of the town A high-end fresh focus has set tongues wagging in the Surrey community of Hinchley Wood.

We’ve all heard of the X Factor, but when it came to revamping the Kavanagh Group’s 3,000 sq ft Budgens store in the bustling Surrey community of Hinchley Wood, there was only one factor that managing director Noel Kavanagh was concerned with: The T factor for ‘talkability.’

“When it comes to opening a new store or revamping an existing one, ‘talkability’ is everything,” Noel says. “While a good refit will undoubtedly result in existing shoppers visiting more often and spending more on each visit; a great talkability factor will also see you attract entirely new shoppers, and we’ve certainly achieved that at Hinchley Wood,” he says.

And that it has. In fact, following a “transformational” refit carried out in the summer of 2021, Hinchley Wood’s Budgens store is now the talk of the town.

“We bought the store back in 2015 and we carried out a refresh in 2016 but this was the refit that the store had been waiting for,” Noel explains.

“After almost six years of brisk trading, the store was starting to look and feel a little tired and in need of a fresh new look and focus.

“We had a very clear vision for how we wanted the store to look that centred around brightness, premiumisation and a much greater emphasis on fresh foods in a bid to improve sales and margins.

“We wanted to create a high-end market-style feel that would elevate the fresh food aisle and make the whole zone far more appealing to shop.”

The refit took approximately two weeks, including a four-day closure in which new floors, ceilings LED lighting and a host of new fresh and chilled display cabinets were added. (The

26

upgrades to LED lighting and more energy efficient chillers also helped to slash the store’s carbon footprint by 25%.)

“Prior to the refit we had a low-level refrigeration unit down the main aisle but we took that out and opened the aisle up to increase that all important sense of space and light.”

Noel’s vision of a premium market-style feel was also achieved with new off-shelf displays to whip up greater instore theatre, as-well-as specialised shelving in the produce area designed to help the store to display more loose fruit and vegetables.

“The off-shelf displays have allowed us to introduce greater in-store theatre with quirky lines such as French onions aswell-as interesting local ones such as tomatoes for example, which we displayed in beautiful baskets on the shop floor in the summer months.

Volume 12: February 2022

“When it comes to opening a new store or revamping an existing one, ‘talkability’ is everything.”

Noel Kavanagh, Managing Director, The Kavanagh Group

“The specialised shelving for loose products meanwhile has also helped us to achieve an appealing market-style look and get away from plastic packaging which is something that shoppers are keen to do and certainly something that we as a business are focused on too,” Noel adds.

The move has not only resulted in growing the store’s fresh sales participation by 6% but has also increased produce sales by between 15% and 20%.

The store’s chilled range was also given a boost with the addition of two new spider fridges which house a delectable selection of Sussex cheeses and premium deli meats in the main aisle.

“Shoppers can’t get enough of the Sussex cheeses, they’ve added a real point of difference and together with the deli meats and local produce have really helped to elevate the Volume 12: February 2022

27

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Retailer profile: Noel Kavanagh

offer and our talkability factor,” Noel adds.

“Average basket spend is growing and total sales are currently up 15% on pre-launch which we are very happy about.”

Noel Kavanagh, Managing Director, The Kavanagh Group

Also helping to dial up chatter is the store’s impressive new refill station on the main aisle.

Offering shoppers a wide range of lose dry goods from nuts to seeds, cereals and pastas the ‘Unwrapped’ station is proving “a great hit” across the store’s shopper base and helping the store to wage further war on plastic.

“Shoppers are delighted that we have given them the option to refill and move away from plastic and the station has created a great talking point.

“We’re really happy with sales which are steadily growing week on week as shoppers start to embedded it in their routines.

“It appeals to all shoppers across the board, from the elderly who use it to buy what they need to young shoppers and teens who also enjoy engaging with it.”

Teen shoppers are also well served by the store’s new drinks to go offer. Thoughtfully sited in the spacious entrance area, the store now offers Tango Ice Blast slush and F’real milkshakes in addition to its existing Costa Coffee machine.

The store’s location just a mile from one of the area’s largest secondary schools, and on a key bus route, makes it a magnet for snack-starved teens at the end of the school day, while during the day it’s now a mecca for busy parents and workers dashing in for a top up shop and takeaway coffee between drop offs and zoom calls.

Volume 12: February 2022

STORE FACTS Store size: Budgens Hinchley Wood, Surrey Store size: 3,000 sq ft Best performing categories: Fresh and chilled, food to go Services: Post Office, ATM, E-top up, National Lottery Staff: 25 Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 6am-10pm Sunday 7am-10pm

31

Plan your shelves the right way to increase SALES The recommended 1 shelf range for Mexican

M103774

M704163

Old El Paso is the

biggest brand in World Foods FOR

£1 spent in Mexican another

£3-4 are spent in other foods and drinks IGD FMCG 2020, Nielsen World Foods & Mexican 52we Nov. 2021

M218445

M197583 M232964 M145584

Fajita Kits are the

most popular products for the typical convenience shopper who wants a quick & easy meal solution

Tortillas & spice mixes

sell faster for the Mexican food lovers!

Retailer profile: Noel Kavanagh

“Generally we have a few good mix of different shoppers visiting the store at different times throughout the day,” Noel adds.

“We’ve always had a lot of elderly shoppers popping in mid-morning for example as part of their daily routine and to visit the Post Office but since the refit we’ve seen a big increase in the number of young parents and professionals popping in for top up shops throughout the day – driven by our investment in fresh and chilled.

“That’s where the talkability factor has really come into play.

Our regular shoppers are shopping more with us since the refit and they have championed the new-look offer for us, telling their friends and family, with the result that lots of new shoppers are now visiting too.

“Average basket spend is growing and total sales are currently up 15% on pre-launch which we are very happy about. It’s all indicating that our vision for greater emphasis on fresh and a more premium upmarket feel is being well received by shoppers. It gives us a lot of confidence going forward.”

And that confidence will certainly serve the Kavanagh Group well as it seeks to grow its small store portfolio over the coming years.

“The Kavanagh Group has historically operated a number of large format stores but around five years ago we decided to pivot away from the larger store format in England.

“In our opinion, the smaller format convenience model is the place to be and our new-look 3,000 sq ft Hinchley Wood store is the model that we will be focusing on for expansion.”

Volume 12: February 2022

33

Business Opportunity: Social Media

socialg n i b m i l c

Learn from these retailers:

Social media can be a fantastic way of raising your store’s profile as well as growing footfall, sales and profits – and best of all, it can be entirely free.

KEY WAYS TO DRIVE YOUR CONTENT 1

Giveaways – a product that is seasonally relevant.

This allows you to gain higher local reach if you encourage people to comment & share. It will also increase awareness of your store and the product.

(Please get consent from the customer if featuring them in a post)

2

Offer posts – an exciting in-store picture of a new product always works well with the community.

Using store staff will give it a local feel and customers will appreciate this.

3

Openings – boasting about your store opening with great pictures is a must. People always want to know what’s happening in their local community so give them updates and content that builds interest!

If you need any advice, please call Owen Griffin, our Social Media and Digital Manager.

Owen.Griffin@bookerretail.co.uk 07730 092436

34

Volume 12: February 2022

TOP TIPS! l Post regularly to

keep shoppers engaged.

l Set aside some

time aside each day to update

Social media is one of those rare opportunities that can deliver huge benefits to retailers for relatively little effort and absolutely no direct cost. How else could you reach literally millions of people without spending a penny? In the UK there are tens of millions of customers who interact daily with key platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – and that presents an enormous opportunity.

Among those many millions are likely to be the majority of the people who live in your particular community, which offers you both a digital shopfront available to anyone with a smartphone as well as the perfect platform

for engaging with your existing shoppers and for attracting new shoppers to your door.

If you offer home delivery services, social media allows you to grow your shopper base to include everyone who lives within your delivery catchment area, even if they never actually physically visit your store.

All that’s required is a little planning and a little focused effort and the rewards can be significant.

The Budgens social media channels focus on communicating our fantastic promotions and own brand products to existing and

l Remember that

social media means you are opening up a channel for customer feedback, so monitor your page carefully and regularly.

l Everything you

post and almost every interaction you have with consumers is in the public eye.

l It can take time to

NEED HELP GETTING STARTED? Log on to Booker.co.uk –> Pages –> Budgens –> Digital Marketing & Radio to see our Hints and Tips Download FREE digital images supporting leaflet offers, provided every promotion Download FREE posting guides to help aid content and copy

Volume 12: February 2022

build an audience so be patient or, if you are keen to grow your audience quickly, consider the various paid-for local advertising options available on social media to quickly extend your reach.

35

TRAIN WITH

REIGN

IN

LOS ANGELES

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ENTER ONLINE AT: REIGNBODYFUEL.COM/GB _LA

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Costs relating to the prize not listed above shall be borne by the winner. For entry, full prize details and terms and conditions see www.reignbodyfuel.com/gb_la.

Business Opportunity: Social Media

THE BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA A great way of communicating with existing shoppers, as well as reaching a wider audience of potential new shoppers Powerful local brand exposure Totally free to use Quick and easy to get started

MAINTAINING YOUR PAGE It’s important to keep people engaged with your page. Think about: Posting in-store offers and new products.

Highlight Group Exclusive products which invariably drive footfall.

Use photos of your store, themed displays and seasonal fun.

Highlight changes to your store such as new services and change of opening hours.

new shoppers as well as engaging with shoppers on a daily basis with a friendly, welcoming attitude.

This complements your own social media activity and allows you to focus on posts specific to your store which could include everything from deals, new products and ‘like & share’competitions to any community engagement work you’re doing or even simple reminders on your opening hours or home delivery service.

The key to developing a successful social media presence is to post relatively regularly - at least two or three posts a day – and to ensure that you monitor your social media channels to allow you to respond quickly to any feedback or comments you may get from shoppers.

If it helps, you could think of social media as just an extension of the outstanding customer service Budgens stores are already famous for: polite, friendly, helpful and prompt.

POSTING POINTERS

Put up posters around your store telling shoppers that you’re online.

l On Facebook and Instagram, you should keep to

Engage with other social pages in your community and show your support to your local shoppers and local community.

new in store, local to you and what makes you stand out from your competitors

Volume 12: February 2022

1:1 ratio (square) for images.

l You should focus on what is seasonally relevant,

l Head office branded social network accounts @

discoverbudgens have a constant stream of exciting material created for you to use and share to your own page.

37

Seasonal Opportunity: Healthier Eating & Drinking

Healthy profits Many shoppers resolve to eat and drink a little more healthily in the early part of the year, opening up fresh opportunities for Budgens retailers.

VEGAN AND FLEXITARIAN DIETS ON THE RISE The recent Veganuary festival once again helped refocus many consumers with more than two million people registered for last month’s event. The Veganuary charity says that a very large proportion of those who take part tend to continue with a vegan diet or significantly reduce their meat and animal product intake throughout the rest of the year. This represents a major opportunity for Budgens retailers.

Vegan meals now account for one in eight meals that shoppers prepare at home, Kantar’s usage panel found, equating to an additional 350 million plates of food that are now vegan-friendly, compared to five years ago.

Crucially, Millennials are a key demographic when it comes to veganism, with 36% of vegans being aged 25-34 years old. Young females are another significant target group for veganism, as 38% of all vegans are females aged 16-44.

Looking at products, Kantar says that soups are among the most popular choices for shoppers opting for plant -based meals, but world cuisines such as pizza, pasta and Indian dishes are also favoured.

38

The early part of every year is traditionally a time when many shoppers will make a mental note or commitment to being a little bit more careful about what they eat and drink. For the first few months of every year a whole set of new opportunities open up for retailers who are able to offer these health-conscious shoppers the types of products they are looking for.

How long into the year that commitment lasts is another thing entirely, but 2021 research from IGD shows that UK shoppers are increasingly looking to adopt more healthy and sustainable diets all year round, with 58% open to improving their eating habits (up slightly from 57% in 2020).

Healthier eating, of course, means different things to different shoppers: less meat, more fresh produce, cooking from scratch, more low or zero sugar soft drinks, a little less alcohol every week, the list goes on.

But whatever it means to them, Budgens retailers are able to capitalise by ensuring that they

offer these shoppers what they’re looking for.

LOW TO NO ALCOHOL

The recent and increasingly popular Dry January challenge sees more and more shoppers start each new year off with a focus on reduced alcohol consumption. While once this would have relied on abstinence, these days this goal is often achieved with the help of low or no alcohol beers, ciders, wines and spirits.

Budgens offers an extensive range of low and no alcohol alternatives across all of the major alcohol drink product categories and it’s certainly worthwhile ensuring that you have some low or no alcohol alternatives available in-store for shoppers.

Why not go a step further and introduce a dedicated low and no alcohol fixture in-store? This will really help highlight the fact that you stock a good range and should help grow footfall, sales and profits.

Volume 12: February 2022

Seasonal Opportunity: Healthier Eating & Drinking

Booker offers a huge range of alcohol-free beers from big brands like San Miguel, Heineken, Peroni and Beck’s as well as an extensive selection of low and alcohol-free wines from 5% ABV Peñasol Sangria and 6% ABV Lambrini to Distant Vines Light & Refreshing and big brand name wines like Rawson’s Retreat’s 0.5% ABV Semillon Chardonnay.

Reduced alcohol consumption isn’t restricted to January and February these days, however. Alcohol Change UK, the charity behind Dry January, estimates that as many as one in seven adults in the UK now take part in the month-long festival but equally interesting is the fact that a significant proportion of those that take part say they intend to try to reduce their alcohol consumption year-round.

Almost one in three (32%) UK drinkers now ‘semi-regularly’ consume low and no-alcohol

MILK MATTERS Plant based milks continue to attract an increasing number of shoppers. British shoppers spent a whopping £146 million on oat milk in 2020, up from £74 million in 2019, helping oat to overtake almond as the nation’s number one selling vegan milk, according to Mintel.

A record one in three Brits now drink plantbased milk, with usage up from 25% in 2020 to 32% in 2021, and almost 44% of Brits aged 25-44 are plant-based milk users.

Usage of standard cow’s milk continues to be lower amongst younger consumers, dropping to 84% of 16-24s compared to 96% of those aged 65+, Mintel found.

What’s more, almost a quarter (23%) of adults agreed that plant-based milk was better for them than cow’s milk, while half (50%) of adults agreed people’s milk choices make a difference to the environment.

Volume 12: February 2022

products compared to one in four (25%) in 2020, a YouGov study has found. Furthermore, a fifth (20%) of those who have tried low and no-alcohol say they are more likely to drink these products now compared to a year ago, almost double the number saying this in last year’s survey (11%).

MEAT FREE

For other shoppers, the desire to eat more healthily means cutting back on meat – a trend which is giving rise to significant growth in the vegan and meat free market.

In-fact according to IGD research from July 2021, the number of shoppers who eat meat only twice a week or less rose to 39% in 2021 – up from 34% in 2020.

Sustainability concerns are also playing a role, as IGD Director of Health and Sustainability Mark Little explains: “Not only are consumers increasingly willing to change their eating habits for health reasons, but they are also starting to better understand the connection between their diets, the environment and how changing what they eat could impact their own health, as well as the planet’s health.”

Tapping into this key shopper trend, Budgens also regularly runs deals on key meat-free brands to help shoppers achieve their meat-free missions. For example, the recent £2 promotion on Richmond Meat Free Smoked Bacon Rashers and Sausages, as well as a £1.50 deal on Richmond Meat Free Burgers.

39

M212059 35.5% POR

M209238 20.0% POR

Seasonal Opportunity: Healthier Eating & Drinking

OPPORTUNITIES FOR RETAILERS

THE LOW ALCOHOL SHOPPER

Highlight fruit, veg, grains and pulses with colourful signage

Younger adults are more likely to drink low and no alcohol often, with semiregular consumers of low and no-alcohol most likely to be aged between 35 and 44 years old according to a recent YouGov survey from 2021.

In contrast, 31% of those aged over 55 reported never having tried a low and no alcohol product, slightly ahead of all other age groups.

Amongst drinkers, semi-regular use of low and no alcohol and ever tried was highest in Scotland (27% and 80%), compared to England (25% and 68%) and Wales (22% and 61%).

Around England, semi-regular use was highest in the West Midlands and South East (both 32%) and lowest in the North East (19%).

Volume 12: February 2022

Use health claims, roundels and nutrition information to drive spend Offer easy solutions for healthy, scratch cooking Challenge cost perception by using signage and promotions to show that healthy eating can be budget-friendly

IMMUNE SUPPORT

With the cold winter months giving rise to a whole host of coughs, colds and various viruses in addition to Covid-19, products which claim to help support shoppers’ immune systems are also likely to be given more space in their baskets.

While shoppers are often keen to eat and drink more healthily, it’s not a desire that comes at the expense of taste or flavour - meaning that products which pack a health punch as-well as a flavour kick can be key to winning sales.

With their high protein, nutrients, fiber and mineral content nuts and cereals play well in this space.

41

DRIVE YOUR SALES WITH THE TOP TWO

BESTSELLING IN THE MARKET

BRANDED THIN SKUS *

Nielsen scan track value sales 52 w/e to 06.11.21

M107142

Key Trends: Value

Value matters more than ever EVERY DAY LOW PRICING With value for money on or near the top of the priority list, how do Budgens retailers respond?

Perhaps the most important challenge is to understand what shoppers mean by value for money – and then work out how to deliver it.

For some shoppers value is all about Every Day Low Pricing (EDLP), particularly on staple lines they buy every day like bread, milk and bacon but also on popular lines that they buy frequently, even if it’s not every day. Budgens’s EDLP range covers the vast majority of important, big-selling lines and allows you to guarantee great pricing on fast moving lines every day of the week, helping to drive regular footfall as well as sales and profits.

A great example is the EDLP deal on key confectionery lines featuring RSPs of just £1 on multi-packs of many of the best-selling brands and products including Yorkie and Aero bars.

Make sure you shout about these lines on external bread and milk posters, in-store and on social media. Make it easy for shoppers to choose your store for those daily essentials.

Volume 12: February 2022

Delivering value for money for shoppers has never been more important – and there are lots of ways you can put value at the heart of your offer to drive footfall, sales and profits.

Value for money has been among the defining trends in independent retail for many years now and that trend shows no signs of relenting.

In fact, the laser-like focus on securing fantastic value for money is arguably more important than ever after a very challenging couple of years for many shoppers.

Value for money means different things to different shoppers but however shoppers define it, great value continues to represent an enormous opportunity for Budgens retailers.

After the excesses of the festive period and with concerns over everything from inflation rates to energy prices, shoppers want to know that they are getting the best value possible every time they visit your store.

New data from Barclaycard suggests shoppers will “be more cautious with their discretionary spending” in the new year, with “43% expecting rising inflation to affect their household budgeting.”

IGD ShopperVista insights also suggest that concerns over the rising cost of living will lead to “savvy shopping becoming increasingly prevalent in the new year, with value top of mind.”

43

NATURE VALLEY IS THE UK’S #1 CEREAL BAR *

M220784

M209892

M209893

M224393

M224336

STOCK UP NOW

Source: *Nielsen Total coverage: 52 weeks to w/c 02.10.21

Key Trends: Value

PROMOTIONS While it’s everyday value that says value to some shoppers, others are on the look out for promotions.

Again Budgens’s extensive rolling promotional programme means you have a year-round supply of fantastic deals to tempt your value-hungry shoppers with.

OWN BRAND Another key focus for shoppers keen to secure the best possible value is own brand products. Booker’s own brand ranges are now well established with shoppers and have earned their trust with a winning combination of great quality and exceptional value.

As part of a bigger group, Budgens now has access to many outstanding promotions across all categories, a hugely powerful tool for generating new and additional footfall to your store.

Your regular promotional leaflet drop alongside a busy social media feed should help ensure maximum reach – and maximum footfall.

Offering shoppers a value alternative to big brand equivalents in many categories can help drive sales – and for maximum impact, why not double face key own brand lines to make them unmissable in-store, all the while secure in the knowledge that you will secure fantastic PORs, often of 30% and above, while also delivering the value that your shoppers are seeking.

From Happy Shopper to Jack’s, Farm Fresh to Discover the Choice and of course Euro Shopper, which offers a choice of more than 90 family favourites at permanently low-prices, Budgens retailers now have access to a vast and ever-growing selection of quality own brand lines.

Volume 12: February 2022

45

Your Budgens: Vaping

s g n i m o c in

Disposable

With the popularity of disposable vaping devices continuing to soar, Booker offers a strong range of products to help Budgens retailers profit from the segment’s success with confidence.

The UK’s vape category enjoyed a buoyant 2021 with the proportion of UK adults using vaping devices having increased to 7.1%, according to a recent YouGov survey.

UK VAPER PROFILE

The peak ages for e-cigarette use in 2021 are among 35-44 year olds (10.1%) followed by 45-54 year olds (8.6%), and then 25-34 year olds (8.1%).

The lowest vaping rates by age are 5% for young adults aged 18-24, followed by those over 55 at 5.4%.

A slightly higher proportion of those identifying as male (8.1% ) say that they currently use e-cigarettes than those identifying as female (6.2%).

Of the 3.6 million vapers in the UK in 2021, just under 2.4 million are ex-smokers; 1.1 million are current smokers; and just under 200,000 are never smokers.

Nine out of ten ex-smokers who currently use e-cigarettes vape every day, with 97% vaping at least weekly.

Satisfaction levels are growing, with 68% of vapers who no longer smoke now saying that they find vaping “more or equally” satisfying as smoking - compared to 65% in 2020.

Source: YouGov

46

And as the UK begins a new year with healthy resolutions riding high and the all-important vaping awareness month of April on the horizon, the vape category’s star looks set to keep on rising, as shoppers increasingly turn to it as a way to quit tobacco and save money.

The positive role that vape devices can play in quit attempts forms a key message in the NHS’s January 2022 Stop Smoking campaign, with the NHS Quit Smoking site having been updated for 2022 to include a raft of information on vaping devices which it says are “far less harmful than cigarettes” and can help shoppers to “quit smoking for good.”

And with many shoppers still feeling the pinch following the excesses of the festive season, the price incentive offered by vaping devices when compared to tobacco, is also clear to see.

While the UK’s vaping market now features a plethora of different devices to suit a wide range of shopper needs, convenience retailers up and down the country are currently reporting growth in the vibrant disposable category.

Volume 12: February 2022

Your Budgens: Vaping

Budgens retailers are reporting an uptick in demand for disposable devices, which offer new and existing vapers an ultra-convenient vaping option and access to a myriad of exciting and on-trend flavour combinations for pocket-friendly prices.

Fortunately for those retailers, Booker has recently expanded its range of disposable devices with the addition of GeekBar, which is now available through Booker in a selection of fruity flavours.

For retailers the range also offers 41.8% profit on return, and another way to add a unique point of difference and interest to their overall offer.

DISPOSABLE GROWTH

Budgens retailer Dipan Patel, of Budgens Camberwell in London, is one store owner seeing smashing growth from his disposable vape range.

The smart new 4,500 sq ft store, which opened in August 2021, features an eye-catching vape offer behind its

counter which majors on disposable products.

“Wind the clock back five years and sales were dominated by the big-name tobacco brands and their pod mod devices and associated pod refills, however the landscape has changed really drastically,” Dipan says.

“While those devices are still popular among certain vapers, disposable products are where we are seeing the most significant growth.

Established in 2015, the disposable vaping brand has been designed to appeal to adult vapers “who desire to vape smarter” the brand says.

The Booker range includes five popular flavours, including GeekBar Classics such as Sweet Strawberry, along with new flavours such as Blueberry and Sour Raspberry.

Each disposable “bar” comes fully charged and pre-filled with 20mg of nicotine salt e-liquid, for an RSP of £6.49.

KEY FACTS ABOUT BOOKER’S NEW GEEK BAR RANGE Available through Booker now, the Geek Bar disposable range is available in five winning flavours: Sweet Strawberry, Blueberry and Sour Raspberry, Watermelon Ice, Peach Ice and Passion Fruit.

Each disposable “bar” comes fully-charged and pre-filled with 20mg of nicotine salt e-liquid.

Devices have an rrp of £6.49 offering retailers a POR of 41.8%.

BOOKER’S GEEKBAR RANGE Description Blackberry & Sour Raspberry 20mg Passion Fruit 20mg Peach Ice 20mg Watermelon Ice Sweet Strawberry

Volume 12: February 2022

Case size 10 x 10 10x 10 10x 10 10x 10 10x10

WSP £31.49 £31.49 £31.49 £31.49 £31.49

RSP £6.49 £6.49 £6.49 £6.49 £6.49

POR 41.8% 41.8% 41.8% 41.8% 41.8%

47

Your Budgens: Vaping

UNDERSTANDING NIC SALTS l Each Geek Bar Disposable Vape pen contains 2ml of 20mg nicotine salt e-liquid. l Nic salts are an additive, derived from tobacco leaves, which help to improve nicotine absorption and deliver nicotine into the bloodstream much faster than standard nicotine-containing e-liquids. l That quicker nicotine hit helps to create a vaping experience that is more akin to traditional tobacco cigarettes and so appeals to ex-smokers and dualists alike.

“GeekBar is one of our best-sellers and the range appeals to a really broad spectrum of adult vapers from those in their 20s right up to the early 40s.

“There are a number of factors fueling the success of disposables. First is ease of use, there’s no tricky set up, vapers can literally buy a bar and start vaping it straight away.

“The second is flexibility, which counts for so much these days. Shoppers are definitely more reluctant to get tied into things these days, I guess it’s a sign of the times and the greater levels of uncertainty over the economy, jobs and the rising cost of living.

Unlike pod mod systems, disposable products allow vapers to be totally flexible. They don’t make vapers feel trapped into committing to buying a certain type of compatible pod each week. With a disposable devise vapers are free to chose the flavour they want.

The cost plays an important role too.

The rrp for a single GeekBar is £6.49 which offers them good value for money, certainly when compared to tobacco, and if it turns out that they don’t like a particular flavour it’s no great loss.

Flavour is also another major driver, there’s a wide range of really nice flavours for them to chose from beyond the standard menthol and tobacco flavours which the pod mod brands are still mainly focused on.”

Volume 12: February 2022

And with more than 40% POR i’m certainly a big fan of disposables too!”

Dipan’s point about flavour is a key one. Flavour, as he alluded, is another key draw of disposable devices for both new and existing vapers alike: Unlike many of the pre-filled pod devices currently on the market, which tend to major on menthol, tobacco and dark fruit flavours, disposable products offer a wider choice of innovative and unusual flavours that truly appeal to modern vapers’ tastes.

In fact, the same YouGov survey clearly highlights just how much vapers’ tastes have changed in a comparatively short space of time.

In 2015, tobacco flavours were the most popular at 38% followed by fruit flavours at 25% and menthol 19%.

However, this has changed dramatically in recent years and in 2021 fruit flavours emerged as the most popular choices at 35%, followed by menthol at 23% and tobacco at 20%.

With sweet fruity flavours such as Passionfruit and Peach Ice, Booker’s

new GeekBar range is sure to appeal to adult vapers on the hunt for pocketfriendly disposable options.

The Booker-supplied range also provides retailers with 100% confidence that they are purchasing legal and crucially, EU TPD-compliant, product.

This assurance comes at a key time for the UK’s disposable vape category, which appears to be becoming a growing target for the illicit trade.

Legitimate manufacturers have stepped up their efforts to stifle the problem with GeekBar, for example, working closely with UK vaping and retail trade associations and regulators in a bid to check and seize counterfeit products in the UK. The arrival of the new Geek Bar range through Booker will therefore undoubtably provide Budgens retailers keen to expand their disposable vape offer and profit from the growing opportunity, with welcome confidence and excitement.

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Your Budgens: Summer Pre-sell

Get set for the summer pre-sell With a host of great events planned for this summer – including the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – now is the time to take advantage of the Budgens summer pre-sell to ensure you get all the fantastic stock at great value prices you need to get the most out of these occasions.

PERFECT FOR… The Budgens summer presells let you prepare early for vital opportunities such as: The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend National BBQ Week ‘Thank You Teacher’ Picnics Eid Wimbledon The Hundred Champions League, FA and Scottish Cup Finals

With so much to take care of every day in your store, any opportunity you can find to reduce workloads and improve forward planning, availability and profits is worth grasping – which is why the Budgens seasonal pre-sell programme is worth a fresh look, if you don’t already take advantage of it.

Budgens pre-sells run three times a year in spring, summer and winter and offer participating retailers a huge selection of benefits for minimum effort.

The pre-sells let you get ahead of the game by getting your ordering sorted early and have been built around the most important sales opportunities of the year including the obvious ones like Easter, Halloween and Christmas,

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but also cover other important periods like ‘Thank You Teacher’, picnics, Valentines and New Year.

This offers Budgens retailers a great way of gaining priority access to extended ranges, brand new products and great quality POS to bring the offers to life in your store.

Vitally, every single product featured in all three pre-sells delivers a minimum of 20% POR – with many lines offering far higher PORs. The pre-sells also provide easy access to Booker Group-exclusive products which help drive footfall, sales and profits for Budgens retailers, as well as giving them a vital point of difference over the competition.

Volume 12: February 2022

Your Budgens: Summer Pre-sell

SUMMER’S COMING

The Summer 2022 pre-sell is approaching fast and looks to build on the huge success of last year’s event which saw almost 145,000 cases sold by retailers.

To get in on the action this year, all that you have to do is check out the pre-sell documents, choose the lines you want to buy in advance and get your order in by the closing date. This takes a lot of the stress involved in buying around key seasonal periods and ensures that you have the right range to make the most impact and the biggest sales during each important period.

By ordering in advance, you free yourself and your team up to focus on serving shoppers and keeping the store in top-top condition when those seasonal occasions roll around, safe in the knowledge that all those key products and accompanying POS are ordered and in the system.

What’s more, by buying into pre-sells, you also gain access to extended credit and you are automatically eligible for a programme of pre-sell incentives such as free stock and vouchers.

The Summer pre-sell features a number of new products and a host of Group-exclusive lines that will take the hard work out of getting ready for the hot weather and all the occasions associated with it. The Summer pre-sell also offers lots of chances to win a host of great prizes.

Volume 12: February 2022

The pre-sell provide a fantastic opportunity to make sure that you have ordered all the products and categories you’ll need to make a huge success of all key summer opportunities – and will leave you to look after your team, your store and your shoppers.

Your Summer pre-sell brochure should arrive in the post on or around 18

February. It covers categories including Summer Deals, Major Events, BWS, Summer Gifting, Summer Treats, Soft Drinks, BBQ & Picnic, Holiday & Travel Essentials, Summer Car Care and Summer Food-to-go.

Speak to your RDM if you have any queries or need any help when completing your pre-sell orders.

THE BENEFITS OF PRE-SELL Why take advantage of the Summer pre-sell? There are many great reasons, such as: l Great opportunity to buy into extended ranges l Tailored products to leverage key seasonal events l All products have a guaranteed minimum POR of 20% l Exciting NPD l Booker Exclusive products l Prizes and Incentives l Extended credit l Bespoke POS to highlight products in store l Establish a real point of difference from the competition l Drive footfall and cash profit

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What’s new: Products

W E N s t c du

pro

Budgens brings you all the latest new products

Nestlé

AERO CHOCOLATE MELTS Nestlé has launched Aero Chocolate Melts giving Londis retailers another great chance to grow the confectionery category, drive sales and cash in on PORs in excess of 20%. Feature within a sharing or larger format ‘big night in’ section, if you have one, to drive impulse sales and increase basket spend.

Nestlé

KIT KAT BITES Kit Kat Bites is among Nestlé’s most important launches of 2022 – and the product (available 24 January) will be a Group Exclusive for 11 weeks. Kit Kat is the number three confectionery brand in the UK and is hugely popular, so the launch offers the chance to appeal to existing Kit Kat loyalists and other shoppers attracted by the new format. Stock on the main confectionery fixture and also on any sharing format section you may have.

Kit Kat Bites Milk Chocolate

RSP

£1.69 POR 22.9%

RSP

Nestlé

KIT KAT ORANGE This new orange variant, available from 24 January, should prove a hit with fans of the brand. Orange, currently the number two flavour in the UK, is surging at +37% in the market. Furthermore, orange-flavoured products have increased their share of Total Confectionery from 1.3% to 4.3% over the last three years.

Kit Kat Bites Chocolate Caramel

RSP

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£1.69 POR 22.9%

£1.69 POR 22.9%

RSP

75p POR 22.7%

Volume 12: February 2022

What’s new: Products

AB InBev

CORONA CERO 4X330ML Available from February, Corona Cero – that’s zero in English – is predominantly aimed at the 18-34 age bracket, which drives the majority of zero alcohol beer sales, but is expected to appeal to a wider audience thanks to the eye-catching packaging, the big brand name and the great taste.

Sales of zero alcohol beer have grown enormously, up 113.2% since 2029 [Nielsen].

RSP

£3.50 POR 28.6%

wicked foods

WICKED KITCHEN RANGE Looking to top up your instore vegan offering? Available now and exclusive to the group, is a range of high quality plant based meals from Wicked foods.

Peng Panang Tofu Curry

£3 POR 25.0%

Kerry Group

RSP

Available now in cases of eight packs, the latest addition to Richmond’s Meat Free range launches in time for Veganuary, the annual challenge to encourage people to follow a vegan lifestyle for a month. Vegans apart, it will appeal to flexitarian customers and the growing number of shoppers keen to incorporate more plant-based products into their diet.

Bangin Biryani made with Beyond Meat

RICHMOND MEAT FREE BACON 150G

RSP

£2.50 POR 24.8%

RSP

£3 POR 25.0%

Korean Inspired Bowl made with Beyond Meat

RSP

£3 POR 25.0%

Very Berry Porridge

RSP

£1.09 POR 25.6%

Spicy Coconut and Rice Noodles

Kerry Group

RICHMOND MEAT FREE BURGERS 170G Over half a million people registered for Veganuary last year and, with that number is set to grow in 2022, Richmond’s Meat Free Burgers launch at just the right time to capitalise. Available in cases of 6x2 burgers, the plant-based product will attract a broad range of customers including flexitarians who fancies a meat-free meal.

RSP

RSP

£1.59 POR 25.1%

Spicy Smoky Dreamy Mac

RSP

£1.59 POR 25.1%

£2.00 POR 25.0%

Volume 12: February 2022

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FRESHEN UP YOUR GUM RANGE IN 2022 COMING SOON

COMING SOON

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M274454

FRUITY GUM HAS GROWN BY 15% IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS* © 2021 MARS OR AFFILIATES. SOURCE KANTAR WORLDPANEL MAT W/E 13TH JUNE 2021

ACS Update: Legislation

Putting

‘Challenge 25’ in the spotlight ‘Challenge 25’ is a key policy in helping retailers avoid in-store problems when it comes to age-restricted sales, yet shopper awareness is only at 70%

Working as a retailer in the convenience sector, it is inevitable that you will encounter a number of products which are subject to age restrictions on a daily basis and its important that you feel confident in your store’s procedures in the sale of these products.

reminding them that they will be asked for proof of age if they want to purchase a product which has an age restriction.

As part of the campaign, we’re launching new materials for you to use in store to remind customers about the policy earlier in their shopping journey as well as digital materials that you can use to tell your IF YOU customers on social media so that they are WOULD LIKE TO aware before they even step foot in your GET INVOLVED IN THE store.

One of the key policies in relation to the sale of age restricted products is ‘Challenge 25’ which is a retailing strategy which encourages customers who is over the age of 18 but looks under 25 to carry identification if POLITICAL WORK OF ACS they wish to buy age restricted products.

CALL

We know from our 2021 Crime Report that enforcing age restricted sales policies At the end of 2021, we launched is one of the top triggers for violence consumer polling to determine current OR LOG ON TO and abuse against shopworkers. This is awareness levels of Challenge 25 and we www.acs.org.uk an important campaign to raise awareness found that around 70% of customers were amongst consumers so that they understand aware of the policy. While this is a good level of why they are being asked for proof of age and awareness, there is still room for improvement and that our colleagues are following procedure to minimise that’s why we’re launching a campaign to promote the use the risk of selling age restricted products to those who are of Challenge 25 in our sector. underage.

Last month we launched a campaign which will run If you have any questions about the campaign, please get in throughout the year to promote the use of Challenge 25 touch via Edward.woodall@acs.org.uk in stores and to raise awareness amongst consumers,

01252 515 001

Volume 12: January 2022

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