New Cadbury brand to challenge Smarties

Cadbury is pitting itself against Nestlé Rowntree’s Smarties and Mars’ M&Ms with a new product called Astros. The launch is understood to be backed by a 6m marketing budget and is planned for September.

Cadbury is pitting itself against Nestlé Rowntree’s Smarties and Mars’ M&Ms with a new product called Astros.

The launch is understood to be backed by a 6m marketing budget and is planned for September. Cadbury’s last major new product, Fuse, which hit the shops last October supported by a 3m budget, was the company’s biggest confectionery launch for years.

Astros will have a biscuit centre coated in chocolate with a candy shell and will be sold in cartons. The brand is aimed at the teenage market and one buyer says Cadbury describes the product as intended for “mindless munching”.

The Astros brand is already sold in South Africa where it is called Asteroids. Cadbury was unavailable for comment as Marketing Week went to press. EURO RSCG Wnek Gosper, which launched Fuse and pitched against GGT for the Astros account, declines to comment.

But one confectionery buyer says: “I welcome any innovation in the chocolate market, but in my view they will have no longer than a five-year lifespan.”