Cadbury revamps Snaps after pack problems

Cadbury Snaps, the major "sharing" brand it launched two years ago, will undergo a major revamp later this month after complaints from retailers that the product was difficult to merchandise.

It is understood that Cadbury is completely overhauling the packaging to make the product smaller, so it will fit on shelves more easily and can be placed by the chocolate fixture.

Industry sources says that Snaps, which are curved, wafer-thin chocolates, has sold well but has not reached its full potential as the "tall" packaging meant the product has to be placed on the top shelf next to boxed gift products. The change means that Snaps can be placed closer to other chocolate and impulse products, which it is hoped will increase sales.

The weight of the product has also been reduced, and it will be relaunched at a promotional price of 99p a box. It is understood that the product itself and its variants are not being changed.

Cadbury launched Snaps in 2004 as a key part of its strategy to drive its sales in the sharing market. It hoped the product would create a new "indulgent sharing" category and would steal share from products such as Masterfoods-owned Celebrations.

The brand received a significant spend for its launch campaign and was also supported as part of Cadbury’s Coronation Street sponsorship idents in September. The idents aired soon after Cadbury reintroduced its sponsorship, which was suspended following its high-profile Dairy Milk salmonella scare.

That scare, and the subsequent recall of more than a million chocolate bars, threatened to delay the launch of Cadbury’s first major new brand since Snaps, Cadbury Melts (MW June 29). The confectioner has since insisted that plans for product development and marketing have been unaffected.