The New Confectionery Countdown: Confectionery brands are banking on the growth of the advent calendar category – in the UK, one in four households plan to use chocolate to count down to Christmas this year (Nielsen, 2022).
With a nod to portion control, British company Cadbury has launched its Dairy Milk Advent Bar. Encouraging consumers to join the ‘one chunk a day’ challenge, the chocolate bar is divided into 25 numbered pieces that can be broken off daily.
Meanwhile, UK vegan brand H!P (Happiness in Plants) has released an advent calendar featuring individually wrapped chocolate squares in Original, Salted Caramel, Gingerbread and White flavours. And fellow British confectioner Happi’s oat-milk-based advent bars are wrapped in plastic-free packaging.
Other clever examples include British supermarket Marks & Spencer’s 24 Biscuits ‘Til Christmas Advent Calendar with vanilla, honeycomb and clementine varieties. There’s also UK brand JB Treat Carts’ Candyfloss Advent Calendar, which contains tubs of candyfloss in festive flavours like Christmas pudding and Irish cream.