Cinnamon stars, gingerbread and speculaas in the summer? Many customers are critical of the early sale of Christmas sweets. However, according to retailers, demand is still high.
It’s hot in Germany. In many places temperatures are reaching 30 degrees and more. There are still almost four months until Christmas Eve, but Christmas is still within reach. Lebkuchen and Spekulatius biscuits are already on the shelves of some retailers.
The issue is polarizing among consumers. Two thirds are against a sales start in August, as a Yougov survey commissioned by the German Press Agency shows. The same number of people buy Christmas biscuits such as gingerbread or cookies in the supermarket in November or December, 14 percent in October. Only one in ten buys the products earlier, just 3 percent in August. So why so early? Many consumers have been asking themselves this question for years.
“Supply creates demand,” says retail expert Andreas Kaapke from the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University in Stuttgart (DHBW). Retailers would not sell the products if it wasn’t profitable. Data from the market research company NIQ, however, show that in August there was hardly any sales of seasonal Christmas biscuits in the past three years, but sales increased in September.
“It’s well received by customers”
With the end of the holiday season, there is an increasing interest in the items among consumers, says Philipp Hennerkes, Managing Director of the German Food Trade Association. “The expressed opinion and the actual purchasing behavior are often clearly different in some areas.” He is not the only one who contradicts the impression that the pastries are on the shelves a little earlier each year.
“The timing has not changed in the past 25 years,” says Rewe spokesman Andreas Krämer. Spekulatius, gingerbread, gingerbread and Christmas stollen go on sale these days. Santa Clauses, chocolates and Advent calendars follow a few weeks later. In the months of September and October, significantly more Christmas biscuits are sold than in December, says Krämer. The desire is particularly high at the beginning and then slowly decreases.
The discounter Aldi Nord will have gingerbread and dominoes on its shelves from the end of August. The same applies to Kaufland. “Many of our customers look forward to Christmas all year round and therefore don’t just want to eat cookies in the run-up to Christmas,” they say. Norma even starts between the beginning and middle of August. “Basically, we’ve noticed that the Christmas range is already well received by customers all over Germany,” the company says.
Consumers prefer to eat gingerbread
The Lambertz Group began producing gingerbread, gingerbread and stollen in June. Up to 10,000 pallets leave the production warehouses every day. In total, around 700 million dominoes and 720 million gingerbreads are produced. Quite a few consumers would like the baked goods to be available all year round, says Lambertz spokesman Martin Heinen. This is already the case in some neighboring countries. According to the company, the weather also plays an important role in sales. If it is relatively warm in October and November, this is not conducive to sales.
Do cinnamon stars and gingerbread taste better in summer when they are eaten fresh and shortly after production? “In terms of taste, it makes no difference whether our products are purchased in September or December,” says brand manufacturer Bahlsen when asked. When it comes to preferences, consumers have remained true to themselves for years. According to the Yougov survey, gingerbread, speculaas and cookies are the favorites in Germany.
Will Christmas cookies become more expensive?
Another topic is not very compatible with pre-Christmas romance. Consumers have recently had to dig deeper into their pockets for many food items. Prices for the important ingredients of Christmas biscuits have risen sharply. According to the Federal Statistical Office, sugar was more than 80 percent more expensive in July than in 2020, as were wheat flour (+59.6), cocoa powder (+42.3) and bars or other chocolate products (+47.3).
Are Christmas snacks more expensive this year than last year? Industry associations point to the increased costs, including for energy and logistics. When asked, however, they remain tight-lipped about possible price increases. Lambertz spokesman Heinen expects chocolate-covered Christmas biscuits to cost more.
Many items had already become more expensive in 2023. According to figures from NIQ, seasonal baked goods recorded higher sales than in the previous year due to the increased prices. The sales volume and the number of packages fell by eight percent. In 2022, an average of 186 packages per week were sold per store, compared to just 171 in 2023. What was also noticeable was that almost half of the sales were made with special offers.
This year, people in Germany are once again very focused on prices when shopping, and consumer sentiment is still poor. The managing director of Lebkuchen Schmidt, Jürgen Brandstetter, is nevertheless optimistic. “Especially in these times, people want to have a nice Christmas.”
Source: Stern
