How to grow brand-licensed Easter treats sales with Baileys

Licensed products, such as Baileys Easter Egg, are popular with shoppers

Worth more than £58bn¹ and offering year-round opportunity for retailers, the food and beverage category is now one of the fastest-growing sectors within the brand-licensing industry.

Branded-licensed products tap into the emotional connection consumers have with brands they know and love, introducing them to new categories and driving incremental growth for retailers.

Whether its nostalgia or distinctiveness, trusted brands encourage shoppers to explore, engage and purchase new products. This is even more prevalent when well-known brands are paired with products in the top five treating categories: chocolate, cake, ice cream, coffee and cocktails.

How can your store make the most of the opportunity?

While Easter is synonymous with chocolate, retailers can boost basket spend in the other four categories too, as consumers increasingly seek treating products from trusted brands across multiple occasions, from mid-morning elevenses to afternoon tea.

In 2025, Baileys is one of a handful of high-profile brands supercharging adult treating through the power of licensing to breakthrough into new categories and recruit new consumers.

Baileys facts

Baileys sell 4m licensed products a year, one product every eight seconds²
Currently, the fastest growing Easter Egg in Great Britain is Baileys³
Over 20% of Baileys shoppers are incremental purchasers of licensed products

Baileys is a brand synonymous with treating. From indulgent adult treating gifts to limited-edition seasonal releases, Baileys licensed products take the distinctive taste and quality of the original product into new areas of the store, potentially driving up to 20% uplift in incremental sales for retailers⁴.

As many as 80% of real treat shoppers know what occasion they are shopping for⁵. But almost half (43%) only decide what treats to buy once instore⁶. Indulgent, branded licensed products, supported by great point of sale, (PoS) spark inspiration, give confidence that the product will deliver on taste – and help consumers decide what they want, helping the retailer to close the sale.

However, despite this, research shows that potentially, 20% of real treat shoppers are still leaving the store without a treat even though they want one.

Did you know?

4.5bn searches online are for treats⁷
Almost 1 in 4 of all Baileys trademark shoppers only buy licensed treating products⁸

Four things to keep in mind to make the most of the brand-licensed treats opportunity this Easter

Eye catching displays: 62% of shoppers make impulse purchases when attracted to an appealing display⁹. Placing items in prominent areas can see up to 50% increase in sales due to increased visibility¹⁰.

Cross category merchandising: Pairing licensed products with complementary categories can see an increase in sales of up to 20%¹¹.

Trusted brands: Leverage customer loyalty to brands. Baileys is the No.1 loved spirits brand in GB¹² and it’s synonymous with indulgent moments. Almost 1 in 10 households or 2.5m shoppers in GB buy a Baileys licensed product, such as Baileys Original Truffles¹³.

Digital engagement: Digital signage has a 47.7% effectiveness in increasing brand awareness¹⁴ and interactive displays can increase customer engagement by an average of 60%¹⁵.

For more information on how to make the most of your branded licensed product range and to stock up ahead of the Easter season, visit Diageo One at gb.diageo-one.com.

Please drink responsibly

References

_{¹ Licensing International, 2024 Global Licensing Industry Study}

_{² Euromonitor Market Report 2023}

_{³ Total Coverage Including Discounters, Total LIR Easter Chocolate, 14 Weeks To 08/04/23 vs 13 Weeks To 30/03/24}

_{⁴ Baileys Global Treating Equity Dip, Kantar May 2024}

_{⁵ Kantar – Consulting Treating Research with Diageo}

_{⁶ Ibid}

_{⁷ Kantar Worldpanel data to 31st Oct 2023}

_{⁸ Kantar, Worldpanel Division, FMCG Take-home Panel, 104 w/c Data to 09-June-24}

_{⁹ POPAI Research}

_{¹⁰ Nielsen Shopper Behaviour Research}

_{¹¹ Nielsen Shopper Research Study}

_{¹² 2024 – Kantar, 2023}

_{¹³ Kantar | Worldpanel Division | FMCG Take-home Panel | Data to 26-Nov -23}