Convenience retailers should site biscuits in impulse areas to capitalise on a category that is ‘as impulse as chewing gum’ according to a leading manufacturer.

Jeremy Peters, head of category and insights at Burton’s Biscuits, the name behind Maryland Cookies and Jammie Dodgers, said: “42% of all biscuits purchases are unplanned. When you look at categories beside it, gum is at 43%. You think of gum as being more ‘right in front of you’, when it’s actually a product equally as impulsive as biscuits.” 

Mr Peters added the biscuit category is valued at £2.8bn and is growing at 2.7%, and should be “up there in front next to gum, because people will buy it”. 

However, Sukhi Khunkhun, of Premier Woodcross in Wolverhampton, said she trialled a standalone biscuit stand in store, but attracted more sales by placing biscuits on a shelf beside coffee and tea.  

Ms Khunkhun said: “Biscuits can be an impulsive buy when they are on offer, but with gum, you have people who smoke coming in all the time and picking up a packet with their cigarettes,” she said.  

Mr Peters claimed retailers weren’t capitalising on the opportunity because they didn’t know the statistics. 

“Biscuits is outgrowing all the other impulsive categories. In the latest 12 weeks in the impulse channel, that’s gone up by 7.2%, and it’s higher than the total market,” he said. 

Dennis Williams, of Premier Broadway in Edinburgh, said if he swapped gum with biscuits at the counter he would see a rise in sales. 

He said: “The most important factor is where products are kept. Four months ago, we got a standalone shortbread unit with pricemarked products and it sells really well. We got it because it was small – any unit by the counter has to be small.”