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Since its launch in 1960, Galaxy® has seen strong growth that continues to strengthen year-on-year.Such success is built on the consistency of its positioning of magic, femininity and indulgence.Galaxy believes that true chocolate indulgence is about the whole eating experience, which is whyeverything about Galaxy chocolate, from the taste, to the shape, to the packaging, is designed tomake indulging in a Galaxy moment as pleasurable as possible.

Market The UK confectionery market, valued at over £4 billion, has seen a slowing rate ofgrowth. Chocolate confectionery accounts for the bulk of sales in the market, with theremaining share taken up by sugar products.With brands leveraging the indulgentpositioning of their products, the premiummarket has seen considerable development,while occasions such as everyday sharinghave also been targeted.

The UK chocolate confectionery marketremains dominated by Cadbury, Mars and

Nestlé, and new product development (NPD)is firmly centred on brand extension ratherthan bringing new names to the consumer.

The UK block chocolate market is worthmore than £680 million, with Galaxy blockchocolate worth £180 million, a 12 per centshare of the total market (Source: IRI 2008).

The Galaxy brand represents the largestgrowth in the block category over the pastfive years, with this trend acceleratingrecently to reach an 18 per cent year-on-yeargrowth in 2006 (Source: CAGR IRI w/e 30Dec 2006/IRI 52 w/e 30 Dec 2006).

AchievementsIf Galaxy were a stand-alone company, itwould be the fourth-largest confectionerymanufacturer in the UK, behind CadburyTrebor Basset, Mars Snackfood UK (Galaxy’sparent company) and Nestlé UK. The brand’sentire product portfolio is worth £220 million,with Minstrels worth £51 million and Ripple£26 million (Source: IRI Infoscan Total Market2006). In the past three years the Galaxy brandhas grown by 24 per cent (Source: IRI 2008).

As part of Mars Snackfood UK, the Galaxybrand is ultimately part of Mars Incorporated,

1995Galaxy Caramel is launched.

2000The Galaxy Amicelli andGalaxy Silk collectionsare launched.

1960 Galaxy is launched inthe UK and Ireland.

1987 The ‘Why have cottonwhen you can have silk?’Galaxy advertisingcampaign is launched.

1987Also in 1987, Rippleand Minstrels arerebranded as part of the Galaxyproduct family.

19871987 also sees thelauch of Galaxy ice cream.

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which employs 39,000 people in more than65 countries. Its products are consumed inmore than 100 countries and the companyhas global annual sales of US$18 billion.

ProductGalaxy offers three main products: Galaxyblock chocolate, which is marketed simply assmooth and creamy milk chocolate; Minstrelsbite size, which are defined as smooth andcreamy pieces of Galaxy milk chocolateencased in crispy shells; and the Ripple bar,described as smooth and creamy Galaxy milkchocolate with a rippled centre.

There have been many brand extensions to Galaxy, not only in bar format – such asGalaxy Caramel – but other confectioneryproducts such as ice cream, seasonalChristmas products as well as Easter eggvariants. In addition to this, the Galaxy range

of drinks includes Galaxy chocolate flavouredmilk, Galaxy Thick Shake and Galaxy InstantHot Chocolate Drink.

Recent DevelopmentsGalaxy teams are constantly working tocreate new and innovative ways with Galaxy chocolate.

In 2007, the brand launched three newlarge block variants: Smooth Dark; Roasted & Caramelised Hazelnut; and Raisin, Almond& Hazelnut. These have a new shape and use a new recipe that is designed to create an even smoother taste. The newproducts also feature new premiumpackaging. To support the launch, a large-scale marketing campaign was undertaken.This encompassed TV advertising andproduct sampling.

PromotionTwenty years ago, Galaxy’s ‘Why have cotton when you can have silk?’ TVcommunication propelled Galaxy into thehands of consumers. Having provided astrong platform for the Galaxy brand, thechocolate was able to achieve 16 years ofstrong sales success in the market. In 2003,the brand was refreshed and relaunched to focus on indulgence and women’srelationship with chocolate. The relaunch and subsequent consumer activity has aidedcontinued growth for the brand. Theseactivities included links with a number of key female indulgent occasions such as filmsor reading.

The first collaboration between Galaxy andfilms was Down With Love in 2002, followedby the highly successful Bridget Jonespartnership in 2004 and another femaleoriented title, The Devil Wears Prada, in 2006.

The link with reading started in 2005 withdifferent associations with female magazinesand bookstore samples. In 2006 Galaxy

linked up with the Richard & Judy SummerBook Club and in 2007 and 2008 Galaxy wasthe title sponsor of the British Book Awards.The brand has undertaken a multimediacampaign, including TV, press, online and PR,to support this key link with reading.

Brand ValuesWith a target audience of women between the ages of 25-45, Galaxy stands for ‘me time’, indulgence, femininity and sensuousness. The Galaxy brandunderstands the ritualistic nature ofchocolate eating, and as a brand aims toprovide an entire Galaxy experience, ratherthan just chocolate.

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Things you didn’t know aboutGalaxy®

Galaxy was listed at number 26 inCheckout magazine’s annual Top 100Grocery Brands report for 2007, usingdata from ACNielsen.

Galaxy chocolate has sales which totalthose of Ferrero, Green & Black’s, andLindt combined (Source: IRI Infoscan,TNS Worldpanel/Usage Panel).

The average number of Minstrels in a 42g packet is 15.

2005 Galaxy’s relationship withreading is established andthe following year beginsits sponsorship of theRichard & Judy Book Club.

2008 Galaxy is the titlesponsor for the BritishBook Awards for thesecond year running.

2003 The Galaxy brand is relaunched.

2004Galaxy sponsors thefilm Bridget Jones’sDiary and goes on tosponsor The DevilWears Prada in 2006.

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