Confectionery manufacturer Swizzels Matlow is working with data and digital consultancy TWC to develop a data-led sales strategy to drive incremental growth within the wholesale channel.
Swizzels invest in shipments data for several wholesalers, but with the data sets in different formats and with limited internal resource, the team didn’t have the time to mine the data to get to wholesale specific insights and ensure they were focussing their attention on the biggest opportunities by customer.
TWC cleansed the data and organised it according to Swizzels’ view of the category and sub-brands, providing clarity on performance for the total channel and highlighting key opportunities for the business. Monthly reports and quarterly deep-dives are said to arm the Swizzels team with the facts they need to support trading relationships and track performance.
Swizzels is now able to monitor wholesale sales to sense check sales strategy and demonstrate to their customers that the channel strategy is working and driving mutual growth for Swizzels and their customers. The brand stated that working with TWC had driven collaboration and the data has been used to drive performance in national and local wholesalers to great effect.
Ben Cooper, National Account Controller Wholesale, Swizzels, said: “TWC has done the heavy lifting to get our wholesale data into the right format so that it’s ready to use and the team take the time to sit down with me and go through the monthly reports and how we are performing against the targets we set at the start of the project. This means we can work in tandem, using my knowledge of the complex and fragmented sugar confectionery category, with TWC’s intricate knowledge of what works in the channel.”
He added: “The analysis arms me with the proof I need to influence my customers. Furthermore, the TWC team understand the pressures and complexity of wholesale and the daily challenges faced so take a flexible and collaborative approach, meaning there is support when I need it.”
Tanya Pepin, Managing Director at TWC, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Swizzels on this project. Our mission is to harness data to empower our clients to make data-led decisions. We are passionate about helping our clients thrive, using our data expertise and market knowledge to help them take control of their business. Our TWC Consulting offer recognises that many businesses don’t have the resource to execute forensic, channel-specific analysis or the time to review reams of data and this is where we come in.”