Nestlé FoodServices is introducing Toll House American-style cookies to the UK for the first time. The cookie recipe has been made sweeter to appeal to the UK market and chocolate is sourced from Europe.
In the USA, Nestlé Toll House Cookies are a household name, almost an icon since 1931, when Ruth Wakefield, proprietor of the Toll House Inn near Boston, Massachusetts, invented the recipe by accident. When she was making chocolate cookies, she ran out of cocoa powder, so instead broke up pieces of a Nestlé chocolate candy bar, creating the first chocolate chip cookie. Subsequently Nestlé bought the recipe and brand rights in 1939.
Nestlé FoodServices has identified a potential market in the UK for American cookies worth £87 million. Quentin Knowlson, commercial controller, Nestlé FoodServices UK, says: "Within snacking, cookies are a growth category. As the UK follows American trends a few years later, we can see enormous potential in this country."
Company research revealed that consumers are snacking "on the hoof' due to demanding lifestyles. "People are cash rich, time poor," says Knowlson. "It's a case of dashboard dining and snacks at the desk - cookies meet these needs. As seven out of ten confectionery items are bought on impulse, we can capitalise on impulse buys."
The growing "Coffee House" culture in the UK will also drive the cookie market, says Knowlson. "Research shows that 70 per cent of consumers who drink coffee in a catering outlet will have something to eat, while 63 per cent of consumer eat food with coffee on the go" he said.
Nestlé FoodServices is launching three varieties of cookies - Chocolate Chip, Triple Chocolate Chip and, White Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Nut. The chocolate chip is expected to be the top seller, as it accounts for 60 per cent of sales in the USA. Simon Browning, food solutions manager, Out of Home Food Marketing, Nestlé FoodServices, pointed out that some operators will choose to sell two varieties or all three, depending on the outlet.
All the cookies are supplied fully baked and frozen. All you do is reheat from frozen in a specially designed Nestlé Toll House branded warmer unit for just 20 to 30 minutes before serving. The product is held at 45-55°C - the best temperature for serving cookies, while the cookies can be held for up for four hours in the unit.
The warmer unit is small and compact, so it can sit on a counter for maximum impact. All you do is plug in and turn it on. The unit has two trays for a total of 18 cookies. In April, the company will introduce a third shelf to accommodate a total of 27 cookies.
There's a small fan in the warmer, which helps to release the aroma of freshly baked cookies. "The aroma is a big part of the enjoyment of the product," says Browning, " and helps to drive sales."
The cookies feature a dual texture, so they are crunchy on the outside and soft in the centre. The melting chocolate chips can be pulled apart and they also have a freshly baked aroma and flavour.
The cookies present a profit-making opportunity as they can be sold at 75p each, making a profit of 35p per cookie. Browning says: "If you sell 30 cookies a day, payback is achieved in just 19 days."
The operation is supported by colourful, vibrant yellow point of sale material including A3 posters, ceiling hangers and tent cards.
In the UK, the cookies have been trialled at Café Nestlé in Bentalls Shopping Centre, Kingston, Surrey, where nearly 17,000 chocolate chip cookies were sold in the four month trial period, averaging 150 per day. At The Park, the catering operation run by Sodexho Defence Services for the Ministry of Defence, an average of 36 cookies are sold a day equating to one in every four customers buying a cookie. Meanwhile at Outwood Grange School, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, an average of 50 cookies are sold a day.
The warmer unit costs £199 (exclusive VAT) with a three year warranty.
Nestlé Food Services UK
Selling well across the states
At the Orange County Fair Ground, Hollywood, California, there are two Nestlé Toll House cookie warmers on the food counter, next to the Nestlé coffee machines. Bill Birkhead, General Manager, from Ovations Catering, the exhibition centre's catering company, says: "The warmer unit will draw customers because of the smell of cookies and there's no waste." The centre has been selling cookies for just two weeks, selling on average 120 cookies a day.
At the Boston Market fast foot restaurant in Costa Mesa, California, cookies are sold as part of a meal package. If customers buy a family meal, they get four cookies. Manager Trisha Lemieux says the promotion is going well. The chocolate chip is the biggest seller "as everyone loves chocolate," she adds.
At the Edison Field stadium at Anaheim, home of the Californian Angels baseball team, the baseball season runs from April to September, when it attracts some 400,000 people. There are ten warmer units, with plans to double this. The warmers are on the counter in food outlets, including other offerings such as Domino's Pizza and hot dogs. "It's very much an impulse buy," says John Drum, operations manager.
Nestlé operates 15 Toll House cookie retail outlets in California. The franchise operation includes a cafe in Hollywood, situated in the shopping centre complex of the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and the Kodak Theatre, where the Oscars are held. The café sells coffee and cookies (of course), products such as "Double Trouble" - a cookie sandwich with light and fluffy frosting and innovative frozen drinks like Butterfinger. This has a mocha base, with a brownie and nuts, topped with whipped cream - it's a big seller. The average spend at the outlet is US$4. Customers are 50 per cent tourists, while at the weekends it attracts families and conference delegates from the hotel. On average, it sells 300 cookies a day.