As the nights draw in and festive anticipation builds, November marks a time of strategic innovation and seasonal creativity across the food and drink industry. This month’s highlights include sustainable festive packaging, exciting Christmas innovations hitting the shelves, and the newly released Drinks List 2025 – a bar manager’s dream toolkit for the year ahead.
🎁 All Wrapped Up: Sustainable, Stylish & Seasonal Packaging🎁
Industry packaging embraced the spirit of sustainability and creativity throughout November, as brands tackle the festive season with more innovative and greener designs. With consumers more environmentally conscious than ever, and brands are ensuring their packaging reflects both the holiday cheer and an awareness of their impact on the planet.
Quality Street launched a bold campaign that hopes to help the planet with a nod to Christmas tradition. Partnering with Judge Rinder, the iconic chocolate brand placed their new sustainable paper packaging on trial, a playful take on consumer backlash and social media conversations. This tongue-in-cheek trial highlighted the transparency of the brand, acknowledging the consumer while offering consumers a fresh perspective on a classic festive treat.
Credit: Famous Campaigns
Taking packaging innovations one step further, KFC introduced their ‘lickable wrapping paper’, combining their iconic flavour and festive tradition. This edible offering is inspired by the Stuffing Stacker burger – a playful way to make the holidays even more delicious.
Credit: Famous Campaigns
Brands like Cartwright & Butler also placed its stunning festive tins in the spotlight. Perfectly giftable and beautifully designed, these traditional tins showcase sustainability trends while still aligning with seasonal aesthetics, cleverly capturing a sense of nostalgia in a forward-thinking festive offering.
Credit: The Grocer
Festive packaging isn’t just about what’s on the outside, the way that a product is presented helps to tell a brand’s story, sparks conversation, and continues the journey towards more sustainable solutions.
🎄 Festive Foodie Innovations 🎄
In the run up to Christmas, innovation meets tradition as food and drink brands jump at the chance to introduce new offerings and bring joy to festive tables. Whilst the holiday season is rooted in tradition, these masterful offerings are incorporating exciting twists to keep the festive spirit fresh this year.
Sometimes the simple innovations are the most effective, as Pukka Pies introduced its ‘Festive Pie’ in November, combining comfort with traditional taste to create the perfect offering for cosy nights in this Christmas.
Credit: The Grocer
Naturally, Richmond’s Pigs in Blankets step into the spotlight this festive season, as the latest addition to the brand’s ‘extra tasty range’, a trusted name promising to not let consumers down on a Christmas dinner favourite.
What’s more, Arla Foods and Diageo UK expanded their partnership with the introduction of Baileys’ first-ever espresso-infused whipped cream this month. This iconic offering teams up coffee and Baileys to create a light, convenient, and delicious product which is sure to be a festive favourite
Popular dessert brand Gu Desserts also launched its ‘Gingerbread Edition’, a product which just makes sense, offering all the festive spices and warmth that define this time of year, perfect for enjoying wby the fire on a cold winter’s evening.
Credit: The Grocer
Capturing the the magic of the festive season is essential for brands at this time of year and it’s important that food and drink brands in particular utilise inventive flavour combinations and strategic product design to connect with consumers at Christmas.
🍺 Drinks List 2025 – The Hospitality Sector’s Game Plan 🍺
Staying ahead in the hospitality industry is all about keeping up with trends and ensuring your bar or venue is stocked with the most popular brands. This is where The Morning Advertiser’s Drinks List 2025 comes into play. This annual breakdown offers insights into the top brands, categories, and drinks trends that will shape the year ahead, helping those in hospitality align their stock and pricing strategies with consumer preferences.
Credit: ELEVATE – Pexels
Cask ales are set to see both challenges and opportunities in the year ahead. Sharp’s Doom Bar maintains its status as the best-selling cask ale in the UK by volume, although it has experienced a 24.3% decline in sales this year. Meanwhile, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord has proven more resilient, with a 5.1% increase in value sales and a modest volume boost of 1.2%. Other key players like Fuller’s London Pride saw encouraging sales uplifts, while Old Speckled Hen and Greene King Abbot Ale are entering the market with renewed appeal and innovative seasonal campaigns. This suggests that whilst traditional ales face pressures, innovation and collaboration can strengthen their market position.
Cider continues to evolve as a key category in the hospitality sector, with both premium and fruit variants driving consumer interest. Strongbow and Thatchers Gold retain their spots as the leading ciders by volume, with Strongbow maintaining its market position despite a slight 3.5% drop in volume, while Thatchers Gold reported a modest 1.3% reduction in volume but a 2.7% increase in value. Inch’s made the most impressive leap in the cider rankings, moving into third place after a significant 55.8% boost in volume and 66.2% growth in value, demonstrating strong consumer demand for innovation and quality. Similarly, Aspall Cyder saw a positive 29.1% increase in volume and 33.6% growth in value, proving that traditional premium options are holding their own amidst market fluctuations. Meanwhile, Kopparberg, one of the UK’s leading fruit cider brands, continues to dominate through innovation and its appeal with younger generations. Notably, Kopparberg Alcohol-Free maintains a 54% market share within the alcohol-free cider space, highlighting evolving drinking habits such as mindful moderation. This year’s market reshuffling emphasises the importance of choice, versatility, and appealing to new consumer demographics, with fruit cider categories and innovative non-alcoholic alternatives leading the way.
Craft beer continues to maintain its momentum within the on-trade, with Beavertown Neck Oil Session IPA holding its position as the top craft beer to stock. The brand experienced a 7.6% increase in volume to reach 265,160HL and an 11.1% boost in value to £289.7m, emphasising both consumer loyalty and market growth. Camden Hells Lager, Camden Town Pale Ale, and BrewDog Punk IPA retained their respective positions as key players in the top four, with Goose Island Midway IPA making the most impressive leap into fifth place — up from tenth — driven by a significant 72.5% increase in volume and 69.2% rise in value sales. Meanwhile, Marston’s Shipyard American Pale Ale saw the sharpest decline, down 33.7% in volume and 30.2% in value. As we look to 2025, innovation and consumer trends focus on variety and premium experiences and craft beers like these continue to reflect the evolving tastes of the modern consumer.
Want to learn how your brand can stay competitive through the holidays and prepare for the year ahead?
Reach out to hello@hatch.group to discover how our team can help you navigate the latest trends and consumer insights.
