Product Range: Halls Soothers in Blackcurrant, Peach & Raspberry, Cherry, Strawberry and multipack containing 1 x blackcurrant, 1 x Cherry & 1 x Peach & Raspberry; Halls Mentholyptus in Extra Strong, Original and Blackcurrant; Halls Mentholyptus Sugarfree in Original and Cherry; Halls Max Strength in Original and Honey & Lemon.
Brand history:
Siblings Norman S. Hall and Thomas H. Hall founded the business in 1893 to produce soap and jams, but ventured into the confectionery market in 1918 when their premises moved to Whitefield.
The company began manufacturing Halls Mentholyptus in 1927, made from a blend of menthol and eucalyptus oil. This humble sweet became the world’s best known and best-selling cough drop, and helped the company float on the stock market for the first time in 1953, a year before sweet rationing came to an end in the UK.
The company was not without its challenges in the post-war years. Sugar shortages and supply problems with menthol crystals and eucalyptus oil from China, Brazil and Spain meant that the average weekly production had dropped from 800 tonnes a week to just 80 tonnes a week.
However, by the mid-1960’s, Hall’s products accounted for about a third of the entire UK market for medicated sweets. Innovations included cough drops with a liquid centre, sugar free cough drops and menthol-free sweets.
The brand is now the leading sugar confectionery brand in the world with 2% of the market. Halls lozenges are now produced all over the world from Colombia, to Canada, Turkey and Devon!
Target audience:
Halls Mentholyptus: men and women aged 31-60, who are concerned about their health and looking for a deep breath of fresh air.
Halls Soothers: 21-45 year old women looking for a little drop of comfort for their throat.
Brand value:
The Halls brand is worth £31m in the UK. 45% of all consumer packs sold in the UK medicated market are from the Halls brand. (The Nielsen Company MAT, 05.09.09)
Did you know…
Halls used to make Liquorice & Honey Caramels, Chocolate Sour Lemons and chocolate-coated Cherry Nougat, before the company switched to make medicated candy only.
On average, over 1 million packs per week were sold in the UK in 2008!