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With December just around the corner, the countdown is on for consumers to purchase their advent calendars. This year’s offerings go beyond the traditional chocolate selection, with a variety of creative options. From gourmet snacks to premium spirits, these modern takes on the classic calendar are designed to surprise and delight, making the lead-up to Christmas even more exciting. FoodBev rounds-up the most innovative advent calendar launches.

Advent calendars offer a great opportunity for manufacturers and brands to connect with consumers in a fun and interactive way during the holiday season.

By creating limited-edition or exclusive products for the countdown, brands can generate excitement and anticipation. This not only helps build consumer loyalty, as people look forward to discovering something new each day, but also provides a chance to introduce new flavours, products or variations.

It’s an effective way to get people talking about their products and stand out in a crowded market, as unique advent calendars catch attention and make a lasting impression.

In addition, advent calendars also present a solid sales opportunity during one of the busiest times of the year. The festive season often sees increased consumer spending, and an advent calendar offers a fun, tangible way to tap into that. Whether it’s a calendar filled with premium products or a selection of best-sellers, brands can capitalise on the trend of personalised gifting.

Here, we take a look at some of the most out-of-the-box advent calendars that are redefining the holiday tradition...

Chupa Chups

Chupa Chups has launched its first advent calendar for 2024. Packed with 24 daily surprises, it features a mix of classic lollipops, jellies and bubble-gum, including favourites like Melody Pops and Big Babol.

The launch follows a strong performance last Christmas, with Chupa Chups achieving a 15.8% increase in value sales and a 24.2% rise in unit sales, compared to the overall sweets category performance.

Kim McMahon, brand manager at Chupa Chups, said that the advent calendar "is all about creating special moments...offering a delightful surprise behind every door".

Mars

The new 2024 Mars advent calendar offers a sweet and colourful countdown to Christmas, filled with treats from some of the brand’s most popular sweets.

Featuring a red and green plaid design with a stocking graphic overflowing with goodies, this calendar is filled with 24 fun-sized favourites.

Behind each perforated door, consumers will discover well-known treats like M&M’s, Snickers, Starburst, Milky Way, Skittles and Twix, making it a surprise every day leading up to Christmas.

Craft Gin Club

Craft Gin Club is launching three advent calendars for Christmas 2024: the classic gin advent calendar, the gin & tonic advent calendar and the 12 days of rum advent calendar.

The advent calendar includes a mix of classic London Dry, citrus and spiced gins, along with a couple seasonal treats. All gins have been taste-tested by Craft Gin Club’s selection team.

The gins are from small, independent craft distillers across the UK and around the world, offering an exclusive selection not found in supermarket or mass-market options.

The gin advent calendar includes 25 different 5cl miniature bottles of premium craft gins, with five mystery gins. The new gin & tonic advent calendar pairs 12 gins with 12 artisan drinks tonics in three flavours: classic, pink citrus and skinny. The 12 days of rum advent calendar features 12 premium spiced rums. All calendars are limited edition.

Myprotein

Myprotein has brought back its popular festive advent calendar, offering 25 healthy, nutritional treats for the countdown to Christmas. The advent calendar returned by popular demand, providing a healthier alternative to traditional holiday countdowns.

This year’s calendar features a mix of fan-favourites and new products, such as protein-packed snacks and supplements, from Myprotein, Myvitamins, Myvegan and MP Clothing.

MOTH

This festive season, MOTH, a premium canned cocktail brand, is offering a range of luxury gifts for cocktail lovers. The company's advent calendar, filled with 24 crafted cocktails replaces traditional chocolates with bar-quality, ready-to-serve drinks, including favourites like espresso martini, margarita, and negroni.

As an added surprise, ten of the advent calendars contain a golden MOTH can – the lucky finders will win a year’s supply of MOTH cocktails.

Alongside the advent calendar, MOTH is also offering a set of Cocktail Crackers available in six different cocktail flavours. Each cracker contains a premium cocktail made with "award-winning" spirits.

The crackers come in six different cocktail flavours, such as cosmopolitan, pink gin fizz, margarita, espresso martini, negroni and old fashioned, as well as trivia quizzes.

Bonne Maman

US premium preserves brand Bonne Maman has returned with its 2024 limited-edition advent calendar, featuring 24 mini jars of exclusive holiday flavours.

The calendar includes new creations such as Wild Blueberry with Maple Syrup, Caramel with Coffee, Guava, Rhubarb with Spice, White Nectarine and Peach, and Pineapple and Yuzu, alongside traditional favorites.

Cox & Co

Cox & Co has launched its new plastic-free Christmas luxury dark chocolate vegan advent calendar, featuring 24 pieces of 5g single origin 60% Colombian cacao dark chocolate.

Each piece offers a rich flavour with notes of bitter coffee and caramel, wrapped in recycled Kraft card with exclusive artwork by Dawn Ogden-White.

Cox & Co's founder, Gavin Cox, said: “This is the perfect Christmas countdown for those consumers who prefer dark chocolate to milk, or chocolate lovers following a plant based diet”.

Buxton Brewery

UK-based Buxton Brewery is offering two advent calendars for 2024, each featuring a selection of the company's beers.

The 12 Cheers of Christmas calendar includes 12 different beers, from their core range and limited releases. Meanwhile, the 24 Beer advent calendar offers a mix of 24 beers, with a box value over £100.

Both calendars are available for purchase online with shipping starting the week of 18th November, or from Buxton Brewery's retail shop from the same date.

Cometeer

Cometeer, known for its flash-frozen coffee capsules, is launching a limited-edition coffee advent calendar for 2024. The calendar includes 24 flash-frozen capsules featuring speciality coffees from roasters like Counter Culture and Onyx Coffee Lab.

The advent calendar features 13 roasters with a variety of blends and origins, culminating in the final six days with Cometeer's premium Select Series, which includes single-origin coffees, followed by the Stellar Series, showcasing some of the "world’s best and most expensive coffees".

Cometeer's founder and executive chairman, Matt Robers, said: "Each of the 24 capsules in our calendar were meticulously curated to craft a unique coffee drinking experience, offering a diverse range of high-quality flavours for you to enjoy throughout December. Each capsule uses our unique brewing method to ensure that every day starts with a delicious, freshly brewed cup."

Onyx Coffee Lab

Following Cometeer's flash-frozen coffee advent calendar, Onyx Coffee Lab is offering its own unique take on the festive coffee experience. The company's 2024 advent calendar includes 24 bags of whole-bean coffee, each enough to brew a 24oz cup.

Each day unveils a different coffee from various origins, producers and terroirs, giving coffee lovers the chance to explore a wide range of flavours.

Onyx's co-founder, Andrea Allen, commented: "Months of meticulous curation go into selecting the coffees and crafting an inviting, one-of-a-kind experience where our customers can discover new flavour profiles and expand their palate preferences".

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