Logistics in full swing: how chocolate products reach German supermarkets at Easter
For many people, chocolate bunnies, colorful eggs and numerous other seasonal sweets are an integral part of Easter. To ensure that the popular sweet treats are on the shelves on time, all logistics processes are planned perfectly well in advance. You can rely on Nagel-Group’s expertise.
Chocolate in all its flavors and forms is extremely popular worldwide. Especially on special occasions – above all Christmas and Easter – the industry records increasing production figures every year.¹ In 2023, a total of 230 million chocolate Easter bunnies were produced in Germany.² The Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli alone produced around 170 million of its traditional golden bunnies in 2021, which are sold in over 60 countries worldwide.³ Nagel-Group ensures that a large proportion of the versatile chocolate products find their way into German supermarkets on time for Easter.
Handling with sensitivity
Nagel-Group guarantees the right conditions during transportation and at the storage locations to ensure that the Easter goods reach retailers undamaged and in optimum quality. Chocolate products need a constant room climate that meets their requirements: if it is too warm, the taste changes and they begin to melt. If the temperature is too low, the fat it contains can escape and form an unsightly blue-grey fat bloom on the surface. Appropriate protection against moisture and odors must also be guaranteed. “For us as experts in handling temperature-sensitive goods, compliance with our customers’ individual specifications is one of our most important quality features – and is therefore naturally at the top of our list of priorities,” says Olaf Meerkötter, Head of Logistics at Nagel-Group. In addition, hollow items such as Easter bunnies and other figures require careful handling so that the goods do not break. The use of high-quality, stable materials is therefore essential in the production of assortment boxes and displays. At the same time, the goods must be packed in a space-saving manner in order to make the most efficient use of the truck loading space. All Nagel-Group employees are trained accordingly, as the transportation and handling of sensitive goods and packaging is part of day-to-day business.
It’s the timing that counts
The collaboration between chocolate manufacturers and logistics experts is particularly intensive at the peak times around Easter and Christmas: “The Easter season starts early in the new year for us. As soon as the Christmas business is behind us, all logistics processes are running at full speed again,” explains Etienne Hanneforth, Key Account Manager at Nagel-Group. “During the seasonal months, our outgoing goods volumes double. These temporary volume peaks are a particular challenge for our resource planning. In order to cope with the volume, up to 100% more staff are deployed in the warehouses, who have to be trained accordingly in advance.” Olaf Meerkötter adds: “This demonstrates the strength of our network time and time again. Nagel-Group is set up in such a way that even order volumes that temporarily exceed the contractually agreed volumes can be accommodated at strategically favorable locations. This allows us to offer our customers a level of flexibility that few other logistics providers can match.”
This flexibility is an important criterion for companies with a pronounced seasonal business. This is also confirmed by Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli, a long-standing customer of Nagel-Group: “Due to the seasonal fluctuations, we need around three times the capacity at the absolute peak,” explains Malte Stark, Head of External Logistics Lindt & Sprüngli Germany. “Planning and maintaining resources for these phases and getting the goods to the customer on time is a major challenge. With Nagel-Group, we have a reliable and experienced partner to support us in this.”
The collaboration between the two companies is also based on experience: “Lindt & Sprüngli has been working with Nagel-Group for over 20 years – a good example of how a long-term partnership pays off in our business.” The food logistics specialist handles the storage and distribution of seasonal and year-round products for the chocolate manufacturer throughout Germany. “Our branch in Eschweiler is located in the immediate vicinity of Lindt & Sprüngli in Aachen and is therefore in an ideal strategic location,” explains Etienne Hanneforth.
From the manufacturer to the retailer
It is not only resource planning between manufacturers and logistics companies that is of particular importance during the Easter season. Delivery times and quantities must also be meticulously coordinated with food retailers to ensure that the goods reach the point of sale on schedule. Displays and assortment cartons with Easter goods, which are intended for special offers and secondary placements, sometimes have to be delivered at short notice and on time. For this to succeed, smooth interaction between warehouse, order picking and transportation is essential. “The Easter business is an exciting phase for us every year, which always brings new challenges,” says Etienne Hanneforth. “When you know the logistical background processes and then see the filled supermarket shelves in the run-up to Easter, it makes you a little proud.”
¹ Cf. on this Schaetzung_Produktion_Suesswaren_2023_mF.jpg (2185×3211) (bdsi.de), Produktionswert von Schokolade in Deutschland nach Produktgruppen bis 2022 | Statista, Fast 13 Kilo Schokolade pro Kopf wurden 2022 produziert – Statistisches Bundesamt (destatis.de)