Firstly, Ampersand would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Ampersand has had a truly exciting 2023 and a huge thank you is due to our customers, suppliers, trade colleagues, and consumers.
Here are some highlights from the year!
Sonas Sweets Rebrand
Ampersand presented a brand-new look for the Sonas Sweets range in February this year. The packaging was modernised with eye-catching bursts of colour. Sunshine and rainbows that were part of the original packaging were updated and further developed to reflect the brand name Sonas, which means “happiness” in Irish.
In addition to the new packaging, the logo was updated to a modern typography, vibrant rainbow colours, with a smiling sunshine mascot.
The bagged sweets were colour coded to differentiate between Fizzy sweets, Jellies, and Nibbles. The €2 Mix-Up bag was also refreshed in line with the rebrand. The new packaging is also fully recyclable.
The rebrand went down a treat and has proven to be popular with both retailers and sweet lovers of all ages.
Cleeve’s Irish Confectionery Chocolate Bar Rebrand
Ampersand continued in our dedication to creating high quality products across our confectionery range this year. In September, we introduced a brand refresh of the Cleeve's Irish Confectionery chocolate bar range.
The range was rebranded to coincide with a recipe formula upgrade. The chocolate is now of minimum 30% cocoa content and contains no palm or vegetable oil.
The packaging was refreshed with a design that balances contemporary elegance with timeless vintage charm. It pays homage to Cleeve’s storied heritage while embracing a fresh visual identity that resonates with today’s consumers.
The range includes 3 flavours – Macaroon, Mint Crisp, and Sea Salt Caramel Crisp. There are also shareable 90g bars of Macaroon and Mint Crisp.
An exciting new addition to the range is the Popping Candy bar – a 20g treat size bar. It combines delicious creamy Irish chocolate with the sizzling fun of popping candy, making it an ideal treat for younger consumers.
NOffLA Irish Wine Show Awards
The Irish Wine Show Star Awards were held on the 9th of October, with Ampersand winning 16 awards in total. The wins were across various categories and included 4 Gold, 7 Silver and 5 Bronze.
The selection of winning wines were chosen by trained wine tasters using bling tasting techniques. Ampersand won all awards in the Old-World Red Wine Under €12 category, in addition to 5 Star Awards across the Non-Alcoholic categories. The day was a huge success and showcased the strength of the Ampersand wine portfolio.
We would like to thank all our partners again for your hard work and dedication in 2023. We wish you all and your families a prosperous and healthy New Year.
Here’s to 2024!
For more information, please contact your Ampersand representative, or call the sales line on 01 4130150.