Harnessing innovation to meet customer expectations: Andrésy Confitures creates special recipes for its Christmas jams and preserves

The consumption of jams and most food products is higher at certain times of the year such as the new school year, Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Manufacturers and retailers call the products created for these special periods “events” or “one shots”, if the recipes are sold only for a specific occasion.

Andrésy Jams also uses its creativity and know-how for these special moments of the year. In 2019, the manufacturer redesigned, revamped and created special recipes for its Christmas jams, marmalades preserves.

Consumers also expect to find Christmas spirit in food products.

From November to January, the trend is towards gifts, packaging that is red, green, gold or silver, special experiences and the joy of giving something special!

For Christmas jams, consumers in delicatessens and neighbourhood shops also have specific expectations.

They are looking for seasonal flavours: citrus fruits, chestnuts, figs, exotic fruits, spice. They buy products to please themselves or to give to others: gift boxes, preserves to enjoy with foie gras or poultry, special jam recipes to share with the family in the morning.

What are the trends in Christmas jams and preserves this year?

Chestnuts are always very popular for their smooth and sweet flavours, which are synonymous with winter and recall childhood. Chestnuts are always very popular for their smooth and sweet flavours, which are synonymous with winter and recall childhood. In great demand this year is cinnamon, the most popular spice.

When it comes to preserves and chutneys, consumers tend to go for the same thing: fig, followed by onion are the 2 most popular preserves to accompany meals. We have noticed that alcohol-based preserves are growing in popularity, particularly if the alcoholic drinks are very aromatic.
As for packaging, more than gold or silver, this year it is snow white and the traditional red and green colours that are in demand for Christmas.

For Christmas 2019, we will offer a gift box of three 46g preserves, perfectly suited to consumers’ ideas for gifts and flavours.

Following on from the ginger preserve of 2018, you will be able to offer your customers the cider preserve, the perfect accompaniment to foie gras, terrine and poultry. The gift box contains the cider preserve as well as two traditional French recipes for making fig preserve and onion chutney.

For novel jams, why not offer marmalade and Christmas jam. Everything has been revamped to match the trends of this Christmas.

The labels feature more red and green than ever before, in the spirit of Christmas, as well as the same traditional cap of French home-made jams!

Marmalade is a mixture of citrus fruits and spice, with sweet and bitter orange, lemon, cinnamon and ginger.
Christmas jam combines the two most popular fruits of the season: the sweet taste of chestnut with a twist of clementine and a delicious hint of cinnamon.