Canadian confectionery Mondoux is launching its first national English-language campaign, highlighting its Sweet Sixteen gummy candy mix to try and take some of the brand recognition it has in Quebec across the rest of Canada.

The brand worked with creative agency LG2 on the campaign, which trades on the idea that the brand’s Sweet Sixteen mix is the perfect offering for the “candy connoisseur.” The goal is to help set Sweet Sixteen apart from other candy mixes on the market by showcasing both its high-end positioning and the many different variations of fun and flavour that a consumer might find inside the bag itself.

“You have these hoity-toity restaurant critiques of the candy that highlight and profile the different flavour combinations that exist within the bag itself, so it’s very product focused, but also allows us to tell the story we want to tell about what makes this candy mix distinct from others in the category,” explains Rana Chatterjee, creative director with the agency. “For us, this was the sweet spot.”

Ultimately, the goal of the campaign is to build awareness for the brand in markets where customers aren’t as familiar with it. Stéphanie Léger, Mondoux’s marketing director, cites Nielsen data that shows the brand is the market leader for gummy mixes in both Quebec – where it has reigned for a long time – and Canada – a more recent development – as a whole, but the brand isn’t resting on its laurels.

“The fastest-growing segment of the confectionery category is gummy mixes, and we really wanted to make sure the customer is aware that we specialize in them,” notes Caryl Walters-Stewart, national account manager at Mondoux. “So we are using the connoisseur positioning to explore the different combinations and have fun with that, but also let consumers know that they’re asking for gummy mixes and that is what we deliver.”

“We want consumers understand we’re really driving the market with our mixes,” explains Léger. “We want our Sweet Sixteen brand to remain the leader in Canada, and we’re never going to cut our quality to get there.”

The campaign is rolling out across social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok – the latter a first for the brand. The social media focus serves several purposes: it’s the best place to reach the brand’s 25- to 45-year-old target, but also, “we know our customers are on it,” Léger says.

“In previous years, we really focused our marketing in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. This is our first major English-language campaign, and the best way to launch it was to start on social and see where our customers are,” she adds.

“With all of the different search fields and options you can choose, it allows us to dial into the demographic we’re trying to reach,” says Walters-Stewart.

Mondoux does have a second phase for the campaign planned in markets where it identifies a critical mass of customers, Léger adds. That second phase will include more traditional marketing pushes that continue to deliver the same message.

“Our hope is that for people who don’t know about Mondoux and Sweet Sixteen, they will recognize the brand. And for people familiar with the brand, they’ll now know more about it,” adds Walters-Stewart. “We’re trying to elevate the knowledge everybody has about our brands. This tongue-in-cheek messaging will help, by capturing peoples’ interest.”