how brands are taking advantage of the French's excessive appetite for Advent calendars

This Sunday is the big day. Young and old will be able to discover what the first box of their Advent calendar contains. Every year, the excitement is at its height and this product allows the French to slip little by little into the spirit of the end-of-year holidays. “It’s just as important as Christmas presents to me.”confides Massi, 29 years old, who has always “had calendars since I was little”. “I remember when my mother bought me some at the end of November, it was the holy grail. Now, every year, it’s a must”smiles this engineer. If Advent calendars are purchased later and later, they are “often carried out in the first week of December”details a NielsenIQ study from December 2023.

“The first day of December marks the best day for sales. In 2022, nearly 800,000 units were sold on 1^is December, compared to nearly 606,000 on November 30 and 573,000 on November 25.analyzes the institute. The French are spoiled for choice with more than thirty categories of products offered in calendars: chocolates, toys, beauty, textiles, jewelry, alcohol, food, animals and even sex toys. “This Advent calendar market has experienced a huge boom over the last five years”notes Emily Mayer, Director of Business Insights at Circana. The market for chocolate Advent calendars, sold in supermarkets, was worth 100 million euros last year while that of toys represented 21 million euros, all circuits combined…