Nestlé's latest attempt to crack the block chocolate market appears to be doomed after it emerged that it is to withdraw its Heaven brand from the convenience sector.
Nestlé Heaven, a premium chocolate made in Switzerland, launched at the beginning of 2007 with a £4m campaign targeting women.
However, it has struggled to make an impact in a category dominated by Cadbury Dairy Milk and Galaxy. The latter, which has a similar target market, posted a 12% rise in sales last year, according to TNS Worldpanel.
Nestlé has promised the grocery trade that it will 'see the brand though to the bitter end' of its five-year business plan, taking it to 2012, but insiders claim it is losing the will to back it.
It is understood that the company is in the process of pulling out of the convenience sector to renew its focus on the major multiples. It originally launched with five block variants and three truffle gift packs, but currently Tesco lists only three of the variants and a Christmas gift pack online.
A TV drive planned for early 2008 has yet to air. So far it has spent just £368,000 on press and outdoor - just over a tenth of the amount it invested in advertising for the brand last year, according to Nielsen.
In 2006, Nestlé axed an earlier block chocolate brand, Double Cream, due to poor sales.
Heaven was not mentioned in Nestlé's nine-month UK figures, released last month. The focus was on the successful roll-out of its female-focused Kit Kat Senses bar.
A spokeswoman refused to answer questions about the distribution of the brand, available variants or the reasons for the delayed TV ads, saying that Nestlé did not comment on speculation.
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