Nestle has unveiled its plans to push sales and encourage growth for Easter 2011 in UK.

The chocolate manufacturer has announced that novelty and impulse lines will be leading the seasonal line up for 2011, a key sales period for confectionary.

Next year will see the launch of an Aero Lamb and Smarties Spring Friends including a hollow chocolate chicken and egg filled with Smarties.

Targeting children and their parents, the Easter range hopes to capitalize on impulse gift purchases over the holiday period.

Rural, organic trends within the food market are also on the rise in the food and drink market, and an increasing number of consumers associate the country idyl with a sustainable lifestyle.

Nestle’s decision to launch traditional, farm animal easter shapes hopes to encourage consumers to buy into the brand through associations with this rising trend.

Source: Food & Drink Innovation Network  www.fdin.org.uk