Uncle Joe's Mint Balls

Iconic sweet firm Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls has joined forces with retail consultants Product Guru to target confectionery buyers and leading stakeholders in London and the South East.

Uncle Joe’s sweets are to be showcased in a first-of-its-kind hybrid concept pop-up store in Islington, London, from September 11 to 16, exposing the brand to scores of potential customers

The stylish venue, merchandised as a retail store, is part of an innovative series of category-specific technology powered concept stores in London throughout September, called POP.

John Winnard MBE and Ant Winnard, Joint Managing Directors at Wigan-based Uncle Joe’s, said the Product Guru pop-up shop was a new B2B format aimed at increasing challenger brands’ exposure in the industry.

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They said: “Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls are famous the world over but we are always looking strategically at regions where we think we can improve sales even further.

“Brands taking part in this initiative will benefit from exposure to retail buyers, wholesalers, distributors, importers, investors, journalists, and influencers, who will be able to browse products and effectively use the integrated technology from Product Guru’s platform to access product data, brand videos, request samples, and take next-step actions.

“In-store technology will provide real-time performance data for brands to get insights from visitors engaging with their products.”

Later in the month, Uncle Joe’s is also taking part in one of Product Guru’s Huddle events, at The Alan Hotel, Manchester, on September 29, bringing together innovative brands and the UK’s leading buyers in highly targeted meet-ups, with live experience and integrated technology.

Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls are made by Wigan-based William Santus and Co Ltd, a privately-owned traditional sweet company that was established in 1898.

The ownership has been passed down through the family generations and joint Managing Directors John and Antony Winnard are the great, great nephews of the company’s founder.

The Mint Balls are still manufactured using the same traditional methods as when Mrs Santus originally made the sweets in her kitchen in 1898.

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