The suitcases are unpacked, the children are going back to school. That is the sign that the kruidnoten are back in the supermarkets. This year, Bolletje developed a new flavor in collaboration with her fans:Grandma's Apple Pie.
Consumers were given the opportunity to come up with a new flavor via a kruidnoot election in collaboration with Qmusic. The winning flavor was Grandma's Apple Pie. It is the second time that a pie flavor proves to be the most popular. Last year, Red Velvet Kruidnoten was the winner. Flavors such as brownie and cheesecake also scored well. Among the entries were also other cookie suggestions, such as chocolate chip cookies and stroopwafel.
Bolletje notes that the chocolate varieties kruidnoten, such as truffle, coconut and caramel, have a greater share in the preseason (September to early November) with 52% than natural kruidnoten. The natural kruidnoten are popular after the Sinterklaas arrival with a market share of 56%. On the basis of this, Bolletje concludes that kruidnoten are no longer specifically a Sinterklaas product, but an autumn product.
The turnover of spice nuts for Bolletje in the Netherlands is growing every year. In 2020 this was 12% compared to 2019. The demand for kruidnoten is also increasing abroad. This year, Bolletje is supplying Germany, England, Italy and Denmark, among other places. It is striking that in these countries kruidnoten are not tied to December 5, but that it is a delicacy for around the holidays. “It is noticeable that these countries are more conservative in terms of taste variation, but we expect that to change in the coming years,” says Zandbergen van Bolletje.
