THE world’s first confectionery centre dedicated to understanding how shoppers shop has opened at Nestlé’s factory in York.

The £1 million Insight And Learning Centre features recreations of supermarkets, convenience stores, independent shops and cash-and-carry layouts.

The company says it has recreated the shopping experience with the aim of helping Nestlé’s retail customers understand better how the layout of shelves in their stores can best meet shoppers’ needs.

A spokeswoman said the shelves were stocked not only with Nestlé products, but also with those of its competitors.

She said confectionery products were bought for different reasons – “sometimes hunger, sometimes simply for pleasure, or as a gift”, and people shopped differently in a supermarket to a convenience store.

“The Insight And Learning Centre is helping us develop our understanding of this and enabling us to share this understanding with our customers in an impactful way,” she said.

She said senior staff from stores such as supermarkets would come on visits to the centre, and it would be featured in trade publications to get the message to retailers everywhere.

David Rennie, who has just taken over as Nestlé Confectionery’s new managing director, said. “This is a unique, cutting-edge facility and demonstrates our commitment to building and investing in world-class facilities in York.” The centre, which was opened by Laurent Freixe, executive vice president Nestlé SA, who is responsible for Zone Europe, was conceived and built during 2008.

A multi-million pound new Aero plant, replacing an outdated facility on the southern end of the factory site, also opened last year as part of a major investment designed to make the factory fit for the 21st century. The outgoing managing director of Nestlé Confectionery UK, Paul Grimwood, told The Press at the end of last year that the factory was ready to meet the challenge of tough times ahead.

He revealed that the company’s market share had risen in the past 12 months, with KitKat sales soaring by 20 per cent to make it the country’s fastest-growing top confectionery brand.

He said that as well as a £15 million investment in a new Aero factory, Nestlé had also invested another £15 million in fresh infrastructure across the York factory site, including new boilers, roads, and other equipment.