Masterfoods is set to cash in on the success of its confectionery pouch format with a new summer promotion.

The pouch collector scheme will give shoppers the opportunity to collect free tickets to 19 cinema chains across the country. The promotion will start on 14 August and run for 16 weeks. Customers must collect eight specially marked pouch tops they can redeem for two free tickets. The promotion is being supported with a ?830,000 TV advertising campaign.

This should further help boost the bite-size market, which Masterfoods? annual confectionery review reported grew by 1.8%, with bite-sized pouches up by 14.3%. The report values the total confectionery market at ?4.5bn, with the chocolate confectionery segment accounting for ?3.1bn. Block is the biggest growing segment, up 4.8%. Andrea Taylor, trade relations manager at Masterfoods, said the singles category offered the greatest opportunity for the multiples to boost sales. She said retailers needed to make the most of lunchtime snacking and would benefit from creating a convenience outlet with sandwiches.

Masterfoods said it would keep its brands in the public eye with a marketing spend of ?99m over the next year, up ?24% from 2005.