Biscoff tops 2026 festive food and drink rankings

The results show that established brands and familiar products with festive twists are resonating strongly with UK consumers, with four of the five highest-ranked launches achieving at least a 5-Star Rating.

Biscoff has topped System1's rankings of Christmas food and drink innovations for 2026, scoring 5.8 Stars in consumer testing.

System1 tested 11 seasonal food and drink launches with 550 nationally representative UK consumers using its Test Your Innovation tool. The research measures emotional responses, consumers' willingness to buy or sell shares in product ideas and the speed of their decisions to predict commercial potential.

Biscoff leads the top Christmas product launches

Biscoff Festive Biscuits secured first place with 5.8 Stars, narrowly ahead of Viennetta's Chocolate Yule Log and M&S's Get Your Skis On Colin, which both scored 5.7 Stars.

The five highest-ranked festive launches for 2026 are:

1. Biscoff Festive Biscuits – 5.8 Stars: The caramelised biscuits feature Christmas-inspired shapes, including reindeer, snowmen and Santas, with original and chocolate-coated varieties.

2. Viennetta Chocolate Yule Log – 5.7 Stars: The frozen dessert combines chocolate and white chocolate ice cream with crisp chocolate layers in a festive Yule Log format.

3. M&S Get Your Skis On Colin – 5.7 Stars: The Colin the Caterpillar cake takes on a winter sports theme, featuring chocolate ski goggles, a bobble hat and snowy sprinkles.

4. Mr Kipling Festive Range – 5.4 Stars: The collection includes Chocolate & Gingerbread and White Chocolate & Hazelnut tarts, alongside seasonal cake bites.

5. Tropicana Festive Juice Range – 4.8 Stars: Familiar fruit juice varieties feature festive packaging and sharing formats designed for seasonal gatherings.

Four festive launches achieve 5-Star ratings

Four of the top five products achieved a 5-Star Rating or higher, a notable result given that only 5 percent of new product ideas reach this benchmark. According to System1, a 5-Star innovation has approximately three times the sales potential of a 1-Star idea.

The findings point to the effectiveness of Fluent Innovation, an approach in which brands build on familiar products, flavours and consumer experiences rather than introducing entirely unfamiliar concepts.

M&S Colin leads on consumer happiness

M&S's Get Your Skis On Colin generated the strongest happiness response among the products tested, with 67 percent of consumers reporting positive feelings about the concept. It was also the most familiar idea among the top five, highlighting the appeal of established brands that introduce playful seasonal variations.

Viennetta's Chocolate Yule Log recorded the highest proportion of consumers willing to buy shares in the idea, at 76 percent, indicating strong potential for consumer acceptance.

System1 highlights the value of familiar festive flavours

Tristan Findlay, Head of Innovation at System1: "This is Fluent Innovation at work. Nobody's reinventing the wheel – brands are giving the classics people already love a seasonal twist, which makes them an easy choice. Loved brands, loved flavours and a bit of Christmas spirit go a long way, and for brands looking to stand out on shelf this season, these are the launches to watch."

www.biscoff.com

www.system1group.com

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