Shoppers still can’t get enough of Advent calendars, and brands are racing to keep up with demand
Advent calendars have come a long way since they were first built by German Protestants during the 19th century as a way to keep track of the time leading up to Christmas.
These days, Advent calendars build off the popularity of “little treat culture.” Brands are now selling Advent calendars that contain everything from wine to jams to skin care to pet treats. Some have become coveted status symbols, especially those that are put out by luxury players like Diptyque and Dior Beauty. And even as more brands enter the category — Red Bull and Kraft Natural Cheese are releasing Advent calendars for the first time this year — there are few signs that shoppers have hit Advent calendar fatigue.
In fact, more customers and independent retailers are ordering Advent calendars well in advance of the Christmas season. The brands that sell them say they are ramping up production to meet demand; while these products are an important sales driver, brands say Advent calendars have also become a great way to generate social media buzz and customer engagement.
Spunky Pup, a company that has sold dog treat Advent calendars for three years running, said it has sold 1.2 million of them so far this year. The company sells its Advent calendar at retailers like Petco, PetSmart and Costco, and to independent boutiques via Faire.
“We have had so much success with it over the last few years, that we now make the Advent calendars and the biscuits that go in them year-round in our Atlanta [production facility],” Gracie Myers, head of sales and marketing at Spunky Pup, told Modern Retail. And, Spunky Pup is toying around with how it can adapt the concept to other holidays.
The power of the Advent calendar
One of the prominent brands that helped fuel the Advent calendar trend is the French jam maker Bonne Maman. The company began selling a 24-day set of mini jam and fruit spread jars in 2017. The calendar became known for selling out quickly during the season, prompting the company to up production.
A Bonne Maman spokesperson said the Advent calendar, which features different limited-edition flavors every year, has sold out every year for the last eight seasons and continues to grow in popularity. “When the Advent calendar launched in 2017, we produced a few thousand for the U.S. market,” the spokesperson said. “Since then, production has increased by 400%.”
Cocktail maker Bartesian, which has been described as the “K-Cup machine of cocktails,” has been releasing cocktail pods Advent calendar since its launch five years ago — and it has sold out every year. The cocktail pod calendar features seasonal twists on classics, like the Clausmopolitan and The Grinch Appletini.
In a statement, Bartesian founder and CEO Ryan Close said that what started as a fun, limited-edition idea has turned into one of the brand’s most popular annual releases.
Close believes the product consistently sells out “because it captures what people love most about the holidays,” including product discovery, connection and indulgence. “Our customers tell us it has become part of their nightly unwind, and is enjoyed while baking cookies, wrapping gifts or watching their favorite holiday movies.”
For other brands, these Advent calendars serve more as marketing moments, rather than a big sales driver. Kraft Natural Cheese’s Advent calendar features 12 days of cheese-themed treats, including a plushie of its mascot, “Stringy,” and a mug with the words “Probably Full of Cheese.” The calendar’s retail value is $250, and it’s available in limited quantities, including at the Christkindl Market in Chicago in December. A company spokesperson told Modern Retail that the Chicago pop-up component will also allow visitors to step inside a life-size version of the calendar and win prizes.
Still, the Advent calendar hype is strong enough that brands across a wide variety of categories are looking for a way in.
Myers of Spunky Pup said that her company was inspired to launch an Advent calendar because “everyone is now treating their dogs as if they are their kids.” The thesis was that, if a pet parent is buying an Advent calendar for themselves or their family, they will likely want to buy one for their dog.
Still, putting together Advent calendar boxes can be time-consuming. For Spunky Pup, workers have to assemble each box and place individual treats into 25 windows by hand. “We have six shifts a day working on them daily,” Myers said.
Given the sales velocity Spunky Pup has seen, especially this year, the product is “clearly a huge hit,” Myers said. On Faire, the brand has sold about 6,000 Advent calendars to pet specialty shops since orders began in March. “That’s a lot, when you consider that most of these people are just buying a few pieces at a time,” Myers said.
Why retailers love it
Given the sustained popularity of the Advent calendar over the past few years, one trend that has emerged is increased demand for these products from both major retailers and independent shops.
Jen Burke, chief revenue officer at Faire, said the platform has experienced momentum building around Advent calendars over the past few years.
“Retailers are now searching for Advent calendars year-round,” Burke said. Even in January of this year, more than 100 retailers searched for the term ‘Advent calendar.’” And, in September, Faire saw a 27% year-over-year increase in Advent calendar order volume across the platform. The Faire data also shows that beauty and self-care Advent calendars consistently rank among the most popular.
Burke said social media is a big driver of this trend, as Advent calendars feel tailor-made for unboxing content. “Brands and influencers start showcasing them as early as September,” she said, which naturally pushes retailers to stock up as soon as consumers start seeing those posts. “There is also that exclusivity factor, since many are limited-edition and sell out quickly. Shoppers don’t want to miss out.”
As such, the first seasonal surge in Advent calendar activity starts in August, Burke said, with independent retailers typically planning about three months ahead of expected consumer demand. “Some brands have started offering their Advent calendars early in the year to help retailers plan ahead, but once they sell out, they’re gone for the year,” Burke said.
Kirthi Kalyanam, a distinguished professor and executive director of the Retail Management Institute at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, said Advent calendars have become a lucrative seasonal marketing play for brands because they evoke powerful themes, including daily surprise-and-delight moments and social media virality.
“I look at these calendars as a way for a company to become more culturally relevant in their customer’s daily life,” he said. “The customers are engaging and re-engaging with your product several times.” However, Kalyanam said, the concept doesn’t necessarily fit every type of product, with some categories being a stretch. For instance, a customer may not want to open a new beauty product or alcoholic beverage every single night in December. “The product has to feel like it fits authentically within the holiday season,” he said.
Still, Burke said Advent calendars’ staying power has made them a core part of the retailers’ holiday strategies. For context, Burke said, “Last year, brands on Faire sold nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in Advent calendars in the U.S. alone, and that momentum continues to grow.”
In fact, one of the only things that may be standing in the way of further Advent calendar domination is the big economic levy hanging over everyone’s head right now: tariffs.
“We did play around with a ‘14-days of Valentine’s Day’ countdown and a summer-themed calendar with plush toys,” Myers of Spunky Pup said. But, with tariffs, the company has had to put newer product ideas on pause. “We’re hoping to come out with other fun formats, like a countdown to Halloween,” she said.
Julia Waldow contributed reporting.