Mars International Travel Retail has announced its brand new category vision and strategy for confectionery: ‘A smiling traveller is a spending traveller’.

 

The initiative – to overcome four known barriers to smiling and thereby double the confectionery category by 2020 – was explained at a packed evening event during Cannes week by MITR Sales Directors Christophe Bouye and Simon Knapp.

 

Travel Retail Business Editor Doug Newhouse began by giving summary of the confectionery business in travel retail, followed by key presentations from Marketing Director Lieke Duijmelings and General Manager Craig Sargeant.

 

Says Lieke Duijmelings, “We need the full support of the Trinity to unlock the potential from this fantastic category: everybody loves confectionery – it brings smiles – it is great for cross-penetration sales and it is the most effective footfall driver.”

 

At the heart of the new strategy lies extensive research taken from over 5000 travellers of multiple nationalities over a four month period. Conducted by m1ndSet at nine key airports, the research threw up some surprising new insights.

 

Continues Duijmelings, “We have found that, despite what is generally thought, only 20% of travellers who purchase actually buy confectionery for someone else. Indeed, most people buy for themselves (45%) or for sharing purposes (35%), even though they may buy formats which are targeted as gifts.”

 

MITR has uncovered five main shopper motivators within airports: ‘Home Sweet Home’, ‘Travel Treats’, ‘Celebrating Parenthood’, ‘Showing Thought’ and ‘Trip Memories’.

 

“We believe that by closely targeting these needs with the right portfolio and high impact activations and promotions, we can create the smiles that are needed in order to not only grow the confectionery category but ALL categories,” continues Duijmelings.

 

She also emphasized that given the ever changing traveller profile, with more middle income travellers, more frequent flyers, more leisure travellers and more low cost carriers, the confectionery category will become even more important in leveraging sales within the airport retail environment.

 

It is MITR’s belief that the confectionery category’s full potential can be unlocked by harnessing the correct areas for growth. “And we have the brands to do it,” remarks Sargeant.

 

“We have the brands to win the traveller’s smile: M&Ms, the global No 1; Snickers, the global No 2; Galaxy (aka Dove), the global No 4; along with Maltesers, Skittles and Extra, the global No 1 gum brand,” he says.

 

“We know that by attracting the passenger with compelling activations and promotions we can convert browsers to shoppers and build the basket size, and we have some brilliant case studies to prove the point including our highly successful Watch M campaign, Beach Ball campaign (Frontier Winner of the Best Marketing Campaign), M&M’s stores, Colourhagen and many more.”

 

Designed to benefit all elements of the Trinity, MITR’s plan of action also includes a ‘Category Vision One Pager’ for discussion with airports and retailers.