Short-term plans are designed to support the brand’s growth and uplift the category.

Haribo used TFWA as a springboard to present its short-term strategy, with shopper research, NPD rollout, engagement and packaging among the main themes.

Its short-term plans are designed to support the brand’s growth and drive the category as the industry responds to disruption inflicted by this year’s prolonged regional conflicts and the global economic downturn.

The strategy is built on three pillars: recovery, execution and sustainability as Haribo works to consolidate recent new product launches and prepares for packaging regulation changes in Europe (the brand’s largest market). It’s a plan also backed by the brand’s latest research on shopper behaviour, shared in Cannes.

Recovery and execution

Responding to a range of difficulties faced by the confectionery category, Haribo’s strategy centres on rebuilding business through improved route-to-market operations, faster logistics and stronger product availability at POS.

With execution, Haribo is focused on delivering further support to its innovation pipeline. Over the past three years, the company has launched approximately 16 new skus in travel retail, spanning four ‘in-and-out’ and seasonal products, two sense-of-place ranges, one gifting product, and numerous sharing novelties.

Elisa Fontana, Director Marketing and Trade Marketing Travel Retail, Haribo outlined the company’s strategic approach: “It’s been a lot of intensive work, and it’s really satisfying when a buyer tells you it’s annoying that our novelties are so interesting they can’t sacrifice one for another. A core reality is that the store shelves are not elastic, and we need to give the market time to execute what we’ve developed and make sure every NPD gets the right share of space, distribution and visibility.

Elisa Fontana, Director Marketing and Trade Marketing Travel Retail, Haribo highlights that consolidation, monitoring execution, gap analysis, and crisis recovery (wherever possible) are the brand’s priority short-term strategies.

“Meanwhile, we’re continuing to build our campaign to increase shopper engagement, discovery and sense of place. For the mid-term, we’re still looking at products that create excitement, uniqueness and exclusivity.”

Shifting shopper priorities

Haribo’s latest shopper research, consolidated by industry data from m1nd-set (Mapping the 10-Year Evolution of the Global Duty Free Shopper – Part 1, August 2026), points to gifting losing ground as a purchase driver in travel retail, particularly among younger travellers. Snacking and self-consumption are now the key drivers.

The research shows that gifting has become an increasingly weakened driver – with only 15% of respondents citing it as their motivation to purchase and just 10% gave it as their reason to visit the store.

Furthermore, personal consumption (snacking on the way and immediate consumption), especially when shared with travel companions, is becoming increasingly important, most notably for Gen Z consumers.

Research also confirmed Haribo as the shoppers’ most preferred brand for sharing, driving strong performance for its party-size formats, while smaller pouches continue to perform as an impulse, self-consumption purchase, according to the company.

Fontana added: “The purpose of purchase is changing, and we’re continuing to build on this path, staying a shareable brand that passengers enjoy during their travels. So, consolidation, monitoring of execution, gap analysis, and crisis recovery wherever possible are our priority short-term strategies.”

Packaging: preparing for PPWR

In its key European market, Haribo is also addressing new requirements from the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). Almost every industry and sector is affected by the initial requirements, which began implementation in August 2026, with further phased initiatives to come into effect across the EU through to 2040.

Among its preparations, Haribo is also redesigning its primary and secondary packaging, and this is planned under a four-part framework: Replace, Recycle, Redesign and Reduce.

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