TRBusiness met with Business Development Manager GTR Julie Feryn and Head of Marketing Naomi McCann.

Cartwright & Butler made its debut appearance at the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference 2026 this week, as the British premium biscuit and gifting brand looks to build on strong travel retail momentum and expand its international footprint.

Speaking to TRBusiness at the show, Julie Feryn, Business Development Manager GTR, and Naomi McCann, Head of Marketing, said the brand’s decision to exhibit in Singapore follows a year of significant growth, new partnerships and channel diversification.

In 2025, Cartwright & Butler reached £22 million in total brand sales, hitting its target for the year, with global travel retail playing a key role in that performance. The business delivered 30% year-on-year growth, driven by a stronger focus on retail partnerships, new product development and wider awareness of the brand beyond its signature biscuit tins.

“We did this through, firstly, partnerships with retailers,” said Feryn. “We’ve had a great year with Avolta and Lagardère, where we really focused on the UK market to ensure that it is growing. This is important to us as our home base.”

The brand has been concentrating on consolidating its position in UK travel retail before pushing further into international markets, with Feryn describing that home-market strength as an important foundation for future expansion.

Cartwright & Butler has also seen a shift in how it is perceived by buyers and operators. “Last year in Cannes, what we heard was – ‘oh you are the lovely brand with the biscuit tins’,” said Feryn. “Now what we hear is – ‘oh, you are Cartwright & Butler’. We have become a brand and not just a product, which is fantastic.”

Alongside partnerships, new product development has been another important growth driver for the company. This included the launch of Dubai-style truffles, which were developed quickly in response to market trends and growing demand for indulgent gifting and self-treating formats. “Dubai-style truffles came to fruition in four months, so we are really good at bringing new products to the market quickly,” explained Feryn. Building on that success, Cartwright & Butler is preparing to launch a larger truffle range in July, featuring four more flavours: pistachio, salted caramel, caramelised biscuit and Marc de Champagne. A limited-edition matcha and strawberry with white chocolate variant is also set to follow.

While the brand is expanding beyond its core biscuit offer, Feryn stressed that biscuits remain central to its identity. “Biscuits are our hero products and they always will be – they are at the heart of what we do,” she said. “But we are now also extending our range alongside our markets. Truffles seemed like a natural extension.” The truffle range will launch globally across both domestic and travel retail channels, reflecting Cartwright & Butler’s broader strategy to grow the brand in a more diversified way.

New for 2026, Cartwright & Butler is launching a five-flavour truffle range, as well as its latest flavour across is core pastel line of biscuits, hazelnut and chocolate.

Events have also played a key role in opening up new opportunities for the business. While Cartwright & Butler is already established in traditional duty-free, the brand has been expanding into additional travel retail channels including cruise and airlines. “Events have also helped to drive awareness,” said Feryn.

“TFWA Cannes was also fantastic for us and opened lots of doors for us internationally, as well as into airlines. So we are really starting to diversify.” This reflects the increasing versatility of its portfolio, which now includes gifting tins, onboard retail products and smaller formats suitable for complimentary distribution.

Among the products being highlighted at TFWA Asia Pacific are Cartwright & Butler’s signature 200g Pastel biscuit tins, including the new Hazelnut & Chocolate flavour, as well as the refreshed Shortbread Collection.

The brand is also developing single biscuit formats aimed specifically at airlines, designed to be served complimentary onboard.

Cartwright & Butler’s appearance in Singapore also comes as the company begins implementing a strategy designed to double the business by 2030. “In January we spent time together in the bakery and we now have a four-year strategy plan, of which Asia plays a big part,” said Feryn. “We will double the business by 2030, and we are planning to achieve growth year-on-year in all our six channels – GTR is one of our largest. In GTR, it is all about sustainable growth in our home market,” Feryn continued. “This year you will see lots more activations from us, as we now have the brand established, so that’s the next step.”

Cartwright & Butler made its debut appearance at the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference 2026.

Asia is now viewed as the next major opportunity for the brand, with Cartwright & Butler seeing strong potential among consumers with high spending power and growing appetite for premium products. The company believes British biscuits and traditional teatime treats have strong relevance in the region, particularly within gifting and souvenir-led travel retail missions. “As for Asia, the brand is coming at it from a two-pronged approach,” said Feryn. “The domestic international market as well as GTR – we are going to grow the brand together over the next four years.

“Asia seemed like a natural progression for the brand – we think the product really resonates with the consumer here. We have had lots of positive feedback so far at the show.”

The team is also using TFWA Asia Pacific as an opportunity to better understand the region and gather insights into local preferences around flavours, packaging, sizing and price points. “The team is also at the show to learn about the market in the region – trends, flavours, packaging, size and price point,” said Feryn. “We are trying to learn as much as we can.”

One key takeaway so far is the importance of travel retail exclusives for Asia, particularly products that deliver a stronger sense of place.

According to the brand, Asia-exclusive concepts are likely to become an important part of its future strategy as it looks to tailor the offer more closely to regional expectations. “It is great to get inspiration and insights from the show as to what works,” added McCann.

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