Dufry and Rituals Cosmetics have joined forces to drive wellbeing category growth in travel retail with five new standalone stores in key locations across Europe.

The stores were opened during the final quarter of 2022, culminating in a ribbon cutting ceremony which took place yesterday (Tuesday 24 January, 2023) at Barcelona El Prat Airport, where the largest of the Rituals stores is located.

“Today’s consumer is conscious of their own wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of those around them,” said Antonin Carreau, Dufry’s Global Director for Beauty.

“There is a significant opportunity in the wellbeing category in travel retail which Dufry has recognised and with these new stores and our strong partnership, Dufry and Rituals Cosmetics are truly leading the way.

“We are very excited to help drive the growth of this important category with these beautiful new stores to create a more diverse and sustainable offering for today’s increasingly health and wellbeing conscious travellers.”

The Barcelona El Prat Airport store opened in mid-October and incorporates the brand’s bed and bath range, as well as its deluxe home products.

The store features a life-sized Piaggio to illustrate Rituals’ brand new car perfumes concept.

Digital screens, sampling and curated collections characterise new stores

All of the stores have been designed to engage consumers with a curated selection of products and interactive elements.

The first opened at Madrid Barajas Airport at the end of September 2022.

Located in T4, it features Rituals’ signature store concept and offers customers an extensive and accessible product range including both home and body care.

The Barcelona El Prat Airport store followed in mid-October (as mentioned above) , along with a store at Alicante Airport in Spain.

The final two store openings took place at Palma de Mallorca Airport in November.

Three of the stores (Madrid, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca Main Departure lounge) are styled according to Rituals’ regular travel retail store concept, while Alicante and Palma de Mallorca C Gates feature Rituals’ boutique store concept, adapting the Rituals experience to the retail space and focusing on the best-selling core assortment.

“Digital screens in the stores bring ‘The Art of Soulful Living’ to life with captivating visuals and are strategically positioned throughout the spaces to immerse customers in our story,” said Raymond Cloosterman, Founder and CEO, Rituals.

“Travellers can also sample all of our products at the water island – a sensory experience enhanced by the joy of new discoveries.”

Popular collections, including The Ritual of Sakura, The Ritual of Jing, The Ritual of Ayurveda, The Ritual of Mehr and The Ritual of Hammam are in the spotlight.

The Homme and Sport collections, as well as the Conscious skincare collection, are also available.

“Travel retail exclusive pouches are available for five collections, including products in sizes and formats that are perfect for self-care while travelling, or even gifting,” added Cloosterman.

Dufry is “very excited and very proud” of the new openings.

“This has been a very close collaboration, presenting many challenges, but we have managed to deliver beautiful stores, strengthen our partnership and, above all, make travellers happier,” said Romina Gabarro – Head of Beauty EMEA Dufry.

“With Rituals, we are able to offer a more focused and personalised service than in our main stores, with a wider product assortment from the brand and a stronger focus on the gifting offer, which customers are looking for.”

Championing wellbeing category growth in travel retail

The launch of the new stores demonstrate a joint commitment to maximising opportunities in the wellness space in travel retail.

“Customers are showing growing interest in products which have a wellbeing or health related benefit and this is very much a key trend within the beauty category,” said Gabarro.

“A brand such as Rituals is perfect in terms of meeting this customer demand, as their high quality products have been responsibly sourced and designed to be kind to the planet in terms of their packaging and sustainability.

“In the standalone stores such as this, we will also be able to offer more seasonal products, such as advent calendars, summer gifting sets, etc.

“This wider, more varied product assortment helps us to engage with more customers and excite them about the brand and what it offers.”

Rituals recently celebrated the opening of its 1,000th store worldwide in Milan, marking a significant milestone for the company. Yet there is so much more to come, including big pans for the channel.

“With travel retail being the first introduction to the Rituals brand for many of our customers, our investment in this channel remains very strategic and important to us,” said Cloosterman.

“Standalone stores offer the opportunity to include a more extensive assortment and tell a story that brings the brand philosophy to life.

“Creating moments to slow down while on the go, making the shopping experience more mindful and enriching for travellers and bringing luxury in all its senses to travellers worldwide is how our stores are responding to the need for greater wellbeing.

“We believe in The Art Of Soulful Living, seeking that ultimate wellbeing that is found in the balance of body, mind and soul, and we want to bring this ethos to travellers all over the world.

“We have a powerful ambition to be the leading wellbeing beauty brand globally, and we are very proud to partner with Dufry on this extraordinary expansion to bring wellbeing to even more travellers.”

The sustainability factor

As touched upon above, sustainability is a major focus for both companies.

“As the leading global retailer, Dufry is committed to promoting sustainability and wellbeing within the travel retail sector and we are therefore introducing more product lines with a ‘wellbeing’ focus, as well as products that are more environmentally aware,” revealed Carreau.

“Our philosophy of personal wellbeing extends to the sustainability of the world around us,” added Cloosterman.

“We believe that our emotional wellbeing and sense of harmony comes from taking care of ourselves as well as the planet.

“Our ‘Clean’ pillar is underlined in these new stores through our offering of trusted quality products that are carefully formulated with ingredients of natural origin. Over 70% of all our products contain more than 90% natural-origin ingredients. All products are assessed on circularity, biodegradability, CO2 footprint and naturalness. through Rituals’ ‘Clean & Conscious’ programme, and all products are cleanly formulated and dermatologically tested.

“In addition, our ‘Conscious’ pillar shines through our sustainable packaging choices. We offer refill options for body creams, hand wash, fragrance sticks car perfumes and skincare products .

“Rituals has also shifted most of our PET packaging to recycled plastics, 95% of all products are produced in Europe with responsible suppliers.”

Caption for top image, from left to right: Jennifer Douville – Rituals Head of Training Spain & Portugal; Inés Pérez – Dufry Senior Category Manager EMEA; Noortje Hagen – Rituals Senior Account Manager Travel Retail; Romina Gabarro – Dufry Head of Beauty EMEA; José Dueñas – Dufry Operational Manager Terminal 1, Barcelona Airport; Adriana Salas – Rituals Area Manager, Partner Operated Stores, Travel Retail; Liam Dewis – Rituals Manager of Standalone Store Operations, Travel Retail EMEA; Laura Virelaude – Dufry Commercial Manager, Catalonia; and José Navarro – Dufry Sales Attendant Rituals Standalone.