Last month, at Zurich Airport, Swiss confectionery specialist Ricola staged a series of live demonstrations of how its famous herbal sweets are made, in partnership with Dufry and Zurich Airport.

The airside activations took place on four consecutive weekends, on Level 1 in front of Dufry’s main duty-free store, as part of the location’s Best of Switzerland campaign.

In addition to observing the hand-made production methods, travellers were invited to sample the Ricola portfolio. A special ‘buy 2, get 1 free’ promotion was created to support the activity and further drive sales.

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Recipe for success

“This is the first time we have held our candy cooking event at Zurich, and we are absolutely thrilled with the passenger response – and the sales results,” noted Andreas Reckart, Vice President Sales Middle East & Travel Retail for Ricola AG.

“European travel retail continues to perform strongly, boosted by increased airport traffic. These live demonstrations exemplify the type of appealing retail experience we are committed to providing, and created a wonderful opportunity to attract and engage with travellers in a busy airport environment.”

He added: “Our on-site ‘herb field’ helped passengers to immerse themselves in the Ricola universe, from herb to candy, and also emphasised our nature-friendly positioning.

“We were delighted to partner with Zurich Airport and Dufry to showcase this innovative discovery experience – and promote our Swiss heritage – in our home market of Switzerland.”

Philippe Moryl, Dufry Global Category Head – Confectionery, Food, Souvenirs & Toys commented: “We asked Ricola to push the boundaries and they did it, delighting our customers at Zurich airport. Despite all the technical challenges related to the implementation of such activations in the airside zone of an airport, we found a solution to make it happen.

“This is a great example of what we can achieve when brand partners, airport partners and retailers are working in close collaboration and partnership. It is a fantastic and innovative way to engage with customers, promoting Ricola’s great products, values and expertise.”

He concluded: “It allows as well to speak about ESG commitments that became so important for our companies and our customers. Thank you to Ricola’s team, to the Zurich airport commercial team and to the Dufry local team for their great teamwork.”