Last month, Shisha and Hookah tobacco company Al Fakher unveiled the next chapter in its travel retail journey. The company is demonstrating its commitment to DF&TR with new elevated packaging, which aligns with its global ambition to continue growing in the industry. The new packaging was launched exclusively with Dubai Duty Free on 18 February 2020 and will be available in other airports from May.

According to the company, the new packaging reinvigorates the brand with a more relevant and contemporary feel. In an exclusive interview with TRBusiness, Ziad Jabre, Head of Global Travel Retail, Al Fakher reveals more on the company’s plans for 2020.

What is Al Fakher up to in 2020?

Al Fakher is entering a new chapter of growth. Al Fakher 2020 (AF 2020) is focused around exciting and delighting our customers with products they can mix with. Al Fakher consumers love and depend on our high-quality products, the variety of our unique flavour offerings and the consistency and long-lasting nature of our flavours — none of which will be changing!

Over the past year, we have listened to feedback from our consumers and customers, who want to see more from Al Fakher! Our global platform aims to reinvigorate the brand and make it more relevant to our shisha-loving audience.

We are elevating the look and feel of our packaging to align with our global ambitions, but that’s not all. AF 2020 is not just about the way we look, but critically about what we do and bring to the world to enhance and excite the shisha experience.

A big part is the expansion of the offering beyond our core, classic flavours and into innovative products designed to excite and enhance the shisha experience. This will be achieved by encouraging and empowering mixing — something we know our avid audience is already doing.

We have launched a new range of products that ease and enhance our customers mixing experiences and enable them to curate and create an infinite number of flavour possibilities.

What impact will your activities have on the performance/evolution of the company’s duty free and travel retail business and why?

The Al Fakher brand continues to grow, with us leading the shisha category. This year, we opened our first production facility in Europe to satisfy our growing demand in international markets. We now distribute to more than 80 countries. On the travel retail front, we are the first shisha molasses brand to be present in the European duty-free market. European and international travellers can now find Al Fakher in Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports as well as Marseille and Nice.

For sure, we expect our efforts in 2020 to reflect positively on the performance of our GTR business, as it has done in previous years. The travel retail space provides us with a fantastic opportunity to highlight the brand, as well as our exciting innovations exclusively for a limited period. However, we also believe that the impact of the work we are doing will go beyond just the Al Fakher brand by benefiting the shisha molasses category as a whole.

Given our global footprint and brand awareness, we are able to engage, educate and excite responsible adult smokers around our brand and the category.

How would you assess the look and feel of the new logo and why?

The look and feel of our new logo is streamlined and relevant to today’s shisha-loving audience. However, it goes beyond this. We have ensured we held on to the aspects of our branding that link us to Al Fakher’s strong heritage — our Middle Eastern origins expressed through modern Arabic typography, as well as our iconic crown symbol.

The new logo aims to reflect the high quality of our products and express shisha’s ability to bring people together, allowing them to share stories and forge lasting relationships.

What was the strategy of the company as far as the new packaging is concerned and why?

The packaging for our 1kg flavours (as well as the 250g flavours, which can be found in multiple global domestic markets outside GTR) has an entirely new format. The dimensions were considered very carefully.

We not only thoroughly tested the packaging for its aesthetics, but also for its functionality. The design allows consumers to easily store their unused molasses within the tub — even allowing them to mix in the tub. A tamper-proof seal ensures the authenticity of the product and seals in freshness for the full duration of the shelf life.

Another major positive of the new packaging is that it has been designed to ensure it’s easy to stack, making storage much more manageable — an element that should be positively noted by the trade.

How do you expect travel retailers to react to Al Fakher in 2020 and why?

We expect travel retailers to be as excited about the brand as we are! The new look and feel are sure to appeal and engage with shisha lovers around the world. We know that mixing shisha flavours is organic to the category and our new products meet these consumer needs.

Can you please offer an insight into the weeks/months leading up to the launch of AF 2020? What took place before the company finalised the new packaging and logo?

The lead-up to AF 2020 encompassed a tremendous amount work, from market and consumer research to months of creative development. This is not forgetting the company-wide engagement and cross-functional collaboration.

We have been through an exhaustive and comprehensive journey. We are looking forward to the reactions and engagement from the shisha community. AF 2020 has been rolled out in duty-free first. It will then make its way around the world to our international markets.

Check out the shisha report in the February edition of TRBusiness. Click here to subscribe.