Delegates attending the TR Consumer Forum in Limassol, Cyprus will be able to discover first-hand a compelling range of products and services courtesy of the eight Exhibition Showcase Partners participating in the event.
 
These are: Altavia Travel Retail, Blueprint, Coeur De Lion, DutyFreak Airport Store, GMAX Travel Retail, Intelligent Track Systems, NORA Norway and ZYN.

In-between conference sessions, delegates can visit the stands located in the Park Room, where the networking coffee and lunch breaks are being held, and take the chance to talk with company representatives about their travel retail offering.

We asked a selection of our Exhibition Showcase Partners to share a preview of what to expect.

Swedish Match is looking forward to showcasing the ZYN brand, displaying products in different flavours and strengths.

“Our goal is to unlock the potential we see in many domestic markets also in travel retail globally,” said Johannes Varhelyi, Swedish Match Sales Manager Travel Retail & International.

“The smokeless category is perfectly tailored for the demands of the modern travelling tobacco customer. Traditional tobacco shoppers can buy nicotine pouches to use where you can’t smoke or where they struggle to smoke otherwise, thereby creating incremental sales without cannibalising purchases of traditional tobacco products. This is why Swedish Match is putting its focus on the travel retail sector.”

Since its international launch last autumn, ZYN is now available in Qatar Duty Free, with Heinemann at Vienna International Airport, Dufry at Zurich International Airport and WHSmith at a number of UK airports, among others.

The networking element of the event is a draw card for the company.

“It is truly good having the opportunity to meet the industry on-site and moreover, to take part of all the insight shared during the forum including listening to all key speakers,” said Varhelyi.

Garry Maxwell, Director of GMAX Travel Retail, is eager to maximise the opportunity to meet with people face-to-face once more.

“I am very much looking forward to a ‘live’ event again and seeing some familiar friendly faces in a great environment,” he said. “Last year’s event in London was the first to get people together after Covid and was a real success and ‘happy’ event for everyone.

“I am also keen to learn more from the data about where the GTR business is and how well it is evolving and fighting back after the past two years. The networking sessions are very important for companies like mine that are trying hard to bring innovation and sustainability with incremental emerging brands.”

At the GMAX stand, delegates can try and sample three new brands in the liquor category.

“The brands are a premium vodka called ‘One True Maverick’ doing exceptionally well in the top London bars, also the exciting LuvJus Vodka based RTD brand that recently came out top in The Times taste test,” revealed Maxwell.

“We will also present the innovative Mixologists Garden range of dried fruit to complement any alcohol or non-alcohol drink for everyone to try.”

Technology enthusiasts will be keen to hear the story of DutyFreak, which was born from a common scenario.

Its Founder & CEO Sebastian Bürkle found it a challenge to find the perfect presents for his loved ones while shopping at the airport with, he says, time pressures, long queues at the checkout and the lack of a comprehensive overview of the brands and products available hindering his shopping experience.

Motivated to find a solution, Bürkle surveyed passengers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport about whether they’d welcome an app that brought the entire airport shopping experience together at their fingertips.

“Some people weren’t interested but others said it would be great to use in the lounge as a way to find and order their favourite items and take them straight onto the aeroplane,” he said. “Most of the other travellers we questioned said they missed having a digital shopping experience in general.”

When Covid came, Bürkle and his business partner focused on creating this experience for travellers by developing the DutyFreak-App. The finished result (sales and marketing of the app began in Q1 2022) lets travellers browse the stores, brands and products available at the airport they’re flying from, select and pay for products and arrange a point of pick-up or delivery to the gate.

As well as providing a convenient way for travellers to shop their duty free allowance, the app can help to to drive pre-order revenues for stakeholders and ‘create ancillary revenue in parallel to their existing on-site store revenue created by impulse purchases’.

Bürkle says it can also help to sidestep the time and investment retailers can face in setting up their own e-commerce storefront project and can be set up quickly and easily in just a few weeks.

As an Exhibition Showcase Partner at the TR Consumer Forum, DutyFreak is looking forward to raising awareness of its offering and the many networking opportunities that the event brings.

Fashion jewellery brand Nora Norway launched its first collection in 2007. The company was inspired by the founder’s baby son and his deep bond with his teddy bear Bamsen.

Fast forward to today and Bamsen the bear characterises the HugMe line with its playful tagline ‘Made for huggin’ you, baby’.

This is being showcased alongside the core Nora Norway collection at the TR Consumer Forum.

Aire Kraas, CEO Marine City Duty Free, which represents Nora Norway, is looking forward to meeting industry colleagues in a ‘freer and less formal atmosphere’ at the event.

“Direct communication is invaluable, especially at turbulent times as we experience now,” said Kraas. “No less important is the role of presentations and learning about the trends in the travel trade.

“Meeting in a conference format allows for effective information sharing and, at the same time, more in-depth communication, which is not usually possible during trade fairs.”

Kraas and her team will share the Nora Norway brand story with delegates.

“In addition, everyone will get their own personal HugMe pendant,” she said.

Thomas Kaneko Henningsen, Partner, Blueprint, is anticipating “catching up in-person and exchanging perspectives on how we can accelerate travel retail during these unprecedented times”.

Blueprint’s client, Intelligent Track Systems (ITS), will be showcasing its ‘intelligent shopping trolleys’ at the event.

“Successfully launched at San Diego International Airport, Nice Airport and Oslo Airport, the intelligent shopping trolley boosts passengers’ satisfaction and spend,” explained Kaneko Henningsen.

“Once passengers have cleared airport security check, they are greeted by ITS ambassadors offering a free-of-charge trolley. Passengers activate the trolley tablet by scanning their boarding cards accessing wayfinding, call-to-action promotions, search functions and much more.

“Airports benefit from tracking and analysing shopping behaviour using heatmapping, surveys and advertising, etc. We are looking forward to presenting how the trolleys can help airports and concessionaires engage with passengers.”

At the Altavia Travel Retail exhibition stand, delegates can learn about some of the company’s most recent projects.

“Altavia Travel Retail works with brands, duty free retailers and airport operators, planning and designing commercial experiences, from terminal master planning to store design and brand activation,” explained Hugo Vanderschaegh, Managing Partner ODG and Head of Altavia Travel Retail.

“So far 2022 has been really good with a strong rebound of the demand and loads of projects in the pipeline. Like airport operators, the biggest challenge at the moment is to find resources. We welcome anyone wanting to talk further.”

The company is delighted to be present at the forum in Cyprus.

“We look forward to coming back to the island where we worked extensively for almost two years, in the design and execution supervision of the new duty free stores for CTC ARI,” said Vanderschaegh.

“Last time we attended the TR Consumer Forum in London we were pleased with the quality of the insights and discussions and that’s what we are looking forward to for this edition.”

The TR Consumer Forum 2022, organised by TRBusiness and m1nd-set, taking place at the Parklane, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Limassol from 4-6 September, 2022. To find out more, visit the dedicated event website at travelretailconsumerforum.com