Nuwave will display a number of new products including Armor London Natura masks at TRMarketplace.

Nuwave Channel Partners has described the upcoming TRMarketplace digital forum as a ‘great opportunity’ to gain travel retail exposure and share the company’s innovations and ideas for 2021 and beyond.

The company, which joins Food Accademia and a growing number of exhibitors to sign up for a brand hub at TRMarketplace, sells a variety of products including electronic gadgets and safety items in travel retail. This is achieved through its in-house brands such as Bitmore, Armor London, Studio 19 London and Wavez.

Nuwave also has a fast-growing e-commerce arm, which has enabled the company to boost its omnichannel business in the coronavirus (Covid-19) era.

Having planned to exhibit for the first time at this year’s TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes which was cancelled due to the pandemic, Hoj Parmar, CEO and Founder, Nuwave Channel Partners, said the company was on ‘the crest of a wave’ with products listed on more than 50 airlines. Its brands were also expanding into ground retail, which meant exhibiting in Cannes was a logical step.

‘HUGELY IMPRESSIVE’ BUYER LIST

Parmar said: “Covid-19 put a stop to that that, so when the opportunity came about to be part of the TRMarketplace exhibition during the same time that the TFWA event was due to be staged — dates when the industry would have been sourcing new products anyway —we jumped at the chance.

“The list of influential industry buying teams that TRBusiness has signed up is hugely impressive and gives us a great opportunity to get our products in front of some of the most important people in the industry over a concentrated period.”

Although he believes physical events will eventually return, Parmar anticipates a positive future for events like TRMarketplace beyond Covid-19. He explained: “Face-to-face buying and networking events will always play an important part in the travel retail business, but shows like this will allow complete buying departments to attend that previously would have been unable to do so due to the high costs involved.

“These events can take some of the pressure off the one or two senior buyers who try to cover entire shows, potentially missing some great new product innovations or ideas due to time constraints. This way, when a whole department can attend, free of charge, this will surely ultimately result in a better product offering to their own customers in airline or airport retail.”

Like many businesses faced with revenue losses due to the virtual standstill of the travel industry, Nuwave Channel Partners has diversified its offering with new product lines for the Covid-19 era. These will be displayed at TRMarketplace, alongside some of its more established lines.

Examples include the Armor London Natura mask and the Bitmore Pura Portable Ultraviolet Wand (pictured above). This destroys 99.9% of germs, bacteria and viruses on almost any surface.

In recent months, Nuwave has introduced the new Armor London Safety F!rst Emergency Kit and new powered by eKO:sense range for its Bitmore travel retail tech accessories brand.

Parmar (pictured left) said: “Our design team has been working hard over the last five or six months on product development to ensure our offerings will be relevant to the new way we will all be travelling from here on in. These products will be exhibited at TRMarketplace alongside our core ranges and we will be unveiling some new product lines and ideas for the first time at the show.”

RESTORING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE

Expressing his views on how airlines and airports have strived to restore public confidence and laid the foundation for travel retail to thrive again, he commented: “I think they have done a fantastic job in communicating safety messages. We have seen the results with the strong surge in travel/holiday bookings, as more airports open up and with the accelerating number of ‘air corridors’ being agreed.

“We are nowhere near where we need to be in terms of air traffic, but the early signs appear positive. We take great encouragement from that.”

Against this backdrop, Parmar is confident and excited for the future of Nuwave. “We are part of such a dynamic industry. It’s hard not to be excited about the road ahead, however tough that may be.

“We are an agile business with a great team that can adapt very quickly, as we have shown in these recent difficult months. This adaptability is one of our key strengths and that will help us return to more prosperous times.”

Looking ahead to TRMarketplace, which has been endorsed by many suppliers and operators globally, Parmar concluded: “Events such as this are a lifeline for many companies like Nuwave. It will reconnect us with the travel retail industry and send a clear signal that we are ready for business, haven’t given up, are still innovating and that our sector will bounce back.”