Interview: How Mondelez, Heathrow and Avolta reimagined a British summer classic for travel retail

Introduction: To mark Heathrow Airport’s 80th anniversary, Mondelez World Travel Retail, Heathrow Airport and Avolta have partnered for the limited-edition Toblerone Eton Mess available exclusively at the UK hub.

In this roundtable Q&A with The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan, Mondelez World Travel Retail Vice President & Managing Director Joost Rosmuller, Heathrow Retail Director Fraser Brown and Avolta Retail Operations Director UK & Ireland Peter Cunningham discuss the inspiration behind the collaboration, how the activation brings Destination: Value to life, the role of Trinity partnerships in creating exclusive traveller experiences, and why food gifting and confectionery continue to evolve beyond transactional purchases towards more experiential, value-driven propositions.

The Moodie Davitt Report: How did the idea for a limited-edition Toblerone Eton Mess bar to celebrate Heathrow’s 80th anniversary first come about?

Joost Rosmuller: It started in Cannes, when we were discussing our ability to create very limited runs and what we could do with Heathrow. That was when the spark came from Heathrow to create something specifically for its 80th anniversary.

Fraser Brown: We wanted something that was quintessentially British and what’s more British than an Eton Mess?

The Mondelez team kindly invited us back about a month ago to see some of the bars being made. We had the opportunity to visit the production line and meet the team.

The biscuit, meringue, strawberry and raspberry ingredients are added by hand before being poured into the moulds, shaken at 87Hz, chilled for around 45 minutes to an hour and then wrapped. It’s a global brand, but it’s also a handcrafted, very limited-edition product.

What role do retail theatre, storytelling and exclusivity play in making activations like this successful from a retailer perspective?

Peter Cunningham: One of the most important things for us is to delight travellers and create a genuine experience throughout the customer journey. You can only achieve that through true Trinity partnership between the retailer, the brand and the airport.

The challenge was how to celebrate Heathrow’s 80th birthday. Heathrow is an iconic brand in itself and, together with Toblerone’s innovative approach, we’ve been able to create a stage within the terminal to bring that to life.

Travellers see Toblerone all over the world, but this particular edition is only available here. The fact that Eton Mess originates from Eton College also gives it a distinctly British story. Whether travellers have visited Windsor, attended Ascot or simply enjoyed an Eton Mess dessert, it’s something that resonates with a British summer experience.

We’ve brought that together in a personalised, limited-edition chocolate product with a compelling story behind it.

That’s where the value comes from. Value for money is important, but so are originality and exclusivity. Together, we’ve been able to offer customers something genuinely unique.

This morning I was lucky enough to sell one with personalised packaging. When I explained the story behind it, the customer was delighted because she knew she was buying a gift that was truly special. That’s exactly what it’s all about for us.

Each one of you has highlighted the importance of value across the Trinity. How does this specific activation demonstrate value beyond price?

Fraser Brown: That’s a really important point and one that speaks to the strength of the Trinity partnership between the retailer, the brand and the airport.

When we talk about value in travel retail, value can sometimes mean price. If a product is widely available elsewhere, then delivering value through price becomes important. That’s not the case here.

What we’re delivering is value through experience and exclusivity.

We’ve seen that before with Mondelez and Cadbury in this terminal. We introduced personalised laser-engraved Cadbury bars, which were more expensive than the standard equivalent. Rather than complaints, demand exceeded expectations. We learned from that experience.

One of the decisions we made with this activation was to produce 4,000 units rather than 2,000 and limit availability to 65 bars per day. We don’t want to diminish the excitement around the product. The goal is not only to create excitement for this particular item, but also for Toblerone, confectionery, duty free and ultimately the entire terminal experience.

If you think about it as concentric circles, we start with a single product, then expand out to Toblerone, confectionery, duty free and the departure lounge as a whole. It’s about creating something interesting and exciting.

Heathrow’s four pillars are: Digital, Experience, Space and Offer. Here we have a fantastic offer in a uniquely British product, handcrafted by Mondelez colleagues.

We’ve chosen a very specific space too. Terminal 3 has particularly strong confectionery demographics, so we deliberately activated here even though the product is available in other terminals.

We’re creating theatre and experience around the product, and from a digital perspective Heathrow, Avolta and Mondelez will all be talking about it through our own channels.

For us as the airport operator, it fulfils those four pillars of Digital, Experience, Space and Offer. Ultimately, it’s about making every journey better.

Confectionery has increasingly evolved from a transactional category into a more experiential one. What does an activation like this mean for the future of the category at Heathrow?

Fraser Brown: I’d actually broaden the conversation beyond confectionery and talk about food gifting as a whole. The category has grown significantly since the pandemic. At Heathrow, we work with Avolta and a number of brand partners across food gifting.

We have hero British brands such as Cadbury and Walkers, alongside Toblerone. We also work with premium British names such as Fortnum & Mason and Harrods, both within duty free and through standalone stores.

Bringing it back to today’s activation, we’re offering a quintessentially British product and a high-quality product. That’s where value comes in.

Value doesn’t necessarily mean a lower price. It means customers can see something special, whether that’s exclusivity, unique packaging, personalisation or a compelling story.

Toblerone has a long and successful history of personalisation through its sleeves and gifting propositions. But this campaign delivers that, taste of place, experience and a really compelling story that’s already making an impact with travellers. When you bring all of those elements together, that’s what makes this activation so exciting.

Mondelez WTR’s growth strategy centres on Destination: Value. Which elements of that strategy are reflected in this campaign?

Joost Rosmuller: It starts with the product itself and everything that comes with it. There’s a strong connection to Britain, and even to London specifically. We’re heading into summer, into the tennis season – there are natural associations that fit this flavour profile perfectly.

We conducted consumer research and tested several British-inspired recipes. Eton Mess stood out clearly.

So it starts with a superior product, but it’s also about scarcity, exclusivity and limited runs. The Toblerone Guard, for example, appears regularly throughout the campaign. The idea is that he follows the traveller on their journey – starting from the Heathrow Express and moving through the airport. We know those touchpoints across the journey are incredibly important.

When people book travel, they’re focused on their trip and in anticipation of the journey. When they arrive in the airport, and once they’ve passed through security and know what gate to go to, they may be getting more relaxed and more open to engaging with experiences. It’s critical that every one of those moments across their journey contributes towards a purchase decision.

For example, here travellers might see the Toblerone Guard, take a photo and engage with the activation before they even reach the store. They stopped and are now in a mindset to engage and explore what’s around them. They may start browsing and see the Confectionery category, and so on.

So, it starts with the product, but together with Avolta and Heathrow we’ve designed the entire traveller journey around it – using each other’s media channels, platforms and physical spaces.

The really important point is that activations like this don’t just lift Toblerone – they lift the entire confectionery category, because they are tailored to the traveller’s journey. That’s what our Destination: Value vision is about: making the pie bigger by using the airport as a stage for experiences that drive traveller engagement and conversion.

Globally, only eight out of every 100 airport passengers purchase confectionery. That means 92 are still to be engaged. Moving from eight to nine out of 100 is already a massive uplift – and that’s exactly what we see from these activations. ✈