Dubai-based Chocodate – a key brand in the family-owned Notions Global group – is showcasing its latest travel retail-exclusive (TREX) range at the ongoing TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes (Stand N17, Mediterranean Village).
Since its launch in 1992, the brand has pioneered the chocolate-covered date, built around a concept of ‘indulgence made with naturally wholesome, regionally rooted ingredients’. Each piece combines a whole Arabian date, roasted almond and smooth chocolate, with flavours inspired by its place of origin.
Since then, the product has evolved into an established confectionery category, with Chocodate maintaining its original positioning and helping shape its development.
With global distribution making preferred brands increasingly accessible outside travel retail, the company said the industry must focus on a more compelling reason to engage travellers and drive conversion, adding that travel retail exclusives have a clear role to play.
The brand’s TREX packs feature illustrated landmarks, landscapes and other local elements that reflect the destination market.
The UAE edition, for example, features Chocodate’s signature purple against warm desert tones, bringing together the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab alongside palm trees, dunes and a camel caravan – references to the city where the brand originated.
The passport stamp-style ‘Travel Retail Exclusive’ seal distinguishes the packs from products available in domestic retail, offering a clear travel connection.
Driving category growth
Chocodate views destination editions as an opportunity to generate additional category sales, tapping souvenir and gifting demand from travellers who were not planning to buy chocolate but want something to take home.
Multi-pack gifting can increase basket value, while exclusivity sets the offer apart from domestic retail, the company said. TREX extends the approach, creating more reasons to buy within the same retail space.
Chocodate Creator and Chief Executive Officer Fawaz Masri said: “My vision was always for Chocodate to reach every corner of the world, and I’m proud to say we are more than halfway there. Travel retail is how we reach the rest of it.”
Cannes showcase
Chocodate is rolling out six TREX editions for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, Europe, Americas and Asia, forming the first wave of a flexible market-by-market strategy that features regional editions and country-specific packs where appropriate.
With the brand expanding into new markets and airport terminals, more destination-specific editions are in development. The range comes in a bolder, more contemporary identity for maximum shelf impact, while retaining the original product inside.
The offerings come in resealable pouches for individual consumption and premium gift boxes designed for gifting.
Chocodate Chief Business Development Officer Razan Masri said, “As the world has globalised, travellers can find most of their favourite brands wherever they are.
“We chose to go the other way and hyper-localise – a sense-of-place pack for every region, and in some cases for a single country. What a traveller buys on the way home should be particular to where they have been.
“That is what makes the journey more memorable, and it is what brings shoppers to the category who would otherwise have walked past it.”
Chocodate Chief Operating Officer Omar Masri added: “Localisation is difficult at scale. We are small enough to stay nimble and tailor a range market by market, which is one of the few real advantages of our size.
“TREX is where we put it to work. What’s inside stays true to the original, now with an improved ingredient profile guided by our Clean Label initiative.” ✈
