“Our goal is to make Harison one of the leading exclusive premium confectionery brands in duty free & travel retail.” That’s how newly appointed Global Sales and Marketing Director Alan Brennan expresses the ambition of the fast-growing travel retail-exclusive brand, which entered the channel in 2015.
Part of the Sweet Garden Travel Retail portfolio, Harison is now present in strategic airport locations in the Middle East, South Asia and Asia Pacific, with a focus on increasing this footprint globally in 2018-20. Brennan joined in March, having previously been Global Head of Sales at Nestlé International Travel Retail, and brings to the role a long track record at the Swiss confectionery powerhouse.
He says that Harison has huge potential as an exclusive brand in the travel retail channel. It has doubled sales each year since its launch in 2015. According to Brennan, Q1 2018 sales have “maintained this vertical growth trend despite a challenging confectionery category, with overall low global single-digit growth”
He acknowledges that one of the key drivers to future growth is better understanding of shopper and consumer behaviour, with insight driving product innovation. This, he says, will a credible and sustainable differentiated proposition that appeals to the ever-changing shopper base and consumer landscape. He identifies five drivers behind the plan to make Harison a major player in the sector:
– Exclusivity
– Quality
– Innovation
– Affordability
– Accessibility
“At its heart, this is about presenting a premium chocolate experience at an affordable price,” says Brennan. “Premium confectionery is showing above-average category growth and is an opportunity. Confectionery as a whole needs to work harder to justify and cement its status in the business, at a time when other core categories are growing strongly. Historically Confectionery was one of the fastest growing categories in global travel retail, but regrettably this has not been the case in recent years. That needs to change.”
He adds: “This category was built on exclusivity of product but that proposition has been diluted somewhat as the gap between travel retail and domestic gift and sharing packs on mainstream brands has diminished. As a result in most stores today you see a lot of discounting that is not financially easy to sustain, but more importantly the proposition doesn’t resonate with the shopper as it once did.
“So for me ultimately confectionery has to raise its game but that has to be through product innovation that is led by shopper insight, not primarily driven by promotions, to deliver future growth.”
He adds: “Harison can help deliver incremental category growth for retailers. It can bring more people into the confectionery category and into the premium segment, encouraging them to trade up into the segment by adding something different.”
For retailers, of course, the proposition has to stack up commercially, and differentiation is a key to success. “We don’t have the local market recall that a global brand has across domestic and duty free, so it does require targeted sampling and an underscoring of the value proposition.
“It’s a good story of consistent growth already but we will have an investment package behind that, which features targeted sampling with an added value driven sustainable promotional strategy. That in turn means we require great visibility within the store. It’s new and challenges the retailer to step outside their comfort zone, and it is a nod to what we know shoppers want. It is exclusive, differentiated and offers value, at an entry level brand into the premium segment.”
New product development is firmly on the agenda. A new range of Swiss tablets has just come to market and will feature at the Singapore TFWA Asia Pacific show. “We will do more to reinforce the channel exclusive message on-pack in our designs, lifting visibility and appeal,” notes Brennan. “And we’ll have more innovation for Cannes around our Italian praline range, plus more to come in 2019 and beyond.”
As noted, Brennan brings 19 years of experience to the role, which he believes can help Harison take the next step forward.
“What appealed to me was the group’s ambition for the brand’s positioning. I can bring a global strategic view of how to get there, with a clear brand strategy, and deliver on that over the next three to five years. It’s not about gaining distribution solely, but about sustainable growth.”
And the growth figures show that the proposition is working, he says. “We aim to grow the footprint by closing off gaps in Middle East distribution, growing in Asia and putting in place development work in Europe this year and next.”
*Harison is exhibiting at the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition from 8-10 May at Basement 2 stand # D1.
