USA. Mars Wrigley International Travel Retail (MWITR) is set to return to the upcoming IAADFS Summit of the Americas to showcase new releases from key brands M&M’s and Maltesers.
The confectionery specialist will exhibit its latest products on the stand of its US distributor, Otis McAllister (Booth 201), on 14-17 April at Palm Beach County Convention Center, Florida.
MWITR will also focus on building on its ‘moment-led’ strategy, which reflects its intent to prioritise the needs of travelling consumers.
To engage travellers with the right offer in all key moments, the company will be featuring its expanded offer including Enjoy Travel Time Together, Give a Gift, Refresh, Energise and Indulge on the Go.
The MWITR team will also present the Transaction Zone, which highlights its efforts to convert more travellers into shoppers at the point of purchase. Already being launched in Europe, the branded queue-system and manned zones provide an enhanced cross-category portfolio that aims “to better fulfil traveller needs”.
Mars Wrigley International Travel Retail Sales Director Marcus Hudson said: “At MWITR we are committed to responding effectively to the evolving needs of travellers, ensuring that our products align seamlessly with their expectations and demands.
“Through these strategic initiatives, we are poised to strengthen our position and capture new opportunities in the dynamic Americas market.”
Hudson noted MWITR’s significant double-digit growth in the Americas. “Our growth strategy for the Americas involves a focused effort to accelerate our presence by enhancing our portfolio, tailoring our offer to fit the travellers’ needs and preferences.
“For the US market, our focus is to leverage Sense of Place in line with retailer’s strategies on gifting, while in Latin America in particular, we are targeting gifting and the expansion of our total offering.”
At the Summit, the company will highlight the launch of MyM&M’s, a refreshed offer from its bestselling candy brand M&M’s. Designed for gifting, this concept features M&M’s lentils exclusively printed for the North American market.
The company noted that the new product has had successful trials in airports in Chicago, Las Vegas, Newark and Boston as a rotating week-on-week item and will be rolled out to further locations, supported by tailored in-store promotional materials.
Hudson said: “We believe this product is ideal for the US market. It’s not only fun and an extra gift great for the customer. It also adds value to the retailer and the total confectionery category in general with its Sense of Place fit.”
Data from MWITR indicates that gifting continues to represent over 30% of sales in confectionery.
New additions to its product portfolio will be revealed for its consumers in Latin America. These are Global Traveller Passports from M&M’s and another key brand, Maltesers, with gift boxes containing six to eight single bags personalised with a ‘To: From:’ label.
For the same market, MWITR is encouraging consumers to have a ‘bring fun’ moment with its M&M’s Crispy & Peanut lines. The M&M Minis are meanwhile designed for sharing and for travellers to ‘enjoy time together’. The 310g pack contains milk chocolate lentils with an extra crunchy crust in different colours.
Hudson emphasised that almost 500 million travellers buy products in travel retail every year. He said: “This means there are 500 million opportunities to drive incremental purchases at the checkout areas. By sharing our knowledge on optimising the transaction zone with our partners in the Americas, we can help them bring these solutions to life in airports and other travel retail-related locations.”
Aside from its long-time partner Otis McAllister, MWITR will also be joined at the Summit by Lymarie Prudencio, the company’s Customer Development Leader for the Americas. ✈
