Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) has revealed its updated strategy to build food into the most purchased category in travel retail.
Speaking at TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes last week, Marketing Manager Tamara Spada detailed NITR’s approach to the future, with a huge focus on sustainability for its key brands. She noted research indicating that food has the highest consumer appeal in travel retail yet remains “significantly underexploited”.
As reported, NITR promoted its ambitious vision to take food centre stage in travel retail with an impactful makeover of The Moodie Davitt Report home page in the lead-up to the Cannes event. Nestlé’s clear strategic target was outlined in a major Moodie Davitt Spotlight eZine edition last year.
Spada outlined NITR’s plans to unlock the potential of what she described as “one superfood category” which includes three pillars: confectionery, global food brands and local food, which can play a pivotal role in leveraging a Sense of Place within travel retail.
NITR is set to increase its focus on coffee products, including its Azero Americano range, which targets younger consumers. The Nescafé Gold Roastery Collection, which includes Light and Dark Roast, is key to NITR’s growth strategy, as is its Cup of Respect approach to ensure products are grown, made, packaged, and enjoyed respectfully.
“Coffee and wellbeing present key growth opportunities in travel retail,” Spada added. “We need to ensure that we tailor what we are bringing to our customers, with a focus on different flavours and ranges to meet varying consumer needs.” She also underscored the importance of “bringing coffee to life in store”.
Spada estimated wellbeing products, including vitamins, minerals, herbals and supplements, represent a “US$1.5 trillion opportunity” globally.
Confectionery, however, will continue to be NITR’s “beating heart”. Spada underlined the resilience of the confectionery category and its consistent growth compared to other sectors of the industry.
She introduced new flavour combinations for NITR’s KitKat brand and the return of the popular Chunky Peanut Butter. She also highlighted efforts to engage with customers across the entire travel journey and KitKat’s colourful Break into a World of Flavour campaign. KitKat aims to be carbon neutral by 2025.
NITR’s regeneration and sustainable packaging strategy includes recyclable paper packaging from Smarties and sourcing all chocolate via the Nestlé Cocoa Plan.
Smarties will launch Cool Creatures in March next year. The new line aims to spark imagination and encourage children to explore the sea through colour through digital elements, four construction toys, hexatubes, a playmat and eight pencils.
Spada noted that NITR’s After Eight is set to add a Gin & Tonic and Mint flavour to its line-up. Nestlé SWISS has a new “perfectly imperfect” Milk Chocolate Hazelnut flavour.
She also announced that Quality Street is moving to recyclable paper packaging for its twist-wrapped sweets. By replacing the double layer of foil and cellulose with a paper wrap, Quality Street will remove over two billion pieces of packaging material from the brand’s supply chain.
Nine of the 11 Quality Street sweets will move to paper-based packaging. The Orange Crunch and the Green Triangle will remain in their simple foil wrappers as, traditionally, they have not had cellulose wrappers. The transition to paper, which is now underway, will take several months to complete.
