Introduction: In this opinion piece, Mondelez World Travel Retail (WTR) Director Category, Customer & Shopper Marketing Anna Somogyi reflects on how passenger insight is reshaping the future of travel retail. Drawing on learnings shared during Mondelez WTR’s Agora session at the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference in Singapore, she explores how brands can better understand evolving traveller behaviours, remove barriers to purchase and create more meaningful moments of engagement across the passenger journey. As the channel navigates changing consumer expectations and increasing competition for spend, Somogyi argues that insight-led innovation will be critical to driving conversion, relevance and long-term growth.
At the recent TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference, I had the opportunity to speak at the Agora, World of Innovation, to share how Mondelez WTR is leveraging passenger insights to create more relevant confectionery experiences. From convenience to scarcity, gifting and new taste experiences, I discussed the signals shaping how travellers discover confectionery today, and how brands can create moments that feel sharper and more meaningful in the channel.
The size of the prize is even greater in Asia Pacific
The reality is that travel retail is struggling to engage the modern consumer. Globally, the purchase rate in travel retail is 26% – compared to 29% in 2016 – with an average spend of US$130, compared to US$233 a decade ago. The Asia Pacific region is delivering better, with a 38% purchase rate in 2025 and an average spend of US$135, compared to 29% and US$251 in 2016.
Mondelez WTR asked non-buyers across 32 airports how open they were to buy; 5 out of 10 consumers said they would be happy to spend globally, while in Asia Pacific that figure is 6 out of 10. Travellers who are already in the store stated they would be happy to top up their basket with confectionery. Globally this figure is 7 out of 10, and in Asia Pacific it is 8 out of 10.
Engaging new consumers means delivering fresh, exciting products and activations which speak to shoppers well beyond price. That thinking shapes our Destination: Value growth vision which is backed by thousands of traveller interviews. The core premise is simple – once you understand the patterns behind how travellers make decisions, you can design for them.
Insight-driven innovation to boost penetration and spend
At the Agora session, I shared four insight-driven innovation inspirations, each driving different growth pillars in the Destination: Value industry vision.
- How do we boost consideration and planned purchases?
Half of Gen Z and Millennials are influenced by user-generated content; they trust their peers the most. Therefore, we need to understand what they would be excited to post about and what is the most likely innovation to trigger posts. Gen Z consumers are drawn to products and concepts that are fun, carefully designed, experiential and put a smile on their face. This mindset inspired us to create the very limited-edition Toblerone Pink Crush, launched exclusively with Qatar Duty Free last year. The release was supported by an airport-wide campaign which reached 12 million passengers and achieved over 6 million digital impressions – three times higher than expected.
- How do we drive footfall?
The number one barrier to purchasing in travel retail is passengers not wanting to carry heavy or big items, but they still seek the legendary travel icon. Therefore, smaller, more convenient versions of the category flagship product solve the purchase barrier. Our Toblerone 200g bar drives penetration when placed in the main, visible pathway.
- How do we boost volume and fulfil multiple occasions?
Sharing is a key occasion, and in Asia Pacific it is even more significant. Not everyone likes the same version of products, so we designed variety packs specifically for travellers, such as our Travel Collection Pouch featuring Cadbury, Toblerone, Milka and Oreo.
- How do we increase value?
Travellers seek channel exclusives and global confectionery consumers seek novelty textures with taste combination. Our expert team designed Toblerone Crispy Caramel, which delivers on the desired taste experience and remains true to the signature Toblerone quality. This innovation debuted only in travel retail.
These four examples of insight-driven innovation can inspire all stakeholders to put the traveller at the heart of their planning to design a relevant offer based on the traveller journey.
Reimagining duty free
Destination: Value represents our collective mission to turn traveller understanding into better ideas, better execution, and more meaningful growth for the entire industry. It’s about making travel retail famous and a channel worth shopping in.
For me, the blueprint is clear. Innovation starts with the heart: every brand needs to think about how they can generate value for passengers and how they can boost experiences. With the data available, we must use our minds to ensure everything we do is relevant for the occasion and turn current purchase barriers into opportunities. Lastly, partnerships are key to success. Mondelez WTR cannot reimagine duty free alone – it’s an industry-wide effort.
I invite us all to rethink what value means for today’s traveller and together we can boost industry growth with insight-led innovation. ✈
