Introduction: Drawing on insights from The Trinity Forum 2026, Mondelez World Travel Retail Vice President & Managing Director Joost Rosmuller argues that true partnership – built on shared ambition and accountability – is the engine of travel retail’s next wave of growth.
In this opinion piece, he calls for a shift from price-led competition to value creation, positioning co-creation across the ecosystem as key to transforming the channel.
The Trinity Forum consistently challenges our industry to pause, reflect and realign. This year, discussions on innovation, collaboration and passenger centricity revealed a fundamental reality: traveller expectations are evolving much faster than the structures designed to serve them.
Today’s travellers arrive informed, connected and discerning; they compare before they commit and expect airport retail to earn their attention with genuinely differentiated offerings.
Meeting these expectations requires a pivotal shift: from a transactional mindset to a holistic definition of value. Price remains a factor, but I believe true value is now shaped by a richer set of levers – quality, relevance, reward and ease, complemented by compelling experience, engagement, exclusivity and clear differentiation from domestic retail.
When these elements converge, we create offers truly worth the stop, the spend and the memory, moving decisively from competing on cost to competing on value.
I’m convinced that partnership is the engine driving this transformation. True partnership, I’ve learned, goes beyond co-existence; it is co-creation, demanding shared ambition, investment and accountability.
When airports, retailers and brands unify their insights, capabilities and creativity, we unlock opportunities none of us can achieve alone – transforming isolated touchpoints into an elevated, seamless traveller journey.
Our Toblerone Pink Crush activation with Qatar Duty Free powerfully exemplifies this potential. Designed around passenger flow rather than fixed spaces, it integrated digital touchpoints and personal interactions, extending the experience beyond the store.
This activation, I’m proud to say, demonstrated how insight-led design, bold creativity and joint investment can elevate a brand, an entire category and the traveller journey itself. It also taught us something essential: when we build together, we grow together.
I believe the opportunity ahead is immense. More than half of non-buyers are still convertible, and existing buyers are open to expanding their baskets.
Unlocking this potential requires a collective commitment to “growing the pie” – not by pushing individual levers harder, but by elevating value, experience and differentiation across the entire ecosystem.
The openness I witnessed at The Trinity Forum signalled a shared recognition that our channel stands at a pivotal moment. The next wave of growth, I am convinced, will come from working differently, not simply harder.
The environments we curate become integral to travellers’ memorable journeys – a profound responsibility and a privilege. By embracing traveller centricity, investing collaboratively, and focusing on growing the entire pie, I believe we can redefine airport commerce.
The opportunity is shared, and so is the responsibility to shape what comes next. ✈
