NETHERLANDS. Perfetti Van Melle, one of the world’s largest confectionery groups, has reported fast progress in travel retail, partly spurred by its acquisition of the Spanish lollypop brand Chupa Chups last year.
Perfetti Van Melle Area Manager Marketing & Sales Justin Hazendonk told The Moodie Report that the company was growing very rapidly in travel retail with its global sugar confectionery brands Mentos and Chupa Chups, which are both sold in over 150 countries. In some European countries the company also offers locally-popular brands such as Fruittella and Meller.
One of the company’s latest developments is a so-called ‘fancy label’ – not a brand, but a product that is exclusive to duty free and travel retail, Hazendonk said. The 175g bags, featuring six different flavours of sugar confectionery, are sold at around €1.50.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
| The new ‘fancy-label’ Travel Retail Exclusive bags of sugar confectionery come in six flavours | ||
The low-priced product is aimed at impulse purchasers. Explaining the thinking behind the launch, Hazendonk said: “At the moment, a consumer who wants to buy something for him/herself, to consume directly but who doesn’t want to spend more than €2.00, is most of the time pushed towards the kiosks at the airports.
“This is a big loss for the travel retailer, who can easily fill this gap by presenting lower-priced items (with lower quantities) as a last-minute impulse buy. The mindset of duty free/travel retail has to change if retailers want to stay competitive to domestic markets.”
Hazendonk also believes that travel retail assortment should mirror in some way the assortment being sold in the domestic market high streets.
“This is where we see the gap and the opportunity for sugar confectionery to fit in the duty free/travel retail assortment,” he said.
“For many years the confectionery assortment was dominated by chocolates. In the last couple of years, with the audience in airports changing, there is a growing demand for lower-priced items. We’re not saying that premium/luxury items are not important, but we see that we can add value to the confectionery category with our sugar-based products.”
 |  | |
| Left: These new Mentos Gum Bottles are “booming” in travel retail, says Hazendonk. The chewing gum comes in a cylindrical presentation. Right: Specially designed Pop Art tins contain 16 Chupa Chups lollypops | ||
Some seven years after launching its products in travel retail, Perfetti Van Melle exhibited for the first time at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes last year.
“Since then, everything (and everybody) went crazy,” enthused Hazendonk. “The number of customers/distributors doubled and sales went through the roof as a lot of customers are seeing the opportunities that sugar confectionery can bring.”
Perfetti Van Melle has a global reach, but Hazendonk sees further opportunities in Africa, where the company is currently not doing any direct business.
Hazendonk works in the company’s small travel retail department handling Europe and the Americas, while his colleague Michiel Havermans covers the Asia Pacific and Middle East region.
 |
 |
The Chupa Chups Cool Friends Backpacks contain 16 lollypops |
THE PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
Perfetti Van Melle’s product range is exclusive to travel retail, with retail prices ranging from €1.50 to €12.50.
The Mentos assortment
Mentos Jumborolls: A popular product presented in a carton container in the shape of a large Mentos roll, which contains six single rolls.
Mini Mentos Pencilcase: The children’s product contains 16 mini rolls of Mentos in the flavours strawberry, lemon, orange and apple, in a see-through pencil case at a “very attractive” price point.
Mentos Mix the World tin: The tin contains eight different flavours of Mentos from all over the world, individually wrapped.
Mentos Gum Bottles: This new product is “booming at the moment”, said Hazendonk. Chewing gum in a round shape (as opposed to the regular rectangular pieces), in a new type of packaging that is described as solid and easy to use.
Chupa Chups assortment
Pop Art tins: The specially designed Pop Art tins contain 16 lollypops in the best-selling flavours.
Mini Wheel: Aimed at big lollypop eaters, the Mini Wheel contains 36 lollypops and is similar to the wheel used by trade buyers. The product is designed to take with you on holiday, so everyone can enjoy.
Megachup: The new item looks like a very big lollypop, but is actually a plastic dispenser with 15 lollypops inside.
Cool Friends Backpacks: The full-plush backpacks contain 16 lollypops.
In addition to the above exclusive items, Perfetti van Melle also offers a value pack of 16 lollypops and two toys, the flashpop and a school kit, which are also available on domestic markets.
Other products include a 700g Fruittella value bag; a Meller container comparable to the Mentos Jumboroll; and the new fancy-label Travel Retail Exclusive 175g value bags.
About Perfetti Van Melle
 |
Michiel Havermans (left) and Justin Hazendonk at Perfetti Van Melle’s TFWA Cannes 2006 stand |
Perfetti Van Melle is a privately-owned global company that manufactures and distributes sugar confectionery and chewing gum products in over 130 countries under famous brands Mentos, Alpenliebe, Frisk, Fruittella, Golia, Happydent and Vivident.
Perfetti Van Melle achieved net sales of over €1.4 billion for the year ending December 2005. Perfetti Van Melle employs 12,000 people and operates throughout the world with locations in Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas. The Perfetti Van Melle group has corporate headquarters in Lainate, Italy, and Breda, the Netherlands.
For details, contact Justin Hazendonk, Area Manager Marketing & Sales, Perfetti Van Melle Benelux BV, Zoete Inval 20, PO Box 3000, 4800 Da Breda, the Netherlands, tel: +31 76 527 58 77, fax: +31 76 527 54 40, e-mail justin.hazendonk@nl.pvmgrp.com Visit www.perfettivanmelle.com
