Introduction: Confectionery plays a starring role in travel retail, combining impulse and gifting appeal with the opportunity to deliver a memorable passenger experience. In this exclusive interview with The Moodie Davitt Report, ARI Global Buying Manager Food, Confectionery & Souvenirs Deirdre O’Carroll highlights how regional favourites, exclusives and high-profile partnerships are shaping the category across the retailer’s global estate.
How does ARI use confectionery to create retail theatre and enhance the in-store experience for travellers?
Deirdre O’Carroll: In confectionery, high-visibility promotions really help us to capture attention and drive impulse purchases. Often, they can be tied to seasonal moments or trending themes, but they’re always strategically placed to maximise footfall and engagement.
When we are developing campaigns, we take a holistic approach to see how we can best engage with passengers across all touchpoints of their journey. This includes working with our airport partners to activate campaigns digitally across the wider estate.
In September, we partnered with Nerds on an exciting airport-wide campaign as part of their NFL partnership and the upcoming NFL games in Dublin. We welcomed the Nerds mascot to Dublin for special activations both airside in our stores and landside in arrivals, helping to bring the category to life across multiple touchpoints on the passenger journey. This included high-profile promotions, sampling and more.
We work closely with brand partners to develop creative and eye-catching merchandising units that bring the category to life. Personalisation and localisation are essential. A nice example of this is the Lisbon-themed Mentos Chupa Chups unit at Lisbon Duty Free – which not only drives sales and engagement but also provides photo opportunities and ‘Instagrammable’ moments for passengers.
Redevelopment work will begin later this year in Dublin Airport Terminal 1 which will see the retail space completely reimagined. This will help improve visibility for the category and allow us to create more engaging experiences in confectionery.
The confectionery category is an important component in delivering sense of place, and we dedicate space in our stores to champion local products and brands. For example, Maple ranges are our bestsellers across our Canadian operations; Kypriaka in Cyprus Duty Free is a go-to for every passenger travelling through Larnaca Airport to take a taste or token of Cyprus with them; and the Sabores de Portugal concept across our Portugal Duty Free stores bring the spirit of ‘Portugalidade’ to life.
What role do regional favourites play in driving engagement and sales across different locations?
Regional favourites play a pivotal role in driving engagement and sales across our locations by anchoring our offer with a strong sense of place.
They resonate with both locals and visitors – locals who want to support local brands, tourists who want to take a trip souvenir home with them.
In fact, in most of our locations, regional favourites represent well over half of our total food & confectionery sales, highlighting just how important they are commercially.
We have some great examples across the business, such as Galerie au Chocolat in our Canadian operations; Butlers, Lily O’Brien’s and Lir in Dublin and Cork Airport Duty Free; Maria Chocolate across Portugal Duty Free stores; and Yolanda’s Chocolatier in Cyprus Duty Free. These are all locally made brands that not only perform strongly but help deliver an authentic sense of place experience.
How important are travel retail-exclusive offers in your confectionery strategy?
Travel retail exclusives are a key pillar of our confectionery strategy and help us to create a point of difference from downtown retail.
In this channel, it’s important to create a sense of discovery and excitement, where passengers can shop products or brands that they can’t find anywhere else.
Exclusives help enhance value perception as well as drive impulse purchases and repeat engagement.
Can you share a recent example of an activation or campaign that delivered strong results?
A recent activation that delivered exceptionally strong results was with our partner Lindt to capitalise on the growing Dubai Chocolate trend. We recognised the momentum behind the product and worked collaboratively to introduce it across all our locations. This included bringing in additional units and allocating extra space to make it stand out in-store.
This innovation drove incremental sales and showcased how we can leverage global trends together with our brand partners to enhance the category.
How are you working with brand partners to bring more sustainable offers to the category?
As part of our ESG commitments, we have several ambitious KPIs to achieve for our overall business. In confectionery, these targets primarily fall under our Product pillar, ranging from sustainable cocoa sourcing to palm-oil-free products and recyclable packaging.
Increasingly, passengers expect to see more sustainable solutions from brands and retailers, and we work closely with our brand partners to help make the category more sustainably led. It’s important that we communicate these sustainable attributes to our customers to help them make informed, conscious purchases.
How is ARI using digital engagement to connect with confectionery shoppers before, during and after their journey?
Social media is key to engaging with passengers pre- and post-travel. We find Instagram and TikTok especially important for product discovery and brand engagement, and confectionery is a key part of our content strategy.
It’s about highlighting uses and occasions to shop the category – be that new and trending products, gifting options or even recipe content. For example, the team produced a Dubai Chocolate recipe video earlier this year which delivered over 50,000 views across Instagram and TikTok. It’s about making the category relevant and creating compelling reasons to purchase.
Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation and growth in the category?
The biggest opportunities for innovation and growth in confectionery lie in capitalising on emerging trends and leveraging high-profile brand partnerships.
It’s essential to have a finger on the pulse of what’s resonating with consumers – whether that’s pop culture, sporting events or lifestyle. We can then create more relevant, exciting and impactful actions that drive engagement and sales.
We’re already seeing strong potential in collaborations such as the Nerds partnership with the NFL games in Dublin and we’re looking forward to Nestle’s collaboration with Formula 1.
These kinds of partnerships allow us to tap into global fanbases and bring energy and exclusivity to our offer. Working closely with brand partners to activate these moments across our global estate will be key to unlocking future growth. ✈
This interview first appeared on page 7 of our October Category Insight – Confectionery supplement.
