 |
Ricola’s best-sellers are offered to duty free retailers at TFWA World Exhibition |
SWITZERLAND. Swiss confectionery company Ricola, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, is spearheading its further duty free expansion via a new distribution agreement with Valora.
The new co-operation with the Valora Group will start shortly in the Northern European region, and negotiations are ongoing with several other companies active in the duty free sector.
Ricola, which is a leading brand of sugar confectionery in many countries, is not new to the duty free channel, having achieved a steadily growing presence for the last 15 years.
Well-known distributors such as Gebr Heinemann, Weitnauer and Nuance-Watson (Hong Kong) have been selling the brand in selected airports in Europe as well as duty free areas such as Livigno, Samnaun and Andorra.
Explained the company: “Given the success Ricola has had in the last few years despite a relatively small geographical coverage and a limited range of products, we decided to give much more focus on this fast-growing part of the business, using it as the “˜Window to the World’. Consequently, we developed effective business and marketing strategies, further partners were found and new, attractive Swiss herb speciality products were created meeting specific duty free needs.”
Product-wise, Ricola is continuing to produce multi-packs containing the same or similar products as the best-sellers in domestic markets. These packs, sold as trio-packs (3 x 45g) or four-packs (4 x 25g) are specifically prepared for the duty free channel, aiming to satisfy consumer needs for self-consumption. The trio-pack is Ricola’s worldwide best-seller in the duty free channel.
Further capitalising on the consumers’ wishes to purchase a confectionery gift, Ricola has developed a range of attractive speciality packs, positioned as “the healthy alternative for the demanding consumer” thanks to the sugar confectionery’s contents of herbs, grown in the Swiss mountains.
Ricola has created the following gift packs exclusively for the duty free channel:
– Ricola Gift Bag, 200g: This pack contains a variety of three flavours of sugar-free wrapped candies (Original Herb, Lemon-Mint and Eucalyptus). Containing a mixture of popular flavours, it is targeted at the gift market.
– Ricola Gift Box, 100g: Similar to the 200g bag, the pack also contains a mixture of three flavours of sugar-free candies (Alpine Fresh, Lemon-Mint, Elderflower), each individually wrapped in flow packs. As a special feature, the box, when opened, transforms itself into an attractive presentation tray from which guests can easily choose their favourite flavour.
– Ricola Gift Tin, 150g: This high-value metal box was specially designed to contain Ricola’s core product, the traditional Original Herb Candy. Both the packaging and product are of very high standards and are aimed at the gift-giving market. Once the Swiss Herb Candies are finished, the attractive box can be re-used.
All the above new products will be presented through Valora at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes later this month (Stand: Yellow Village G59) and are ready for launch.
About Ricola
Ricola is a family-run, Swiss company with a long tradition, founded in 1930 by Emil Richterich. Headquartered in Laufen, near Basel, with subsidiaries in Asia and the US, Ricola is run by the third generation of the family, Felix Richterich, the Chairman of the Board. Since 2004, Chief Executive Officer Adrian Kohler has been responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations.
The name Ricola derives from the first two letters of each word in the original company name: Richterich & Co., Laufen. The company is now a leading brand in sugar confectionery in many markets and is renowned for its herbal products containing herbs grown in the Swiss Alps.
For details, contact Christine Mazenauer, Export Manager, tel: +41 61 765 41 57 or email cmazenauer@ricola.ch Visit www.ricola.ch
