Jordanian shisha specialist Mazaya is focusing on best-sellers at the inaugural Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo.
With a ‘Seduce Your Senses’ tagline, the Silver Partner (#Virtual Stand TO-S2) will highlight its top-selling flavours, which include Two Apples, Lemon & Mint, Gum with Cinnamon and Blueberry Exotica, and assorted pack sizes. Its mission during the online event is to tell its story and to underline the company’s strength in the shisha market.
Mazaya’s portfolio includes over 150 flavours of shisha molasses. The brand aims to cater to varying consumer preferences worldwide while its 250g, 500g and one kilo packs are sized to ensure that Mazaya does not miss any purchasing occasion.
Mazaya was launched in 2010 with a vision to pioneer the production and provision of high-end tobacco-molasses and innovative Shisha technology. Its mission is to develop the tobacco-molasses industry globally, through manufacturing, distributing and selling the “most exquisite” natural molasses, with the best flavours, made from premium ingredients using the latest technologies. Its core philosophy includes the belief that “experience and excellence create together the ideal ingredient to success”. |
“Mazaya is known for its flavours and we are ready to share them with new retailers who are considering listing shisha molasses in their tobacco category,” said Mazaya Global Duty Free Manager Rawan Elayyan.
“Mazaya has always been the leader within our category in travel retail. That’s one of the reasons we have participated in major events and exhibitions along with a strong brand presence translated in many marketing activities. As a brand, we are fully committed to the travel retail industry and we acknowledge its importance.”
Elayyan said the Virtual Travel Retail Expo concept “resonates well with Mazaya as we’re a young dynamic brand with a flair for innovation”.
She added: “The fact that we still get the chance to interact with buyers and operators in the midst of all restrictions is exactly what our industry needs to cope with the ‘new normal’.
“Mazaya is known to have an attractive in-store presence and on-ground experiential activities to engage with our customers and these factors have played a major role in reaching the position we currently have,” Elayyan added.
“The brand has set itself apart as a pioneer in travel retail. That will continue but with an inevitable shift because of COVID-19. That’s one of the reasons that we are participating in the Virtual Expo; it’s a new event and we want to be part of this contemporary initiative.”
Mazaya’s travel retail focus is currently the Middle East, the Gulf and Africa. “We want to continue exploring the potential that the greater Middle East region (MENA) and Africa have to offer,” Elayyan said. “We have already listed the brand in Casablanca and Marrakech airports and we are in discussion with a number of local airports where we feel passengers will be well receptive of Mazaya.”
Mazaya is eyeing expansion in border shops and in the cruise market. The brand secured its first listing in Nordic travel retail with Tallink last year and considers cruise and ferry business a key growth market.
Mazaya also acknowledges the importance of the growing shisha market in Europe.
Considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sales, Elayyan said the shisha category has maintained its strength in many domestic markets. Mazaya, she added, planned an “aggressive comeback” in travel retail.
“The industry has incurred tremendous losses due to the pandemic and, like all other players in travel retail, a lot of our plans for 2020 have been either cancelled, delayed or put on hold. However, our team is dynamic and is known to have a strong bias for action. For the time being our focus is to continuing expanding our portfolio and listings.”
Mazaya is conducting remote training sessions for brand ambassadors and, Elayyan said, disruptive in-store activations to encourage customer engagement are in the pipeline.
“The lockdown has given us all some time to look back and reflect on how businesses could be optimised; what can we do better and how we can better serve our customers who are becoming more and more price sensitive”
“We believe that in these difficult times shoppers will be looking for economical options, and this is why we will continue running attractive offers and promotions to speed up our recovery.”
Elayyan emphasised the need for stronger post COVID-19 retailer/brand ties. “Operators should be open to new listings which might help in pushing sales in the new travel retail era,” she said.
“The lockdown has given us all some time to look back and reflect on how businesses could be optimised; what we can do better and how we can better serve our customers who are becoming more and more price sensitive.
“Discussions between the brands and duty free operators should be more frequent in order to accelerate growth and to better understand the ‘new normal’ and its effect on travel and spending habits.”
Elayyan noted the pandemic’s effect on shisha smokers’ habits. “Shisha has been banned in coffee shops and restaurants in many countries as part of the COVID-19 precautionary measures. Consumption has shifted from out-of-home into in-home causing the HORECA channel sales to decline and the retail market sales to grow.
“However, it is still too early to judge if consumer habits have been shifted permanently or temporarily as movement restriction is still in place.”
“As brands, we need to up our game to cooperate with the ‘new normal’ and its consequences”
Elayyan is wary of the effect of ecommerce in travel retail. “In terms of purchasing habits, ecommerce has grown exponentially, but in the case of travel retail, we don’t really know how online shopping will affect the industry. In my opinion the essence of duty free shopping is the retail experience itself, which will be eliminated when shopping online.
“Despite this, many operators are enhancing and promoting their digital platforms in order to accommodate these new habits and provide a comfortable yet valuable shopping experience to travellers.
“As brands, we need to up our game to cooperate with the ‘new normal’ and its consequences,” she added.
Elayyan is confident of shisha and Mazaya’s future in travel retail. “Yes, shisha is trendy at the moment but it will outlive its ‘hip’ image. Mazaya provides flavours that typically can’t be found in any other brand. In addition to that, we believe our classical flavours, such as Two Apples and Lemon Mint, will never go out of date while flavours like Candy Drops, Blue Muffin and Mojito will play at important part in Mazaya’s future as they appeal to millennial customers.
“Therefore, by providing both classic and creative flavours, Mazaya will never go out of style.”
Mazaya, Elayyan added, is committed to meeting diverse consumer preferences. Two new flavours, Pan Masala and Pan Raas, target Asian consumers and will be distributed in the Gulf region which boasts a high number of travellers to and from the Indian subcontinent. Other flavours, such as Zaragata, Sarrada and Sweet Brown, have been developed for Mazaya’s business in the Americas.
Brand identity is an important part of Mazaya’s strategy in travel retail. “Package design and colours are very important in sending specific messages,” Elayyan said. “Colours can help in distinguishing one flavor from another, especially in markets where fruits images or flavour names are not allowed to be displayed on the pack.
“Actually, what Mazaya stands for is represented in and on our packs. We use very high-end food grade flavours in our molasses, which is one of our unique selling propositions and we proudly showcase that on our packs through the different fruits imagery.
“We also use premium French tobacco leaves. This is mentioned on our packs and is one of the key factors in gaining our competitive advantage.”
Elayyan said Mazaya took inspiration from special moments shared with family and friends. “That’s how our identity was born. Just look at our logo. Mazaya is shown as two human faces that bond with pure affection and are enjoying each other’s company.
“This is the Mazaya story we aim to share at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo.”
