In this guest column, Lindt & Sprüngli Head of Global Travel Retail Peter Zehnder addresses the vast opportunity represented by the Indian traveller.
As the world’s most populous country, India’s economic landscape has witnessed a remarkable transformation in recent decades, fuelled by the rapid growth of its middle class. With a burgeoning middle class that is estimated to surpass 500 million people – nearly half of the population – by 2025, India represents a vast and untapped market for many consumer goods, including chocolate.
As well as consumer goods, travel is also a major focus of expenditure. Over the next five to six years, according to m1nd-set, India will represent the fourth largest spender on travel globally. In recognition of this, many countries have implemented visa-free travel, or visa-on-arrival, for Indians, including a number of major destinations such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Other countries are also preparing to make it easier for Indians to visit. This is great news for the travel retail industry.
So, we have a country with a huge population that has growing spending power, increasingly looking to travel internationally. While there are some differences between this dynamic and the rise of the Chinese in travel retail, the similarities cannot be ignored. Indian travellers are clearly a demographic with a key role to play in our industry’s future.
Rising chocolate consumption
For Lindt, and the premium chocolate category, the opportunity is magnified by another trend among Indians – the rapidly growing consumption of chocolate. While traditionally consumed in moderation, chocolate has swiftly transitioned from being a luxury item to a staple treat for many Indians.
According to Euromonitor, sales of chocolate to Indians grew by around 40% between 2021 and 2023, making it by far the fastest growing snacking category. Even more encouragingly, in duty free & travel retail, the most purchased category by Indians is Chocolate & Confectionery with more than two-thirds of Indian shoppers (35%) purchasing the category, five points higher than the global average (m1nd-set).
Indians also favour good quality chocolate and are willing to spend accordingly. As the top purchasers of Lindt chocolate and one of the highest spending nationalities in confectionery, Indian travellers are a key target group for Lindt.
Lindt data, drawn from our POLARIS study of over 100,000 shopper interviews, backs up this sentiment. 87% of Indian travellers we interviewed, agreed with the phrase “I love chocolate, it’s part of my life”. Furthermore, highlighting the premiumisation opportunity, 90% said that they were prepared to spend more on good quality or premium chocolate.
Gifting to Indian travellers
To engage and recruit Indian shoppers, we have honed in on gifting – or Delight – as the most effective approach. Gift-giving holds a special place in Indian culture and is often seen as a gesture of respect, gratitude, and affection. It plays a significant role in various social, cultural, and religious occasions such as festivals, weddings, birthdays, and religious ceremonies. Our POLARIS study also showed that chocolate is viewed as a particularly appealing gift for kids.
Very much in line with our view of the overall gifting market in travel retail, catering to Indians who are purchasing for gifts is therefore a year-round opportunity, albeit with a few key celebrations which provide strong platforms for activation and engagement.
Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of the most significant celebrations in India, symbolising the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. It is a time of joy, togetherness and exchanging gifts as tokens of love and appreciation. Chocolate, with its universal appeal and associations with sweetness and indulgence, has emerged as a favoured gift choice during Diwali festivities.
Our recent Diwali campaign saw us extend ‘Gift of Bliss’ activations to eight airports in the Middle East & India, specifically focusing on engaging with Indian travellers in key travel retail locations. To simplify the gifting mechanism, activations spotlighted two of the most popular items within our travel retail portfolio: the 400g Milk and Assorted Lindor Tubes.
To further encourage gifting and trade up we created a special Trio Bag featuring three different Lindor flavoured tubes that were developed specifically for Diwali. Supported by clearly visible Diwali themed messaging, the activations drove strong double-digit growth.
Year-round, there are a few more key focus areas which we see as instrumental in unlocking this opportunity. A finding in m1nd-set’s recent study shows that store staff play a critical role, with around two thirds of Indian shoppers (65%) engaging with them on their last international trip, compared with less than half (45%) of other shoppers. The impact of these interactions is also high, with eight out of ten Indian shoppers claiming to be positively impacted.
Value proposition is also key. Middle classes are not by default luxury shoppers, and there is price-sensitivity amongst the majority of Indian shoppers. It’s therefore crucial to clearly communicate product quality alongside convincing value messages. Our Diwali activations made a strong multi-buy mechanic the centrepiece of the offer, and clearly resonated with shoppers.
Finding the sweet spot
All in all, Indian travellers represent a huge opportunity for the confectionery category and travel retail industry as a whole. As the number one nationality buying Lindt products, Indians are key to driving conversion in-store and adding confectionery to every basket.
However, to find the sweet spot with this nationality, brands and retailers must adopt a tailored approach to marketing campaigns and products that takes into consideration the preferences, and varied shopper behaviours among its travellers. Gifting could well be the key gateway to achieve this. With the right proposition, travel retail will soon reap the rewards of this burgeoning consumer group. ✈
