Unilever International Travel Retail will exhibit at this month’s TFWA Asia Pacific show in Singapore for the first time (stand: H22). The company’s key focus will be the hair care brand Toni & Guy.
“Unilever is one of the largest FMCG players in the world; many of our brands belong to the mass and masstige segment,” noted Unilever International VP Umesh Shah. “We think that our products are becoming more relevant in travel retail with the increasing number of travellers and change in traveller profile.”
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Toni & Guy has created a selection of travel retail exclusive sets |
He added: “Recently we have acquired some prestige brands which have big potential in travel retail. We have therefore started focusing on the channel. In the past six months, we have made significant progress with the entry of Pond’s in select airports and airlines.”
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The brand’s Dry Shampoo (above right) has been earmarked as a hero product for travel retail | |
Interestingly, Unilever will be showcasing the hair care category generally – and its Toni & Guy brand specifically – at Singapore. “We will focus on bringing hair care brand Toni & Guy to life in travel retail,” Shah confirmed. “It is one of the leading professional salon brands in the UK. Born and bred in Britain, with years of experience working with iconic British designers at London Fashion Shows, our collection of hair care and styling products is infused with backstage know-how, to help consumers express their personal style.”
Shah is confident that many products in the portfolio, such as dry shampoo, are ideal for travellers. “Toni & Guy has an excellent range of hair care and styling products for the global consumer,” he underlined. “[Historically] the focus of the P&C section has been on skin care, colour cosmetics and fragrance. But hair is an essential part of overall personal style”¦hence we would like to bring in one of our best hair brands to the travel retail channel.”
“We believe that there is a big gap in the current offering of professional hair care and styling products in travel retail. We believe that hair and styling products, if activated well, can be a big opportunity at airports. We are introducing a whole new category to travel retail.“ |
Umesh Shah Unilever International VP |
Unilever has formed a separate business unit called Unilever International to drive the presence and growth of certain brands within the travel retail arena. “This shows our long-term commitment to the channel,” Shah explained. “We already have a large range of products which are relevant to travel retail, and we will soon have new exciting prestige brands and ranges which will further strengthen our portfolio.
“Our plan is to reach all travel retail channels: airports, airlines, downtown duty free and border shops, ports and cruise lines. We are committed to bring all relevant brands from our foods and personal care portfolio.”
Unilever has created the Toni & Guy Hair Meet Wardrobe concept (www.hairmeetwardrobe.com) to help consumers match their hair style to their clothes and overall look.
“Toni & Guy Hair Meet Wardrobe brings hair fashion trends from backstage [at fashion shows] to the streets, translating top-to-toe catwalk looks onto the high street with four product collections: Glamour, Casual, Classic and Creative,” Shah explained. “Armed with these four hair fashion styling ranges, Toni & Guy Hair Meet Wardrobe empowers everyone to rock the latest looks – their way.
“We believe that there is a big gap in the current offering of professional hair care and styling products in travel retail,” Shah continued. “We are the world leader in hair care and have an outstanding range of relevant products. We believe that hair and styling products, if activated well, can be a big opportunity at airports. We are introducing a whole new category to travel retail.”
In short, Unilever International Travel Retail has ambitious, global expansion plans – and everyone, male and female, is a potential customer.
But the company is committed to growing its presence responsibly. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) is the group’s strategic response to various challenges facing the world.
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Toni & Guy’s Glamour and Men’s Styling travel retail exclusive sets |
“Our vision is to double the size of the business whilst reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact,” Shah explained. “It has three big goals to achieve by 2020 – to improve health and well-being; reduce environmental impact and source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably; and enhance the livelihoods of people across our value chain.
“In order to realise sustainable growth, we are integrating sustainability into our strategy, brands and innovation. We are working with our customers and suppliers, engaging employees and forging new partnerships.”
In 2012 the Unilever Foundation was established; its mission to improve the quality of life for communities through the provision of hygiene sanitation, access to clean drinking water and basic nutrition, and by enhancing self esteem. Working with five partners – Oxfam, PSI (Population Services International), Save the Children, UNICEF and World Food Programme (WFP) – the Foundation is developing programmes designed to grow the business and support the USLP’s goal to help more than one billion people take action to improve their health and well-being.
“One example of reducing our environmental footprint is the introduction of dry shampoo to our hair brands,” Shah confirmed. “These allow women to refresh hair between washes, saving time and extending their style. They may also encourage people to wash their hair with hot water less often.
“We have rolled out dry shampoos to ten countries under nine brands, and now we are launching them in global travel retail.”
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