INTERNATIONAL. Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) is concluding its week-long partnership with The Moodie Davitt Report exploring the key drivers that can make confectionery a US$10 billion travel retail category.
The ’10 in 10’ pledge is a commitment by the confectioner to help double total travel retail confectionery sales to US$10 billion in the next decade, in partnership with retailers, airports and other brand owners. This came after Nestlé undertook a major research project and established new drivers for growing the category.
Extensive global consumer research by Nestlé along with partner m1nd-set has identified three core consumer need states: Elevated Experiences, Deeper Connections and Better for You. Each is segmented into category growth drivers.
The NITR vision is to focus on consumer-centric, future-focused opportunities that will drive incremental growth in the category over the coming years. Nestlé has said these drivers will need to be activated with SOUL (stories, occasions, unique products and local atmosphere).
Year-round gifting is designed to capitalise on the ritual of giving chocolates, biscuits or sweets to either impress or as a small token of appreciation after a trip.
It is about driving frequency and/or premiumisation by making confectionery more relevant for more gifting occasions.
For this, Nestlé has said customers are often looking for authentic products that tell a story. It said there is an increasing number of travellers for which gifting expensive products back home is culturally binding, and that consumers seek products that are not available in their local market. Other trends include more people travelling across age groups and social classes, with shorter duration of trips, which restricts time to seek out gifts.
The unmet consumer demand, said NITR, is to deliver an appropriate message, impress someone or to show appreciation.
Solutions can include more products that differentiate from those available in domestic and other duty free, highlighted through bespoke POS; ‘pairing’ assortments and brand collaborations for secondary consumption occasions and till packaging and wrapping that enhances the giver and receiver sharing moments. The aim is to also drive core gifting solutions by occasion-driven missions, from saying thank you to happy birthday to I love you.
Celebrate the seasons is about enhancing seasonal moments with products to gift or bond with friends, family or partners.
It is about making deeper connections through confectionery purchase, by finding solutions that leverage global celebrations and exploit local market opportunities in different places.
Here, strategic initiatives include offering relevant product for the seasonal gifting mission and adapting it with sleeving or other relevant solutions for customers.
This should “assess and exploit where possible, local market seasonal offer and support with the appropriate in-store communication with the lowest degree of complexity,” said Nestlé ITR.
Share & connect is designed to increase the frequency of confectionery purchases by ensuring that products are relevant for the casual sharing of social moments.
This is designed to capitalise on research in the Future of Food Trends Report suggesting consumers are increasingly using food as a means of strengthening social connections.
Nestlé has said customers are looking for sharing sizes, pouches and pop-open boxes that are both visually-appealing and indulgent to satisfy this demand.
The confectionery company has said current barriers for this trend that it is aiming to overcome include formats that are not easy to share and polarising flavours.
Meanwhile, the uplifting breaks driver is designed for people that want to improve their mood and lift their spirits through food experiences while on the journey.
The experience & indulgence driver aims to both make a confectionery purchase a special occasion and drive increased value through higher quality indulgences.
Based on research that suggests millennials are willing to spend on luxury experiences, confectionery companies can enhance the purchase experience in travel retail with unusual in-store events or flavour combinations, Nestlé says.
Furthermore, m1nd-set says 13% of confectionery purchases are done because the product is suitable for indulgence. As a result, consumers in an airport are looking to treat themselves to something more indulgent and luxurious than they might enjoy day to day.
Possible barriers preventing this driver include consumers feeling guilty about over-indulging or the products not representing good value.
The give me a boost driver also comes under the Elevated Experiences core consumer need state.
This driver is designed to capitalise on consumers that need to be energised in travel and need a confectionery treat to do that.
The travel souvenir driver is designed for consumers that want to share experiences from their trip with friends and family.
Nestlé cites research showing confectionery is a category well placed to capitalise on local-touch seekers. The confectionery company adds that having local products or special editions that celebrate the airport’s city can help operators create a strong Sense of Place.
To capitalise on this, confectionery companies need to make sure they offer much more than a generic brand proposition in-store, Nestlé adds.
Happy kids, happy parents is a driver designed to create more frequency by offering more treating moments for children. Nestlé says parents are looking for ‘win/win’ solutions, where they can be confident kids will enjoy treats but are not being over-indulged.
Furthermore, according to m1nd-set, passengers travelling with children are more likely to visit the duty free shop, visit more categories and make a purchase.
Nestlé’s solution to capitalise on this driver to offer an easily-portioned, allergen-free treat that balances health with fun and taste.
Similarly, the healthy snacks, better treats driver is designed for passengers that want to look after either their own or their kids’ wellbeing. This is based on research that suggests healthy sustenance now accounts for 14% of snacking value and that 55% of travel retail confectionery shoppers want healthier snacking options.
Nestlé says this driver will involve increasing the offer of products that have nothing artificial and carry entirely natural ingredients.
The tenth and final driver, perfect condition, sums up the requirement for high quality in the end product and packaging that consumers desire.
A special Spotlight eZine bringing together the elements of the 10 in 10 pledge will appear soon.
