Magic memories as Lindt & Sprüngli Travel Retail honours Dubai Duty Free with award to mark 25-year partnership

UAE. Lindt & Sprüngli Travel Retail General Manager Peter Zehnder has presented Dubai Duty Free Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Cidambi with a Special Recognition Award to celebrate 25 years of partnership between the two companies.

The award, which features an upscaled version of the confectionery brand’s Lindor ball, highlights the importance of Dubai Duty Free to the success of Lindt – claimed to be the number-one premium confectionery brand in travel retail.

Cidambi was also presented with four miniature models of the Burj Khalifa Tower, handmade with Swiss chocolate by the Lindt Maitre Chocolatiers.

Saluting the power of partnership: Lindt & Sprüngli Travel Retail General Manager Peter Zehnder (centre) presents Dubai Duty Free Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Cidambi (third from left) with the special award

Lindt said that the strong partnership has resulted in it being the number-one confectionery brand at Dubai Duty Free for over ten years. In December 2019, Lindt & Sprüngli Travel Retail and Dubai Duty Free sold 21,000 Lindor Tubes – one of the most popular products within the Lindt & Sprüngli Travel Retail range – breaking the previous record by over +40%.

Sales generated from confectionery and food products accounted for 6.5% (US$130.4 million) of Dubai Duty Free’s record sales of US$2.029 billion in 2019.

Lindt & Sprüngli Travel Retail said that it is dedicated to bringing the “magic” of the Lindt brand to life at key Middle East travel locations.

Bringing magic moments to Dubai Duty Free

Its efforts at Dubai Duty Free are supported by the expertise of Lindt Maitre Chocolatier Matthew Muller and a team of Lindt Brand Ambassadors.

Zehnder said; “We are proud to be celebrating our 25th anniversary with Dubai Duty Free. The Dubai Duty Free team are an excellent partner and a remarkable retailer who is committed to helping Lindt & Sprüngli Travel Retail achieve its mission of creating more magical moments for passengers in travel retail.

“Our collaboration with Dubai Duty Free has led to many impressive brand executions over the years. These range from the launch of our Lindt Diamond Edition to, most recently, our Lindt Dubai Edition including the Lindt Dubai Napolitains World Traveller Suitcase and 300g Gold tablet.

“We are strengthening this partnership in 2020 with the launch of our Lindt Lunar New Year gifting range with Dubai Duty Free, based around an extensive marketing campaign created in partnership with actress and Lindt China Brand Ambassador Xin Zhilei (瑞士莲中国区品牌代言人).”

Chinese actress and VIP Lindt Brand Ambassador Xin Zhilei features in a social media and digital campaign alongside Lindt Maitre Chocolatier Matthew Muller

Cidambi said; “We sold some 1,620 tonnes of chocolate last year, so there can be no doubt that this category plays an important role in Dubai Duty Free’s product mix. Lindt & Sprüngli is our preferred partner and a very important and popular brand for us in Dubai. We applaud Lindt & Sprüngli Travel Retail for its ongoing innovation in keeping the offer fresh, relevant and often exclusive. We very much value our close working relationship and are most grateful to receive this award.”

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