Mars Wrigley International Travel Retail (MWITR) has revealed its post-Covid-19 confectionery category recovery strategy. Speaking at TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, Mars Wrigley Corporate Affairs Director Roel Govers said the company’s key goal is to be the number one contributor in driving category growth in travel retail. He also underlined Mars Wrigley ITR’s ‘Sustainable in a Generation’ plan.
“We have the opportunity to have a positive impact on some of the complex social and ecological challenges that the planet is facing,” Govers said. He noted Mars Wrigley ITR’s determination to have all cocoa responsibly sourced and traceable by 2025, adding that the group invests US$100 million annually to ensure that its supply chain is more sustainable.
Mars Wrigley Sales Director International Travel Retail Raghav Rekhi said the company expects a phased recovery over the next two years, reaching 2019 sales levels by the end of 2023. Its overarching focus on conversion within travel retail, he said, remains key to accelerating that recovery.
Rekhi outlined a three-pillared strategy, focusing on the growth of sharing and gifting, creating fun and memorable experiences and accelerating impulse purchasing moments beyond checkout.
He pointed out that while penetration of travel retail shoppers “is still slightly challenged, but roughly in line with pre-Covid levels”, conversion is equal to pre-crisis levels. Travellers converted to buyers are spending more and growing the average basket value, Rekhi added.
As part of the company’s strategy to grow its sharing and gifting segment, MWITR announced plans to double down on core products, add value to the category and convert new travellers through new product development (NPD) innovations.
New SKUs for 2022 include two M&Ms tablets: Hazelnut and a limited-edition Cookies. Both, according to Rekhi, represent the company’s belief that there is clear space for growth in tablets in international travel retail.
Other limited-edition launches include a large size pouch for M&Ms Salted Caramel and a new Twix Salted Caramel bars pouch. Rekhi noted that caramel flavour variants have performed well across global markets and in consumer testing while limited editions add value to the category and drive incremental growth.
Gifting remains a growth focus for MWITR in 2022, with a new range in the pipeline as the company looks to premiumise its gifting offer.
Rekhi also touched on the company’s bold decision to simplify and reduce its line-up of products from 300 SKUs in 2017 to 60 and its aim to offer a “cleaner, simpler, more sustainable product display in stores. “We want less clutter to make it easier for travellers to shop,” he added.
Rekhi underscored the increasingly important role impulse points – both at checkout and beyond the point of purchase – play in the post-COVID retail environment.
MWITR, he said, intends to leverage its complete portfolio to trigger impulse needs and increase touchpoints in-store with cross-category impulse displays. Offering memorable brand experiences through fun and engagement, and providing immersive experiences, photo moments and personalisation, are key to the MWITR strategy.
“Mars is strongly committed to addressing significant environmental and social challenges facing our planet. Mirroring our commitment to driving category growth in travel retail is our pledge to being more responsible for our environment as well. We look forward to working with our customers and partners on how we are implementing our ‘Sustainable in a Generation Plan’,” Rekhi concluded.
Click on the video below for the MWITR overview.