Mazaya – the premium shisha molasses brand – is gearing up for its participation at next month’s TFWA World Exhibition and emphasising the increasingly important role shisha can play in the tobacco category.
Mazaya will highlights its range of shisha flavours, glass shishas and other accessories onboard the BANG! motorboat during the Cannes event.
Mazaya Global Duty Free Manager Rawan Elayyan welcomed the return of the TFWA Exhibition. “This special event is eagerly anticipated by the travel retail community as it is very refreshing for brands and operators to meet in person and help revive the industry,” she said.
Considering the impact of COVID-19 on Mazaya’s business, Elayyan noted that sell-out levels have returned to pre-pandemic levels in most locations across the Middle East region, which is the brand’s main market.
“With the vaccination rolling out and more Middle Eastern countries easing up air travel restrictions, more and more people are eager to fly after a long wait,” she said. “Some of our travel retail markets are recovering at high speed, such as Egypt as an important tourist destination, Qatar an important aviation hub and Dubai gearing up to hosting the highly anticipated Expo [starting 1 October and running until April next year].
“One important factor that has accelerated our recovery is the dynamic approach we adopted from the start of the pandemic. We are keeping a close eye on changes happening in travel retail and succeeded in adapting quickly to what was happening around us.”
Elayyan noted that Mazaya has supported its retailers in liquidating extra stock that accumulated during lockdown and offered its partners attractive promotions to meet the reduced purchasing power of shoppers. The brand has also reduced in-store ‘touch-feel’ elements by putting activations on hold.
“We can confidently say that Mazaya is recouping the losses it incurred in 2020 and is showing steady sell-out growth,” she added.
Elayyan said the COVID pandemic has prompted changes in Mazaya’s short-term strategy in travel retail.
“We had to put several exciting projects on hold due to the ongoing complications from the pandemic, notably the state-of-the-art on-ground activations that Mazaya is known for in the industry. We had to take quick action and reshuffle our marketing budgets to ensure an aggressive comeback by prioritising multi-purchase promotions and price-offs.
“However, we are happy to say that some of our projects planned for H1 2021 actually saw the light, such as rolling out Mazaya premium glass shisha gift-with-purchase and revamping our visibility in certain strategic locations.”
Elayyan pointed out that Mazaya has maintained its standing as a premium shisha molasses brand and underlined the impact of its signature glass shisha, which is available in selected locations.
“Mazaya glass shishas stand out and are very recognisable,” she said. “Our shishas are easy to clean and do not hold flavours. They also have exceptional designs that keep changing from year to year so they never go out of trend, and they come in unique bags that make them easy to carry.
“We can proudly say that Mazaya glass shisha has become a collectible item in travel retail. The premium GWP strategy helped in introducing new shoppers to shisha molasses and contributed to growing the tobacco category overall, which was very much appreciated by operators especially during times of recovery.”
Elayyan outlined a Mazaya brand revamp at Cairo International Airport Terminals 2 and 3, in preparation for the expected influx of tourists in the second half of 2021. She noted a similar brand refresh is planned at Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport Arrivals and Departure, underlining Amman’s strategic location for the Jordanian brand.
A key focus for Mazaya over the coming months, and into 2022, will be the expansion of its 1kg pack portfolio across duty free shops. Trial flavours, according to Elayyan, stood out in terms of sales and yielded considerable category growth.
“At Mazaya, we are in constant talks with our partner retailers and operators to optimise our portfolio, and the detailed analysis we do for each store in terms of sales, stock situation and consumer behaviour is a key driver of our ongoing efforts to optimise the business.”
New brand listings include a collaboration with Lagardère Travel Retail in Saudi Arabia, which has Mazaya available at airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam airports.
“We are currently in talks with a number of local operators to expand our duty free presence in Saudi Arabia where the potential for shisha molasses is huge as shisha is already part of people’s culture and Mazaya enjoys a strong local presence.
Mazaya Global Duty Free Manager Rawan Elayyan featured in an interview with The Moodie Davitt Report earlier this year. Her comments on how the brand is exploring untapped potential in the Americas can be found here. |
“Other exciting locations for Mazaya are Casablanca and Marrakesh, both important tourist destinations and finally Antalya, which is growing in popularity as a tourism hub in the Middle East region.”
Elayyan added that Mazaya was “always on the lookout” for new locations.
At the TFWA Exhibition Mazaya will highlight the premium ingredients – including food-grade colours, single-origin French tobacco leaves, honey and high quality glycerine – used in the brand’s blends. French tobacco leaves have a high absorption quality that allows the flavour to last longer and are rated as the most premium in the industry.
Elayyan outlined measures which she considers need to be implemented within the travel retail channel to ensure a sustained post-COVID recovery.
“Shoppers should feel comfortable and safe inside the duty free store, as this will definitely impact their shopping experience. Applying social distancing and ongoing sanitisation are a top priority, in addition to disinfecting samples or any display items that shoppers would interact with,” she said.
According to Elayyan, brands and retailers must prioritise price-off and multi-purchase promotions over experiential on-ground activations “even though the latter would better enhance the shopper’s experience, especially that the time spent in-store has become less during the pandemic and most buyers tend to stick to tried-and-trusted brands”.
“The digital landscape has also a lot to offer in that aspect, giving shoppers the option to place their order online and only pick it up before heading to their gate would also reassure travellers who still don’t feel comfortable inside a retail space,” she said.
“While the industry is adapting to customer needs during the pandemic by applying the above measures, we believe that more efforts should be made to meet the reduced purchasing power of the shoppers and the ambiguity revolving around pax flow.”
Elayyan suggested that retailers and brands must remain “in constant communication to assess their margin and enhance their portfolio”.
“Everyone involved in the operations should understand that plans cannot be set and that flexibility is needed more than ever. Be that in adjusting forecast, keeping a safety stock to meet any unexpected surge in demand, counting for longer lead times in supply chain, and modifying cycle plans to optimise sales at any point in time.”
Considering the role digital will play in Mazaya’s communications to travellers, Elayyan said: “One very important trend is the digital revolution as the pandemic has definitely accelerated the brands’ adaptation to the digital landscape.
“In 2020, Mazaya was a silver exhibitor at the Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo and this year we participated at the Summit of the Americas – A Virtual Experience as we wanted the travel retail community to come together in those challenging times and celebrate our resilience and innovation.
“As the travel retail landscape changed drastically throughout the pandemic, it was very important for brands to learn to adapt quickly as it was very clear that plans cannot be set in stone.
“One example of capitalising on the digital landscape is to encourage duty free operators to launch their e-commerce websites. This way travellers who are not yet ready to spend time at the duty free shops can pre-order from the comfort of their homes and pick up their order before heading to their gates.”
Reflecting on the growing popularity of shisha smoking worldwide, Elayyan is adamant that shisha molasses can add significant value to the tobacco category.
“In the case of Mazaya, what sets us apart is our wide portfolio comprising over 150 flavours that meet the diverse consumer tastes and the superior quality of our ingredients as we thrive to offer smokers an unmatchable shisha smoking experience.”
Mazaya, she said, has, throughout its network, succeeded in growing the shopper’s basket size and proved to be an important revenue stream for duty free retailers and operators.
The brand’s portfolio strategically offers three pack sizes. The 250g pack targets those who are new to shisha smoking while the 500g offering is the selling unit at duty free shops as it comprises ten individual 50g packs. According to Elayyan, the 1,000g pack is a strong performer wherever it is listed “as it is a more economical option for the frequent smokers”.
“Today, shisha molasses has proved to be not only a mere addition to the tobacco category which is historically dominated by cigarettes, but an integral part of the category that would accelerate growth and hence recovery,” Elayyan concluded.
