Nestlé underlines drive to take food centre stage with Moodie Davitt makeover

Nestlé: A clear target to make food the top category in travel retail

Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) is promoting its ambitious vision to take food centre stage in travel retail with an impactful makeover of The Moodie Davitt Report home page this week. Nestlé is also bringing its food category mission to the upcoming TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes. (Beach 7) 

Nestlé has set a clear strategic target – to build food into the most-purchased category in travel retail – as outlined in a major Moodie Davitt Spotlight eZine edition last year.

As the world’s leading food company, Nestlé said it is best placed to champion this growth strategy. NITR General Manager Stewart Dryburgh commented, “During 2022 we have been engaging directly with our retail partners, who are embracing the opportunity to grow sales by thinking of food beyond confectionery.

“Food, including confectionery, is already the #1 driver of cross-category purchase and the second most purchased category. This gives us a very strong platform from which to build,” continued Dryburgh.

“In Cannes, we will be discussing these opportunities with our partners, including a focus on both coffee and the fast-emerging health and wellness segment – incredibly relevant yet extremely under-developed within our distribution channel.”

Click here to read the Nestlé Spotlight Series eZine

Crucially, that means not just focusing on the traditional and highly attractive confectionery category, but also exploiting the opportunities across the wider food sector, encompassing local foods alongside global brands not yet widely present in travel retail.

In the Spotlight eZine (and in the video on this page) Nestlé outlines the strategy to recruit new shoppers, to grow basket size and to drive industry recovery.

Nestlé’s VERSE growth model is the platform. Its pillars are Value, Engagement, Regeneration, Sense of Place and Execution. Each one has a vital role to play in ensuring the key target of ‘food in 50% of baskets’ is met by 2030, if not before.

“Each of these drivers is critical in achieving our goal and giving the consumer the best shopping experience,” Dryburgh explained. “Fast rising inflation and cost of living are of great concern, but we are confident that the combination of accessible price points and high consumer appeal means that the food category can be a key growth driver. In fact, it has been one of the most resilient categories during previous downturns.”

In Cannes, NITR will be unveiling investments across all pillars with products that create value and drive engagement across the shopping journey. The products will leverage tools from NITR’s digitally-connected shopper experiences and Sense of Place initiatives.

According to NITR, Cannes offers the perfect opportunity to showcase its regeneration and sustainable packaging strategy. This includes recyclable paper packaging from Smarties and sourcing all chocolate via the Nestlé Cocoa Plan.

This year, NITR is introducing the KitKat Vegan traveller pack and the Nestlé Income Accelerator plan to help farmers earn a living wage. Expo visitors can also discover NITR’s full travel retail product portfolio including novelties from KitKat Senses, Nestlé Swiss, After Eight and Quality Street.

Dryburgh added, “The whole team at Nestlé are delighted to be back in Cannes. We know there are still major challenges facing the industry, but we also know that there is a strong consumer desire to travel. This year we have experienced increases in footfall in Europe, the Middle East, and North America, while it’s also good to see most of Asia now starting to open up. We’re looking forward to a very busy and productive week in Cannes as we continue our mission to make food the most purchased category in travel retail.”

Food & Beverage The Magazine eZine