In this guest column, Mondelez World Travel Retail (WTR) Head of Customer Marketing Beatriz de Otto reflects on the power of partnerships to progress the sustainability agenda in the travel retail.
At the end of last year, Mondelez WTR Managing Director Jaya Singh reflected on how much we had adapted, overcome and worked together as a channel in the face of the pandemic. The crisis pushed us to collaborate more closely across the industry than ever before, achieving in many instances what we may have previously believed impossible. If we’ve learned anything from this challenging period, it’s that we truly are #StrongerTogether. At Mondelez WTR, we are applying these same lessons in our approach to one of the most important topics for our channel; sustainability.
In travel retail, we face a paradox. Sustainability is more important to our consumers than ever before, and shoppers expect us to take responsibility for our impact*, yet our channel has some very specific requirements and limitations. As with the pandemic, it is clear that the only way to drive progress in the face of such challenges is through deeper collaboration on our common objectives. Collaborating on sustainable practices for the good of the wider industry, people and planet is how we progress the sustainability agenda for travel retail, or ‘Travel Retail Made Right’.
As part of a broader sustainability roadmap for travel retail, at Mondelez WTR, we have identified a number of areas where we can leverage the power of our partnerships for the benefit of both people and planet.
Design Made Right
Travel retail is a channel with very specific in-store activation requirements, and with good reason. Earlier this year, after quantifying the impact our retail units and realising that there was no existing method of measurement, we started a dialogue around role modelling in-store activation practices that are kinder for the planet with our long-standing design partners, CircleSquare.
Having collaborated for over a decade on the in-store presence of our global brands, we have established a partnership of trust and openness as well as a shared vision for a more sustainable channel. The result was a Sustainable DNA Rating system or ‘scorecard’ that encourages the choice of more authentic materials and considerate construction methods, along with manufacturing decisions that allow for in-store units to be more easily recycled at the end of life.
In the spirit of open collaboration, the Sustainable DNA Rating scorecard has been shared freely with the wider industry, with the hopes of progressing more sustainable design and conversations for further improvement. To our delight, with great feedback from our retail partners and other sustainability champions in the travel retail community, the scorecard has continued to evolve.
Marketing Made Right
In the travel retail channel specifically, the majority (71%) of travellers** claim that sustainability credentials influence their purchase decisions. To support travellers in identifying products that are kinder for the planet, we need to emphasise visibility and awareness of these products and ensure that their stories are being communicated in an engaging way.
For example, in August, we launched our first Cocoa Life multi-brand activation in collaboration with Oslo Airport, Gebr. Heinemann and Travel Retail Norway to put Mondelez WTR’s sustainable cocoa programme in the spotlight. The umbrella concept featured told the Cocoa Life story through a zero-waste retail design across the Arrivals, Departures East & Departures North halls, highlighting to travellers that choosing a Cocoa Life brand like Toblerone is choosing a cocoa made right; one which uses sustainable solutions for cocoa production and benefits farming communities and the environment.
Promotions Made Right
As a channel with strong gifting appeal for consumers, ‘gifts with purchase’ have become a hallmark of travel retail. In reality, many of these ‘gifts’ are not particularly sustainable, or become unnecessary waste when they are not useful to travellers. At Mondelez WTR, we have committed to using fewer or more durable gifts with purchase, but also considered how we can proactively use gifting and promotions to make a difference.
We recently partnered with international tree planting charity One Tree Planted and Dufry on an ethical promotion that supports travellers in making more sustainable choices when they shop while contributing to reforestation efforts. The donation value of each Toblerone purchased from select Dufry stores funds the planting of one tree in the Andes, supporting both the physical environment and the surrounding community. The promotion is highlighted to travellers through gift tags for their Toblerone products, which they can personalise with a message.
Partnerships Made Right
Throughout our sustainability journey so far, the most important driver has remained our trusted partnerships. Our team is fortunate to work with incredible forwarding-thinking partners in travel retail, from our valued retail customers to our great partners in the airports, ferries and border stores; our invaluable industry associations; suppliers who prioritise sustainability as much as we do; media partners who provide us with platforms, special publications and interviews to progress the conversation; and agencies who rise to challenges alongside us and bring enthusiasm, dedication and innovation to the table.
We draw strength and inspiration from our robust industry relationships. If we can look at our shortfalls and weaknesses collectively and identify where we can help one another to do better, then we can collectively harness our strengths in a partnered approach to sustainability. This is only the beginning, and while we cannot hope to solve all the sustainability challenges overnight, we know that we will get there a lot faster if we approach the challenges together.
*How Covid has created more conscientious consumers, m1nd-set, April 2021
** The TFWA Insight: Sustainability in Travel Retail Study, 2020
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