Walker’s Shortbread has extended its World of Walker’s global travel range of destination-focused products through new collaborations with leading travel retailers, including Qatar Duty Free and Dubai Duty Free.
Celebrating its milestone 125th anniversary this year, Walker’s said its travel retail vision is to accelerate global growth while ensuring localised and tailored products feature across markets with its expanding Sense of Place range.
As reported, Walker’s partnered with Dufry to launch a 19-piece range exclusively in the retailer’s UK stores last April. The collaboration marked the largest global retail partnership in the brand’s history, as the Walker’s Shortbread range rolled out across the Dufry network, and other travel retail stores two months later.
Walker’s Global Travel Range launched in the Middle East in October through an exclusive activation with Dubai Duty Free at Dubai International Airport. The promotion included digital screens and featured a Scottish bagpiper to help create a “truly immersive Scottish experience for shoppers”.
The brand recently collaborated with Qatar Duty Free to add an exclusive new World of Walker’s product, featuring a traditional Middle Eastern coffee pot. And in April, Walker’s will launch a World of Walker’s: Dubai Shortbread Highlanders gift box exclusively with Dubai Duty Free. The design will feature customised illustrations of iconic landmarks including the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab.
The new products are revealed as Walker’s underlines its aim to bring ‘Scotland at its finest’ to travellers across the globe. The brand said it has secured further global travel retail traction and plans to expand across the cruise and ferry sectors in 2023.
Walker’s Shortbread Managing Director Nicky Walker commented: “Last year marked a significant acceleration in our travel retail ambitions. As we celebrate our 125th anniversary, our family business remains committed to offering localised Sense of Place products that showcase Scotland at its finest across more channels, for customers and travelling consumers around the world.”
Walker’s Shortbread said it would continue to invest in and innovate its travel retail offering through new channels and product launches. Its innovative approach to the channel was underlined in an eye-catching Eiffel Tower made from shortbread at last year’s TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes.
A recent activation, with Lagardère Travel Retail, at London Luton Airport showcased an exclusive UK Sense of Place collection featuring London landmarks. Impactful and localised wall bays are also being rolled out at several key airports, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, with illustrations of local landmarks such as Edinburgh Castle, The Wallace Monument in Stirling and Loch Ness. 
