MITR focuses on blockbuster brands at TFWA World Exhibition with exciting new innovations

October 2015. Colourful confectionery company Mars International Travel Retail (MITR) comes to TFWA World Exhibition (Bay Village, Stand B9) with a range of new, exciting innovations and products as it continues to focus on busting the barriers to penetration in the category.

Having successfully launched its Category Vision last year, MITR has taken the next step with the introduction of its three ‘Laws of Growth’, which focuses on blockbuster brands, converting light buyers and triggering emotional responses. 

MITR’s General Manager, Craig Sargeant comments, “The Laws of Growth have taught us that category growth will come from converting light buyers – those that only buy 1-2 times a year, rather than targeting those travellers that buy constantly. Combining this with our knowledge of the barriers to purchase - buyers not being able to quickly find the items they want or faced with irrelevant items for their requirements- we clearly do not need a huge range or abundant choice. What we need is the big blockbuster brands in the right format, clear displays and exciting activations.

“As a result of this we have dramatically reduced our SKUs by more than a half to ensure that all the products we sell serve each of the different need states. New product development will, of course, continue to be a vital part of our strategy. Offering exciting, new, travel retail exclusive products is key in this market and so our focus for Cannes this year is introducing formats which will support the Laws of Growth strategy.”


New for this year:

M&M’S Peanut Miniatures sharing box 10x20g- Ideal for sharing and gifting, available in red, yellow, green and blue characters. 260g boxes are also available in Mars, Twix and Snickers.

Skittles Stand Up Pouch – 18x 26g bags.
Skittles Tube – 165g – Travel Retail Exclusive, the perfect snacking companion.

Extra 46pc Bottle – Spearmint, Peppermint and White Sweet Mint.

Extra 8 Pack – The perfect shelf sales item – oral care on the go.

Activations will continue to play a key role in 2016 for MITR; based around colourful, fun and relevant blockbuster promotions, which aim to attract lighter buyers. These include: 

M&M’S Towels GWP – Buy 3 MAXI pouches and receive a free towel. Each towel comes with an M&M’s character and a card with a funny quote to match the character. The activation will be supported by large promotional areas and POS material.

M&M’S Phone Case– Buy 2x M&M’S MAXI pouches and receive a free M&M’S character phone case.

M&M’S Luggage Strap – Buy 2x M&M’S MAXI pouches and receive a free M&M’S branded luggage strap.

Snicker Mini Football – Buy 2 MINI pouches of Snickers, Mars, Bounty, Milky Way or Twix and receive a free GWP American Football.

2016 will also see MITR update its M&Ms, Snickers and Galaxy displays to create an ultra-distinctive look which makes it as easy as possible for travellers to see what is on offer - as only 3 to 4 SKUs will be displayed per unit.

Divided into different need states, the new units will allow MITR’s customers to build their own individual displays based on locally preferred blockbuster brands – tending to regional requirements. Sargeant continues, “Our new displays are a vital part of our new strategy to convert lighter buyers. Being able to quickly and easily find a favourite brand on a display unit eliminates one barrier to purchase, which is a step in the right direction to increase category sales.”