‘May good fortune be with you’ Mars ITR creates special promotions for CNY

Chinese New Year is on the 5th of February and, as most Asian travellers fly home to celebrate this event with their loved ones, Mars Wrigley Confectionery International Travel Retail (Mars ITR) is joining in the celebrations with an impactful initiative focussing on its blockbuster brand Galaxy®.

Taking place in key airports throughout the Middle East and Asia, Mars ITR is engaging with travellers by creating impactful promotional areas that all share the message: ‘May good fortune be with you’ and use symbols such as the traditional CNY fortune knot to represent sending love and luck to family and friends.

Mars ITR’s hero gifting format, the Galaxy Jewels 400g, has been given a bespoke sleeve also featuring the fortune knot, designed to represent the ultimate spirit of CNY whilst making it exclusive to travel retail. Depending on sizes, displays also feature CNY branded packs of Celebrations and sharing packs.

“Celebration is a key reason for confectionery purchase in travel retail and seasonal events are critical, offering a significant opportunity to drive category sales,” says Raghav Rekhi, Category Director. “At Mars ITR we see this as the perfect scenario to grow the category and bring more smiles to people’s faces during a very important gifting time in China. Galaxy is a huge brand in Asia and in China – where it’s better known as Dove – it is the largest chocolate brand.”

Depending on the airport, the activation is supported by different price promotions such as “Buy 2 get 1 Free”, “Second item 50% off”, “Buy 3 get 2 Free” etc.

“Given that one sixth of the world’s population celebrates CNY, 4% of the world’s population is on the move during that time of the year and 65% of Chinese people spend money on gifts, Galaxy Jewels sleeved for CNY perfectly suit the season and are an ideal gift at an accessible price point,” adds Rekhi. “Combined with offers on multiple purchase and it really becomes a most compelling offer for consumers.”

Kicking off in January to maximise the seasonal buying opportunity, promotional spaces can be seen in key Asia Pacific airports such as Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok, as well as Dubai and Qatar in the Middle East, where a significant amount of international passengers are either Chinese or from a nationality which is also familiar with celebrating Chinese New Year.