Nestlé ITR is returning to its Beach Village location, at TFWA World Exhibition, this year with its clear mission – Building Food into the #1 Category in Travel Retail.
As the world’s leading food company, Nestlé believes it is best placed to champion this growth strategy and, says ITR general manager Stewart Dryburgh, it’s clear that industry retailers agree with the principle. “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,” he says.
Following the launch of the strategy Nestlé commissioned global travel research company M1nd-set to further validate the opportunity and understand the appeal of different categories and the key shopper occasion for major food subcategories.
Key headlines from the research include the fact that Food (including Confectionery) has the highest appeal of any category at 69% with Beauty second at 59%. Furthermore, Millennials (the fastest growing segment) are even higher at 75%. The likelihood to buy coffee was overwhelmingly positive (81%) with biscuits also performing strongly.
During TFWA WE, Nestlé will be unveiling more details and discussing directly with retail partners how this extensive study can inform the category assortment and drive growth.
“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,” continues 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.”
Nestlé’s Food strategy will be delivered through the VERSE model: Value, Engagement, Regeneration, Sense of Place and Execution. “Each of these drivers is critical in achieving our goal and giving the consumer the best shopping experience. 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,” Dryburgh explains.
During customer meetings Nestlé will be unveiling investments across all the levers including products that will create Value, driving Engagement across the journey with digital tools from the Digitally Connected Shopper as well as Sense of Place initiatives.
In terms of Regeneration, a key focus for all TR stakeholders, Cannes also provides the perfect opportunity for Nestlé to showcase its world-leading Regeneration and sustainable packaging strategy.
Smarties introduced recyclable paper packaging for all its confectionery products globally last year and this is one of many Nestlé’s sustainable packaging initiatives including`; sourcing - all chocolate sourced using 100% sustainable cocoa via the Nestlé Cocoa Plan; this year’s introduction of KITKAT Vegan traveller’s pack and the Nestlé Income Accelerator plan which helps farmers to reach a living income (awarded Sustainability Hero status in the recent TRBusiness awards).
Last, but not least, visitors to the stand (Beach 7) will also be able to view Nestlé’s full travel retail product portfolio of global icons such as KITKAT – including the highly successful SENSES range - SMARTIES and NESCAFE, alongside travel retail exclusive brand NESTLÉ SWISS, and local favourites AFTER EIGHT and QUALITY STREET.
“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 No 1 most purchased category in travel retail,” concludes Dryburgh.
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