Ricola to present new packaging design at TFWA Cannes as travel retail business resurges

Swiss herbal confectionery specialist Ricola will be presenting the latest brand design upgrade for the packaging of its products at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes from 2-6 October. With the brand’s products already well-known in the travel retail channel for their stand out shelf appeal and popularity as an impulse purchase, the updated look is set to further cement that reputation.

The new brand design by renowned London design agency Lewis Moberly reflects a new positioning with a more confident contemporary stance, now clearly setting out the unique claim ‘made with Swiss Alpine Herbs’, alongside a modernised logo. 

The new look has already been rolled out in all domestic markets and will now also be available in travel retail from Q4 2022. 

The new brand positioning builds on Ricola’s roots, expressing the brand as nature-loving and down-to-earth. Reflecting on the thinking behind the upgraded design, Ricola CEO Thomas P. Meier said: “We needed to showcase our natural attributes and delightful taste properties and at the same time ensure consumers can navigate an extensive range with ease. Our strategy is seamless with the new design direction, which quite simply makes Ricola more of what it is, and always has been.”

He added: “Staying true to the essence of the brand was very important. Ricola prompts pleasure through its affinity and commitment to nature – a brand for everyone, everyday, everywhere.”

The new look for Ricola products is set to further strengthen the brand’s recovery path in travel retail this year, which has seen a strong revival in business across all regions, with the notable exception of Asia.

The performance of the brand in European travel retail has been particularly strong, with sales coming in far above expectations. The good results have mainly driven by Ricola’s impulse assortments – the 75g sugar free tins as well as its new 90g tins with sugar.

The climb back to prosperity in travel retail has come against a tough backdrop of challenges for the Ricola brand, as Andreas Reckart, Vice President Sales Middle East & Travel Retail for Ricola AG, explained: “The sourcing of packaging material has become a challenge and prices of both raw materials and packaging materials have skyrocketed. Prices for the shipping of products remain high and the availability of shipping options is very volatile. Finally, the prices and uncertainties on the energy market also complicate our own manufacturing.

“These challenges will remain with us for some time but the long-term outlook is now once again bright for Ricola in the travel retail channel, as traffic in airports across the world moves back towards pre-pandemic levels, especially in Europe. The return of meaningful levels of passengers in Asian airports is eagerly anticipated, as that part of the world is an important part of our planned expansion going forward.”

Looking ahead to TFWA Cannes, Reckart said: ““We are very much looking forward to meeting with our customers in Cannes, both the ones we’ve been seeing regularly and the ones who we were not able to meet since the pandemic. We look forward to introducing our stand visitors to our great new packaging, alongside the established range of Ricola products – an authentic herbal confectionery taste of the Swiss mountains – of which we are fiercely proud.”