Crunch time
The campaign against tobacco in global duty free/travel retail has, it would be fair to say, been a monumental headache to suppliers and retailers over the past five years, necessitating a substantial review of operating procedures and an ongoing campaign of vigilance against possible outright trading bans. Thanks to the efforts of the ETRC and a number of other concerned individuals, overly stringent regulations have so far been avoided and the category – for now at least – remains a viable and dynamic contributor to the travel retail mix.
In this context, could it be therefore that confectionery is soon to emerge as travel retail’s most endangered category? Governments and health authorities throughout Western Europe, but particularly in the UK, have been concerned about rising obesity levels for the best part of a decade now, but in the last year or two the media has finally caught up with the issue. Acres of broadsheet newspaper and magazine coverage have been devoted to an issue that has wide-ranging social and practical implications, while in the month this article was written an EU Commission White Paper on nutrition and overweight is ensuring the issue remains near the top of the public agenda.
With all this in mind, is it now plausible to suggest that moves could be made to restrict the sale of
confectionery products? Justin Hazendonk – area manager marketing & sales of Perfetti Van Melle Benelux BV – thinks so. “We do consider this a plausible development, even though this is still scenario planning,” he tells Frontier. “From my point of view, you cannot compare confectionery with tobacco. There is not such a direct relation between the consumption of confectionery and obesity, as obesity is a result of changing lifestyles in the last 30 years. Besides, consuming confectionery will not harm the people in your environment.”
It is hard to disagree with these sentiments, but despite the distinct and obvious differences between the two categories, Hazendonk is aware of the need to engage with the issue and debate it not just with retailers and other partners, but wider forces at work in society. “Keep in dialogue and find a solution with all stakeholders,” he advises. “As I say, obesity is a result of changing lifestyles in the last 30 years and therefore is a social problem. In that sense, fighting obesity is not the sole responsibility for the confectionery industry. The way people work, spend their free time, exercise, eat, travel and so on has all changed in the last 30 years. All parties that were involved in these changes share responsibility and should work towards a solution.”
Stuart Bull, consultant to MITR (Masterfoods International Travel Retail), emphasises the need for responsible and precise marketing. “Confectionery companies like Mars/Masterfoods have taken and will continue to take a conscious business decision to market confectionery very carefully – for example, advertising to children is not an option,” he says. “M&M’s is the biggest confectionery brand in the world and the biggest selling line in our duty free trade. We will not target children with persuasive marketing – however, confectionery is a universal gift. In travel retail it is a less complex proposition, since whether in airports or other venues children do not travel on their own and adults are always the purchasers of our products.”
Hazendonk makes the valuable point that the provision of more healthy options is one thing – their adoption by consumers quite another. Referring to Perfetti Van Melle’s introduction of sugar-free alternatives, he notes that “we succeeded in building distribution and even though it took off quite rapidly we see that growth is now stabilising. Sugar-free products still have a relatively low market-share compared to sugar-based products (ex-chewing gum where it is much more normal to have sugar-free products)… We gave them an alternative, but the mass still chose to buy sugar-based, even though we have managed to make the sugar-free product very similar to the sugar-based one.”
As Hazendonk implies, it is a complex issue that encompasses issues of choice and taste, not to
mention the fact that many European citizens are leading much more sedentary lives than was the case 20 or even 10 years ago. While acknowledging the role that confectionery will continue to play in this major international debate, ETRC secretary general Keith Spinks does not feel that the travel retail channel has reason to panic yet.
“I don’t see travel retail as a primary target if they do go down the route of action against salt, sugar and fatty foods,” he says. “However, I do think the industry will have to look at the issue of product labelling – it’s going to be part and parcel of the information campaign targeted towards consumers in the whole goal of providing healthier options.” Spinks suggests that the use of toys as gifting items may also require attention.
More than any one single concern, however, the complexity of the issue – and, more to the point, the evolving debate that surrounds it – means that suppliers and retailers need to maintain their vigilance, although Spinks is encouraged by the inclusive nature of discussions so far.
“The issue is watch this space and see what develops,” he says. “The WHO, the Commission and so on are looking to work in partnership with all elements from manufacturers to retailers about how we can provide healthier options to reduce obesity. While we’re in partnership with those pushing forward the programme, we should be in a better position to react should it be necessary.” n
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