Mars Wrigley ITR to simplify portfolio and introduce more value to drive category sales in ‘21

Mars Wrigley International Travel Retail is gearing up for recovery in travel retail with a tight range of power SKUs representing the highest selling products from its travel retail portfolio.

Raghav Rekhi, Category Director Mars Wrigley ITR, reported that the company will be significantly simplifying its travel retail portfolio in 2021. Since 9% of the travel retail portfolio accounts for 80% of the category value, the company will be cutting the airport offer to 50 SKUS next year, down from 162 airport SKUs in 2019. This fine-tuning will enable safe and fast decisions on the part of the shopper as well as require less resources from the retailer, said Rekhi.

Mars Wrigley ITR is focusing on hero brand M&M’S, and other innovations for 2021.

These have been carefully reviewed to meet the needs of traveling consumers following the impact of COVID-19, he said, all with an element of Fun.

“One of our overriding ambitions at Mars Wrigley ITR has been to bring FUN into travel retail and we’ve been very successful in introducing better moments that make people smile! M&M’S with its globally recognized Red, Yellow and other colorful characters, has played a prime role in creating happy, smiling travelers through engaging high profile promotions, walking acts and impactful media campaigns,” says Rekhi.

New products for 2021 include:

The new M&M’S Brownie Connects for sharing and capitalizes on the current trend of home baking during the pandemic. M&M’S Brownie’s feature the taste of freshly baked brownies in a soft, fudgy, chewy center covered in a colorful candy shell. They are presented in a sharable 310g bag. The new flavor will be available from June 2021.

With Celebrate as another key purchase driver, Mars Wrigley ITR is also expanding its offer in the gifting category, focusing on its strong tin range.

For 2021, Mars Wrigley ITR is introducing two more brands in colorful gift tins, Celebrations (165g) and Maltesers (111g), which are being offered at a new, lower price point.

Later in the year, MITR says that it will introduce a completely new line in the Celebrate opportunity, adding its M&M’S brand into the mid-priced gifting sector alongside Maltesers and Celebrations. They will be presented in a Travel Retail exclusive gifting format comprising four bright and colorful gift boxes.

     Mars Wrigley ITR introduced a revamped Mini Bars packaging for Mars, Twix, Milky Way, Bounty and Snickers brands and the new M&M’S Block for travel retail at the TFWA World Exhibition last year but postponed the launches until 2021 due to the impact of COVID-19. The mini- bars bags feature a new design and come in a 333g bag size to capitalize on the popularity of sharing bags at a value price (€ 6.50). Each bar is individually wrapped.

     In travel retail the 165g M&M’S Block chocolate tablets will be offered in four flavors: Peanut, Crispy (150g), Chocolate, and Hazelnut. The bars will come in a TR exclusive packaging design, with the exception of the USA, which will use the established M&M’S Block domestic range packaging. Each bar will have an RRP of €4.50 with discounts on the travel retail price for multi-buys.

Rekhi emphasizes that Mars Wrigley is confident of the long-term opportunity in the confectionery category in travel retail.

“Our aim is to continue providing fresh product offers and opportunities within the airport shopping experience for travelers to find moments to share and enjoy with friends and loved ones. Through this strategy we are confident that the confectionery category can pick up from where we were and continue to gain momentum.”