Gulbahar Tobacco International targets travel retail growth with value strategy

Gulbahar Tobacco International FZE’s (GTI) portfolio reaches more than 75 markets across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and other regions. Until recently, the company’s travel retail presence consisted of select listings in its home market of Dubai.

Ali Shaker, Director Global Sales & Commercial Growth, recognized the opportunity this channel represents for the company in terms of presence and visibility. “GTI has spent the last 50 years building its global presence, but we had not mirrored that momentum in travel retail channel,” he says. “So that gap had to be addressed. And I took on this agenda personally.” Shaker chose not to delegate the expansion effort. His approach centered on meeting operators directly to understand their business models market by market and identify opportunities for GTI.

Operator dynamics

The process revealed significant variations in how duty free operates across locations.

The channel’s efficiency became apparent when Shaker compared it with domestic market negotiations. While domestic deals require navigating compliance requirements, regulation, duty structure and in-depth Route to Consumer understanding with often times limited data access, travel retail operates with greater transparency and expediency.

“In travel retail it’s very clear,” he says. “When you work with the operator, they control the category. They will tell you immediately, who are my consumers? What do they use? What is coming up? Where is the opportunity for us? So it’s straightforward.”

Discussions with global leading operators reflected this efficiency. “We got straight to the point in terms of destination, in terms of who we are, and is there a common ground for us to make business.

“Your business case can be much easier when you say, I’m available in all these markets, you are operating in these travel retail shops and the brand is already familiar,” he adds.

Portfolio structure

Dubai Duty Free (DDF) allocates  gondolas and wall units to GTI ’s products across multiple concourses in their terminals. “I believe our successful model with DDF demonstrates the scale of opportunity in this particular channel,” Shaker comments. The company has further supported visibility with JCDecaux digital solutions and airport trolley brandings.

The company operates four brand families: Milano as flagship, supported by Mond, Momento, Cavallo and Havanove. Across these brands, GTI manufactures more than 330 SKUs.

Format variety addresses diverse regional preferences. The range includes nano, super slim, king size and queen size cigarettes, plus specialized packaging such as fan pack and slide pack configuration designed for specific markets.

GTI positions its brands in value segments. “We offer quality product at a value price point,” notes Shaker.

Space allocation

Performance depends heavily on how operators allocate shelf space between premium and value segments. The balance varies substantially by location. At TFWA Cannes earlier this year, Shaker observed while tobacco sales account for approximately 18% in global travel retail, the premium tier dominates visually.

“Retailers need to always balance how much space to give to premium brands and how much to give brands that are value for money,” he says. “That share and that balance varies from market to market.”

Dubai Duty Free’s scale allows accommodation of both segments, with multiple gondolas dedicated to value brands alongside premium wall displays for multinational companies.

GTI’s strategy emphasizes creating strong product rotation within a smaller footprint through competitive pricing, packaging innovation and flavor variety.

Investment rationale

GTI’s plan in travel retail is to transition from trade show attendee to exhibitor in 2026.

The structural characteristics of travel retail provide clear investment justification for GTI. In domestic markets, brands often spend heavily on visibility without clear guarantees of return. In contrast, the channel allows precise monitoring of sales performance at store level.

“You know your sales, you know who’s buying and you control your space,” he says of the channel. “You can activate, promote, merchandise. It’s a controlled channel, and when you control your return on investment, that gives us appetite to invest further.”