Mazaya’s Caviar Drops line has quickly established a following since it launched last year; created from concentrated flavor essence the line comes in form of drops and is available in six different flavors
“Luckily, we have kicked off the year with an astonishing performance in all stores,” says Mazaya Global Duty Free Manager, Rawan Elayyan. “Our Q1 figures have a double-digit growth versus 2022 which is a great starting point for the year. We are working towards sustaining or even increasing this growth rate this year."
“This performance reflects our strong global travel retail position, not only in the Middle East but the performance outside the Middle East is also developing. Our major focus will continue to be within our core region, but we are shifting our strategy towards global penetration and exposure in other markets," adds Elayyan.
Expansion strategy
Mazaya’s post-pandemic expansion strategy had an early boost with two important new listings in 2021: Lagardère Travel Retail in airport duty free shops in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam) and Dufry in Morocco (Casablanca and Marrakesh).
“Our recent listings for 2022 and into 2023 have been performing well. We have taken great care to nourish them post-pandemic with a lot of hard work. The most impressive performances are with Lagardère Travel Retail Saudi Arabia (KSA) duty free stores and Iraq Duty Free with its multiple stores across the country.”
There is another new market listing with Tunis Duty Free, says Elayyan. “We are extremely excited with our partnership with Hamila in supplying Tunis Duty Free; it has coincided with the recent revamp Tunis had completed to update the tobacco trading channels in the country.”
Loyalty activations
Traveler activations are an important engagement tool for Mazaya. Further to the brand’s refresh in 2021, Mazaya is keen to reconnect with its customers through more gift-with-purchase (GWP) offers, such as its limited edition artist collaboration glass shishas that have been successful at growing sales and rewarding loyal customers.
Mazaya has strong brand awareness in the Middle East, but Elayyan points out this is because shisha is already part of the lifestyle. The company has an understanding of its target audience and increasing opportunities to trial new products and flavors. Generating interest with new audiences is a driving factor behind the constant focus on increasingly product-driven experiential activations. It’s so that Mazaya is able to get closer to its customers and build brand memories.
The luxurious new Caviar Drops line has been developing a following since it launched in Cannes in 2022. Created from concentrated flavor essence, the Caviar line comes in the form of drops and is available in six different flavors: Fruity Fusion, Icy Frost, Luscious Lemon, Mint Mania, Rich Licorice and Sleek Vanilla. The drops can be added to the existing tobacco flavor in a shisha as it is being smoked to enrich it or combined to create a new flavor mix. The collection is designed to create an even more optimal shisha experience.
“All operators were extremely excited about the Caviar project and that is for many reasons: the idea is unique and the product itself is an innovative gadget to have for shisha smokers – it provides the option of altering or even making your own mix, which has gone down well with customers. Also, it’s a beneficial addition to our shisha accessories offer. And finally, it entertains the consumer by providing a DIY concept in line with the worldwide trend.
“The operators have already seen the benefits of the Caviar project and we are looking forward to implementing it as a gift-with-purchase in duty free stores," explains Elayyan.
Luxe NPDs
Elayyan says Mazaya is constantly focused on new product developments (NPD). “We at Mazaya pride ourselves on using only the best-in-class ingredients; to provide the perfect balance of tobacco strength and flavour intensity and guarantee a flavorful and long-lasting shisha smoking experience.”
One of the newest products in the market is Two Apples Masri – a new variant of the brand’s best-selling Two Apples flavor. It was produced in response to demand from customers for bolder tasting shisha flavors and its creation reflects Mazaya’s drive for innovation in the category.
“We’ve been in the process of adding Two Apples Masri flavor at duty free stores since Q4 2022, currently it is available at all stores in various sizes. The flavor has been performing well as it is another variant of Two Apples, which is one of the best-selling flavors in the shisha tobacco category.
“Currently, we are growing listings with the new Love flavor. It’s a special mix with a desired after-taste that comes in playful packaging. In Mazaya we always make sure to have a range that caters and targets all consumers with several taste palettes. We believe that this flavor is modern and and in harmony with the younger consumers’ preferences who are open to change and tend to like different flavors and mixes," says Elayyan.
According to the Global Duty Free Manager, the Caviar GWP project is set to start in the second half of 2023. “In the meantime, we have been active updating our cycle plan (HPP, SPP and price promotions). Many portfolio evaluations have taken place to assess the performance per SKU and decide on the needed action plan.”
The company wants to develop more digital marketing in line with its mission to target new (younger) customers. “Many of our plans have been focusing on new customers with different age groups, that’s why we have so many progressive projects (Caviar drops) and new flavours (Love) that have taken place. We also have the Two Apples Masri product to attract different consumers who tend to be loyal to their standard flavor but yet open to new variants and this is what we do in the travel retail channel only."
Mazaya’s overall vision is to always have new flavors in the pipeline. These flavors are carefully picked and produced after researching the industry trends.
“We have a wide range of shisha devices that serve different types of customers but the travel retail channel has a limited environment due to available space shared by different categories, and this does limit how much we are able to showcase the wide range of innovations we can provide," concludes Elayyan.
