On location: Kreol Group’s Kreol Arakulath on building travel retail-ready brands

Dubai-based Kreol Group operates as a multi-category distributor supplying travel retail and duty free operators across the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, supported by bonded logistics infrastructure in both regions. The group manages a portfolio spanning food and confectionery, personal care and fragrance, toys, garments and travel essentials, combining global brands, licensed products and locally rooted concepts tailored for travel retail environments.

Kreol Group’s headquarters includes offices and warehousing facilities that support its regional distribution activities. During a recent visit to Dubai, the company kindly provided a generous tour of its offices and operational facilities, offering insight into how commercial strategy, brand development and logistics are integrated under one structure.

According to Executive Director Kreol Arakulath, the distributor’s role sits between brand owners and retailers, requiring a detailed understanding of both sides of the value chain. “When it comes to distribution and travel retail, we have to be better than retailers at buying and better than brands at selling,” he says. “We must justify our role in the value chain by doing a better job than both of them at these particular functions.”

Educating brands

Kreol points to brand education as a core part of Kreol Group’s value proposition, particularly for companies without dedicated travel retail experience. “How many times has a retailer had to face brands that do not have a travel retail-experienced salesperson,” he says. “Because we know the nuances and the challenges of the channel, we can provide that level of education to brands.”

That advisory role extends beyond distribution into helping brands navigate the specific commercial realities of travel retail. “We talk to them about price comparison issues,” Kreol explains. “We talk to them about the whole commercial strategy they should have and how they can differentiate their packaging.”

This advisory role often extends into product development and localization. “There is a marketing consultant aspect,” he says. “We advise on product localization tweaks and the cultural sensitivities we need to work around.”

That role also carries operational responsibilities on the retail side of the equation. “There is also the aspect of being a logistics partner, which sits under the umbrella of being a distributor,” Kreol says. “You have to provide value to the retailer in terms of supply chain planning and logistics consolidation.”

Multi-category portfolio

Currently, Kreol Group operates across multiple categories and works with more than 40 signed brand agreements. Food and confectionery represents the largest share of the portfolio, supported by a mix of international brands, licensed products and regional concepts.

“We work with global brands like Pringles and Godiva,” Kreol says. “We also work with licensees of IPs like Tabasco and additionally work with homegrown UAE local brands. We try to blend global and local into a curated glocal assortment that’s regionally relevant.”

Local partnerships include Agthia Group, the UAE government-owned food and beverage company behind brands such as Zadina Luxury Dates and Freakin’ Healthy. Kreol Group has also developed its own travel retail-exclusive concepts. “We came up with Petit Gourmet as a travel exclusive brand with Agthia,” Kreol notes. “We do lines like baklava and Middle Eastern sweets.”

Another exclusive includes Dubai chocolate in a 470g sharing format. “It is the only family-size sharing pack in the market,” he says. “It is a different spin on Dubai chocolate.”

Savory innovation

Within food and confectionery, Kreol Group has focused on growing savory offerings, responding to changing traveler preferences. “Travel retail consumer insights have pointed toward growth in savory,” Kreol says. “Chocolate and confectionery have always been the big driver, but savory was underdeveloped.”

Pringles played a key role in building the category. “We found a lot of success growing savory wherever we listed, largely through Pringles,” he says. “There was not much else in many outlets.”

The launch of Tabasco nuts represents a further step in category development. “This is an exercise in co-branding,” Kreol explains. “We are leveraging the equity of a hot sauce brand in a snack where you can actually taste it.”

The product has already been listed and is available with several travel retailers. Initial focus will be on the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, with ambitions to expand globally within travel retail.

Growth category

While food remains the largest category, Kreol Group has invested heavily in personal care and fragrance over the past year. “We have spent the last year building the P&C category,” Kreol says. “That means onboarding brands, doing education and developing a travel retail assortment.”

Rasasi represents a significant partnership within Kreol Group’s P&C portfolio, reflecting the company’s efforts to build a stronger presence in perfumes within travel retail. “Rasasi is one of the largest perfume manufacturers in the Middle East,” Kreol says. “They are now in their third generation and launching more niche spin-off brands.”

He notes that extensive export experience does not always translate easily to travel retail. “They export to 80 or 90 countries,” he says. “That means they are not always thinking about adapting the product for travel retail, so there is a lot of consultative collaboration involved.”

The right partners

Kreol Group receives frequent inbound inquiries from potential brand partners. To assess opportunities, the team applies clear criteria; working with brands prepared to differentiate their assortment for the channel. “Another thing we look at is how much existing duty free presence a brand has,” he explains. “If they already understand the channel, onboarding is easier.”

Logistics efficiency is another factor. “Some brands already have global deals but inefficient logistics,” Kreol says. “It can make more sense to work with a regional partner like us, especially when we have stock points in both India and the Middle East.”

Brands with strong domestic momentum also present opportunities. “Sometimes a brand has gone viral locally but has no travel retail exposure,” he says. “That domestic success gives us a story to sell to duty free retailers.”

Infrastructure and logistics

Kreol Group operates bonded warehouses in Dubai and India, both located in free zones. In India, the company’s facility is in Cochin within a Special Economic Zone. These sites support bond-to-bond transfers and regional supply chain efficiency.

Beyond core categories, Kreol Group maintains a garment distribution business which similarly has more than 25 years of history. During the pandemic, the company tested a limited assortment of essentials in airport retail, creating crossover between the two divisions. While that opportunity later slowed, a niche emerged in seaports.

“Seaports serve ship crews who are at sea for long periods,” Kreol says. “That is where items like socks, vests and boxers make sense.”

Personal care items also show potential in those environments. “We represent Unilever’s personal care range too,” he notes. “There is a small but consistent market for those products.”

Through category diversity, localized strategy and logistics capability, Kreol Group continues to position itself as a leading regional distribution partner focused on adapting brands for the specific demands of travel retail.