Chupa Chups injects fun into TFWA
A rendering of the Chupa Chups kiosk at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes
Perfetti Van Melle (PVM), one of the top companies in the travel retail sugar confectionery segment, is launching an activation for its key lollipop brand Chupa Chups at the TFWA World Exhibition next week (Stand: Mediterranean Village P8).
The dedicated travel retail activation seeks to boost footfall and underscore the brand’s focus on fun.
The initiative comes at a pivotal time, according to PVM Travel Retail Director Dennis van der Wulp. “The recovery within our industry is really speeding up and all across the globe we see happy travelers going on an exciting journey again. Preparing for 2023 feels like a turning point, leaving the Covid crisis hopefully behind, enjoying the current period of recovery, but especially looking ahead positively to a bright future.”
The Cannes fair is the launchpad for the activation which includes a photo booth and product promotion area. Customers can have their photo taken as one of the Chupa Chups backpack animal family, take away a Polaroid memento and enter their contact details to receive the digital photo, to use across social media platforms.
“We are always looking at new ways to create customer engagement for our brands; this latest promotional concept for Chupa Chups creates a fun memory and offers something interactive for our travel retail partners,” says PVM International Product Manager, Global Travel Retail, Emma Helleman.
“At PVM we know our sugar confectionery assortment can make a difference when it comes to creating fun and engagement on the shop floor. We are confident our new Chupa Chups activation concept will set new levels of engagement and drive footfall,” says Helleman.
Chupa Chups is becoming a key POS tool for increased cash till engagement across PVM’s travel retail customer base.
“We have an extremely strong presence at the cash till with our domestic business,” says PVM Brand Manager, GTR, Femke van Veen. “We want to replicate that strength at the cash till in partnership with our travel retail customers and driving consumer engagement.”
The Chupa Chups plush flamingo backpack contains 16 lollipops in four flavors
New product developments
PVM returns to Cannes this year with new travel retail exclusive products for both Chupa Chups and Mentos.
New children’s gifts include an extended Chupa Chups plush animal backpack range – a pink flamingo and green dinosaur join the tiger and elephant designs, all carrying 16 lollipops in strawberry, orange watermelon and raspberry flavors.
Following appearances at events in Milan, Saudi Arabia and India, a human-size tiger mascot is roaming the Palais des Festivals, helping PVM to promote its latest Chupa Chups activation.
Chupa Chups has partnered with Looney Tunes for a new markers and coloring set, which are popular duo gift packs for PVM.
Each set contains eight markers, seven lollipops and a coloring book. They are available in Bugs Bunny or Tweety packs.
The Chupa Chups transition to paper sticks in travel retail started in June 2022 and PVM expects the full travel retail range to be available in paper sticks in all stores by the end of September.
Freshness with Mentos
PVM is set to reinforce the freshness appeal of Mentos in 2023 with new Mentos Mints and Mentos Gum offers.
A smaller, curvier pack design is available for the Mentos Gum bottles Pure Fresh Fresh Mint and Spearmint. The range is expanded with two new flavors: Strawberry, the best-selling fruit flavor, and a fortified Vitamins Gum, in citrus flavor for the European market.
Also new for 2023 are Mentos Mints Peppermint and Strawberry flavors. Mentos Mints come in slimline tins with flip-top lids, providing refreshment while traveling.
The Mentos Mints 2H Clean Breath sku helps to keep breath fresh for two hours. The sugar-free three-layer tab contains magnolia bark extract and zinc and is available in Peppermint, Intense Mint and Lemon Mint Melissa flavors.
The practical, thin format of the tin makes the Mentos 2H Clean Breath convenient for on-the-go consumption and social occasions. Mentos Clean Breath is targeted at the EU region only.
The Mentos Candy Fan is a playful miniature fan on top of a tube carrying four Mini Mentos flavors: cola, orange, lemon and strawberry.
Mentos Fanta limited edition
PVM launches Mentos Fanta into travel retail with selected European and global distribution in Q4 2022 and further roll-out in 2023. The product is a limited-edition release.
The Mentos Fanta flavor launch is a partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and is the first global licensing offer from PVM.
The two global power brands have joined forces – “solid meets liquid” – to target Gen Z consumers. “Pairing candy and soft drinks is an ideal combination for this demographic who love trying out limited-edition products new to market,” says van Veen.
“We are aggressively targeting travel retail sales levels of 2019 for 2023. Before the pandemic we knew we needed to address decreasing levels of footfall; now that passenger numbers are up again, we are paying attention to increasing customer footfall in line with returning passengers. We are looking at new ways to be visible on the shop floor, with more focus on cash till opportunities and POS for both Chupa Chups and Mentos,” adds van Veen.
