Landmark year: Loacker previews new products and activations to celebrate its centenary
Loacker is set to introduce new products at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes
Loacker is gearing up for a landmark year in 2025, as the South Tyrolean confectionery company prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
At the upcoming TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes (Stand AA11, Yellow Village), the brand will unveil its Centenary campaign, in addition to presenting a selection of new launches and bestsellers to its global travel retail customers.
New for 2024 is Loacker’s Chocolaterie line, described as perfect for wafer and chocolate enthusiasts. This new collection combines the crunchiness of wafer and smooth Loacker creams with a chocolate coating, with three flavors available: Dark, Milk and White, with a cream filling to match.
In response to changing shopper behaviors and passenger demographics, the new Chocolaterie line is available in a wide range of different formats, including the 118g family pack, the classic 59g pack, the 17.5g x 4 multipack, and a 9.5g x 12 (114g) Stand-Up Bag.
“We are excited to introduce our new Chocolaterie collection to our business partners in Cannes and explore new ways to leverage the potential of the under-developed wafer/biscuit category in travel retail,” said Juan Miguel Cabrera, Loacker Head of Travel Retail and Duty Free.
“While gifting continues to be a key purchase driver for the category, there is increased demand for on-the-go snacking/sharing products too, so it’s important to offer something for everyone, in order to maximize purchase opportunities.”
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Made for sharing: Loacker's Best of Moments and Minis Mix pouch
Loacker’s story began in 1925, when Alfons Loacker purchased a small pastry shop in Bolzano, where the very first ‘Bolzano wafer” was created. Almost 100 years later, that wafer-thin treat, wrapped around layers of the flavored creams, has evolved into a successful product portfolio that is sold in over 100 countries, by a company that is regarded as one of the worldwide leaders within the wafer and chocolate specialties business.
To mark its centenary, Loacker has created a campaign that celebrates this moment in the company’s history, as well as laying the foundations of an important change in its ‘Goodness is a choice’ platform, which was launched in 2019 to embody its brand values and narrate why goodness is an everyday choice at Loacker. Going forward, the company will now use a younger and more direct tone of voice to cement its efforts towards pursuing quality across all products, an endeavor it has been committed to for a century, and which will be core to the brand’s future.
Loacker’s centenary celebrations will begin this autumn, with a series of high-profile POS activations in Italy, before rolling out to other locations from 2025. More details will be unveiled in Cannes.
“Our centenary is a milestone achievement, and we have lots of activities planned to celebrate it, which I look forward to sharing with our travel retail customers,” Cabrera said.
“Importantly, our lasting success would not have been possible without our commitment to marrying sustainability and corporate responsibility, as part of our vision for sustainable growth.”
Loacker’s sustainability strategy incorporates five core pillars including a sustainable ingredient supply chain. Climate neutrality aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on-site and across logistics and sustainable packaging that aims to eliminate unnecessary materials and increase recyclability. Loacker’s responsibility towards people fosters a corporate culture based on providing an inclusive, healthy and safe workplace, and promoting personal and professional development. Finally, its mindful indulgence pillar embraces products and initiatives which favor awareness-raising about wellbeing and a healthier way of life.
“In 2023, Loacker’s travel retail business achieved double-digit sales growth, and we are seeing especially great numbers in Europe and Asia Pacific,” concluded Cabrera. “Importantly, we see plenty of untapped potential across all regions, and I am confident that our strong pipeline of innovation will allow us to further develop our GTR business in 2024 and beyond.”
