Exclusivity, personalisation and added value are becoming vital elements of travel-retail drinks packaging in a bid to attract Millenial travellers, writes Joe Bates. 

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“A [gift] pack needs to protect the primary pack, but also needs to enhance the bottle within,” agrees Toby Wilson, COO of MW Luxury Packaging, whose past travel-retail client list includes brands such as Johnnie Walker and The Balvenie. “It needs to stand out and be desirable with the use of materials, finishes and quality of manufacture. In duty free it is much more about the complete package. It’s true to say that there is a certain demand for value and discounting. However, in the luxury sector it is more about exclusivity and ownership of something unique.”

Alongside these unchanging packaging requirements, Wilson notes the increasing importance of storytelling within the travel-retail environment. “The duty-free teams within the stores are trained to sell and this has become a great focus in the last few years,” he says. “Premium and luxury gifting is not about discounting, but about enticing and adopting a consumer. Therefore, if the retail teams have a story to tell, this will sell the product.”

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Source: IWSR September 2017.