Cannes_2026_WEDNESDAY_ISSUE_DIGITAL

Y esterday Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) gathered together the world GTR press for its annual briefing on how NITR’s A.C.T. strategy – Attract, Convert, Thrive – continues to unlock growth, create footfall, and conversion. Joan Moreno, Global Commercial Development Lead Travel Retail, NITR, began by explaining “in the retail mix, 36% of sales is food, and 30% of the food segment is confectionery – 37% of which is purchased by Gen Z. “We need to add more of these people – in 2019 just 5% of travellers were Gen Z – by 2030 it will 50%, and 44% of Gen Z confectionery purchases are impulse-driven, and not by gifting – as many retailers believe – we need to decode what they want – that impulse needs a reason.” At 72% Gen Z also demonstrated the highest first-time buyer potential among all the generations – therefore “Gen Z is highly motivated by exclusives and a wider choice of excitement. Snacking was another key market force: “Snacking is becoming a culture – it’s more than a habit, it’s a way of life – our channel is the perfect channel for this.” NITR still had a target of +50% confectionery category growth by 2030 – with half of this improvement driven by traffic growth, but the other half generated by “behavioural activation.” For instance, the KitKat and Formula 1® partnership in travel retail has already demonstrated “an ability to create high-energy retail theatre, strengthen KitKat visibility and invite travellers.” Moreno credits NITR’s F1 activations with an ability to improve sales by the equivalent of 4.7%pp – “that statistic is amazing!” Besides F1, Aura Sánchez, Global Head of Marketing NITR, explained the importance of other innovative platforms such as the explosive Kit Kat Japan concept, where the classic has been transformed into hundreds of unique, seasonal, and regional flavours – matcha, blueberry cheesecake, Sake, wasabi, etc, etc, etc – “Kit Kat Japan really does drive conversion with a credited +11 points conversion rate uplift.” Sánchez asserted NITR will continue the growing travel retail opportunity behind KitKat Japan by introducing the KitKat Japan mystery flavour “which will build on the appetite for limited, exclusive and culturally distinctive confectionery experiences, giving retailers a fresh way to capture attention and fuel shopper curiosity.” Other more premium areas of the NITR portfolio were also being given dedicated NITR press briefing: Impulse drives Gen Z confectionery sales “but impulse needs a reason” activation. For instance, “After Eight would continue its journey beyond mint” – as from this month travellers be able to discover new Caramel, Orange and Raspberry varieties alongside the classic Mint recipe, supported by refreshed packaging, clear flavour navigation and travel retail- exclusive messaging. Frédéric Porchet, General Manager, Nestlé International Travel Retail, concluded: “Through platforms such as KitKat and Formula 1®, KitKat Japan and After Eight, we are bringing together powerful brands, exclusive products, and engaging retail activations to give travellers more reasons to purchase confectionery.” BeachVillage 1 Beach 15 Wednesday 30 September 2026 34 T F W A D A I L Y