where chocolate lovers are on a ship there will be an opportunity for them to spoil themselves.” Chocolate is often defined as a comfort, treat or
luxury item and as such is always on the menu for travellers. Its form ranges from buy-on-board basics, such as a bar on a train journey, to handmade truffles on your pillow during a first-class flight.
Different markets Like many confectioners, Mars International Travel Retail offers different products for onboard catering, buy-on-board snacking and gift items. Says Tom Manktelow, Inflight Business
Development Manager of MARS International Travel Retail: “Our extensive and globally-known portfolio enables us to present airlines with a fabulous range of miniatures and minis from well-known brands such as M&Ms, Twix, Mars, Snickers, Maltesers and Bounty for complimentary serving with beverages. For onboard sales we have snacking pouches for all our core brands, single bars, packs, Extra mints, sharing pouches and gift boxes for Celebrations and Galaxy Jewels. We create excitement onboard with special items such as the M&Ms Speaker Case that comes with a packet of M&Ms.” Mars cites ‘linked sales’ as a major opportunity for
chocolate. “Brands such as Twix and Snickers are perfect matches for hot drinks,” says Manktelow, "and food sales are an important source of ancillary revenue." Town and Country Fine Foods' managing director
Paddy Lyall says personalisation is an important trend: "Our sister company Boxglo offers personalised chocolate solutions for the individual flight, destination or traveller. This can include details of the journey or holiday as a memento or thank you and can be used promotionally to upsell products."
Trends and challenges Chocolate served onboard airlines is subject to different restrictions, both practical and cultural. Gordana Nikolic of United Arab Emirates-based Le
Pictured left: A selection of specialist UK supplier Town & Country Fine Foods' chocolate treats. Above: Lily O'Brien's new dessert selection includes this tangerine pudding. Right: An Omnom chocolate bar from the Icelandic bean-to-bar company
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Chocolat says: “One of the main requirements of airlines is that products should not contain nuts. Although they are tasty, nuts are high allergens.” “The major flavour and packaging trends across
"Hazelnut is the top nut ingredient in chocolate, followed by pistachio and peanut... and there is a growth in pistachio and nuts and seeds"
the retail and hospitality industries over the past few years have continued to influence the travel sector,” says James Duff, national key account manager foodservice at Lily O’Briens. He cites trends like portion control and health and wellness as recently ‘criss-crossing with the chocolate/indulgence/treat area,’ adding: “We are working on developing new products to meet this need and are keen to remain at the forefront of any new developments.” Nikolic from Le Chocolat says that many of the new flavours that appear on the market are just a temporary trend. “Our aim is that our chocolate is liked by a wide audience of consumers and introducing unusual flavours can be a bit risky,” she says. “These kinds of innovations can be presented in First and Business class where the airlines usually offer a box with a variety of
flavours. During the many years I have been in the chocolate industry I haven’t seen any special flavour stand the test of time.” Lily O’Brien’s says its new collection of chocolate thins has been driven by the latest trends in the retail and hospitality sectors. “Following trends on the ground allows us to offer our customers something new,” says Duff. The thins come in a range of sizes and flavours, including milk chocolate sticky toffee and dark chocolate with blackberry filling. On the ground, the trends range from flavours (such as salted caramel, which has taken the UK by storm), to ethical concerns, which has made fairtrade and organic brands like Divine and Green and Black’s popular with consumers. The term 'bean-to-bar' is often held up as an example of ethical
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