NEWS/ANALYSIS: ETRC
DF&TR industry faces changes in the regulatory landscape
via a mobile device or through an alternative device available in-store. Ultimately, if successful, the
project could be rolled out across multiple categories and beyond the EU to address what is considered to be a growing challenge at the global level. We are also seeing an increase
Keith Spinks, Secretary General, European Travel Retail Confederation files this update on the current regulatory challenges facing the duty free and travel retail industry and offers stakeholders some sage advice.
Above: Attendees to the ETRC cocktail at the European Parliament in Brussels were given the opportunity to test the digital labelling solution from a selection of typical travel retail products in July.
A
ll business goes through periods of change as new technologies are introduced
and the attitudes of consumers change. Keeping up with these developments is vital for the growth of the duty free industry and in some cases this requires us to develop and implement our own solutions to meet the unique nature of the duty free industry. One of the major challenges facing
the industry today is the way in which its suppliers are required to list the ingredients in the products it sells. Demands from consumer groups and the health community call for suppliers to list ingredients, allergens and nutritional information
“We must be vigilant, we must work together to advocate solutions that reflect the unique nature of our industry, and we must remember – the early bird catches the worm.”
Keith Spinks, Secretary General, European Travel Retail Confederation
on all consumables, in most cases in the national language(s) of the country in which the product is sold. This is in addition to health warnings on products such as tobacco and alcoholic beverages. The imposition of national
regulations on product labelling fragments the DF&TR market, creates barriers for producers, increases the cost of production and distribution and – ultimately – limits consumer choice. Although the primary focus at the current time is on Europe, we are seeing similar moves being adopted in South America, in Asia – as was the case in India a few years ago – as well as in Israel, and this could be expected to expand to other markets in the future.
Off-label solution The ETRC is leading on a project to develop a digital platform as a solution to this challenge. The platform, developed with the support of a number of suppliers from the alcohol, food/confectionery and beauty categories, allows for product information to be accessible via the barcode on the product, scanned by the consumer either
24 TRBUSINESS
in regulatory focus on the alcohol product category. Some countries have already initiated restrictions that could have major consequences for the DF&TR channel. Restrictions to the design of labels on alcohol products in Thailand, already in place in the domestic market, have yet to be enforced in the duty free channel, although health warning labels in Malaysia are already applied to alcohol products for sale in duty free outlets. In Ireland, there are legislative
proposals presently being debated to include national language health warnings as well as ingredient and nutritional listings on alcohol products; a move that would severely restrict brands’ access to the Irish duty free market. It is anticipated that there will
be more markets taking national initiatives on labelling and health warnings on alcohol beverages that could impact heavily on DF&TR. Regardless of what is driving
the regulatory changes, whether responding to consumer groups or coordinating policy at an international level, we must always be mindful of the specific impacts such changes may have. It has been my experience that where the duty free industry engages with legislators early and often in a constructive manner to find solutions bespoke to our industry, more often than not we are successful. We must be vigilant, we must
work together to advocate solutions that reflect the unique nature of our industry, and we must remember – the early bird catches the worm. «
OCTOBER 2018
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