Bringing Pringles to life in travel retail: Kellanova targets salty snacking growth

Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company, has set its sights on seeing Pringles as the principal brand in the salty and savoury snacking category in global travel retail.

Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report at the IAADFS Summit of the Americas in West Palm Beach, Florida last week, Kellanova Business Manager – Travel Retail/Duty Free Jacco Douma outlined the company’s mission to bring the popular Pringles brand, and its Mr P mascot, to life.

Pringles is already a well-established brand in travel retail, featured strongly at airports, on cruise ships and inflight. However, Douma believes there is further room for development through data-driven innovations and travel retail-exclusive lines.

He underlined Pringles’ “perfect fit” in the channel as the number one salty can brand and its strong visibility. “Our mission, as the leading snacking supplier, is to grow a more sustainable travel retail snacking category,” he said.

Douma noted m1nd-set research which indicates the increasing role that food, and in particular salty snacks, plays in the US$69 billion global travel retail industry. He also highlighted that America, Africa and Europe are the highest contributors to salty snack purchases.

According to Douma, “savoury snacking is the only category within the food segment that has continuously gained momentum, so we believe there is a huge opportunity to create more space for savoury snacking”.

Again using m1nd-set statistics, he highlighted how savoury snacking “is winning in the Americas where it is outperforming chocolate. The figures indicate that shelf space opportunities are even larger than biscuits and sugar confectionery combined.”

Douma also noted the strong and growing appeal of savoury snacking in global travel retail, up from 30% in Q3 of 2023 to 35% in Q1 2024. “There is huge headroom for growth in this sector and Kellanova has that in its sights,” he said.

Kellanova’s vision is to grow the market through a focus on fact-based decision making, full support of industry partners and “being first and daring to distinguish”. Its five-pillar approach includes assortment, merchandising, pricing, promotion and shelf enhancement.

Considering Pringles’ position in the market, Douma underlined Kellanova’s implementation strategy in travel retail and how the various Pringles’ packs suit different areas and can also be used to boost cross-category sales.

“Pringles is a strong seller in many areas but there are higher pricing tiers which we are not included in, yet,” he added.

“Further travel retail-exclusive products are under development, including a Pringles Travel Gaming Set, Mr P Backpacks and Mr P Suitcase, to increase basket value.”

Pringles’ first global travel retail portfolio, which includes collectable tins and multipacks, launched this month (April) and the new products are likely to roll out early in 2025. ✈