Gillian has always been well known as a premium chocolate brand and has made a name for itself in the global market with its seahorse and seashell assortments.
Due to the nature of its products and their tendency to be used as gifts, the company has been innovating towards larger boxes containing around 20 chocolates each, but in recent months has decided to take a new direction in Asia.
“We have specially developed smaller packages of Gillian Chocolates for the Asian market, each containing three to six pieces,” Sven Adriaenssens, Gillian Duty Free and Retail Travel senior channel manager, told FoodNavigator-Asia at the Global Duty Free Association (TFWA) event this year.
“This is part of our new pricing strategy to target an entirely new consumer demographic, particularly those who would rather pick up a Guillian Chocolate at the register and consume it themselves rather than giving it as a gift.”
“There's also the affordability aspect to consider here – some consumers may want to try Gillian's chocolate but don't want to spend a lot of money to buy a box just to try it, so this is a good option for them too.”
“We can clearly see that dark chocolate is growing incredibly well in this market and the upside is phenomenal, so this is certainly a direction we will continue to pursue.”
That said, the brand is also catering to its traditional premium demographic with innovation, such as its “Master's Selection” premium pralines, which come in a box of 24 in six unique flavors, including coffee cardamom and caramel pineapple.
“The creation and production of Master's Selection focuses on refinement and craftsmanship, in line with our premium tagline,” he said.
“Regular seashells are of course valuable and luxurious, but these are made with a lot more care and a lot more craftsmanship, whereas the production lines are more automated.”
“Change is happening rapidly and we know that today's consumer may not be the same tomorrow, so it's vital to keep our target consumer demographic broad and offer something for everyone.”
“However, given the rapid growth and evolution of the Indian market, we now consider India as a key focus market.”
“There's a lot of talk in the travel retail industry about waiting for Chinese travellers to return and that growth is starting to happen, but we're not going to just wait and will continue to revitalise our products to capture a wider range of customers in both travel retail and the domestic market.”
Renovation completed
Guylian completed a complete portfolio refresh this year, narrowing its SKUs from more than 1,000 items to a few key categories.
“We're currently focusing on original shells, pralines, tablets and assortments,” he said.
“In travel retail, we are also looking to refresh our retail shelf branding in markets such as Turkey, Singapore and Dubai to improve presentation and consistency.”
