Opinion: Lindt’s Peter Zehnder on delivering a holiday experience ‘as sweet as premium chocolate’

Introduction: The Christmas season brings a surge in international travel, creating the perfect environment for travel retail brands to thrive. For Lindt, this peak period presents a strategic opportunity to captivate shoppers with their premium chocolate offerings.

In this opinion piece, Lindt Head of Global Travel Retail Peter Zehnder delves into the chocolate house’s approach, demonstrating how it combines enchantment with commercial success to solidify its position as a leader in the seasonal gifting market.

For travel retail, the Christmas holiday season is a perfect cocktail, involving a generous dash of gift-giving, plenty of goodwill and a healthy uptick in international travel. It is no wonder, then, that for many brands – Lindt included – this peak travel period presents a opportunity to capture the attention of shoppers.

While our own research suggests that chocolate is bought most frequently as a year-round gift, the importance of peak holiday periods – not only commercially, but also in terms of brand engagement – cannot be overstated. This is especially true for the Lindt brand, which has a strong association with seasonal celebrations.

Here’s an exploration of how Lindt transforms airports into enchanting festive destinations, engages consumers creatively and uses visual storytelling to make the most of festive cheer.

Creating a festive gifting experience

Lindt’s Christmas airport activations are meticulously designed to bring joy and enchantment to travellers during the festive season. These activations transform the usual transactional nature of airport shopping into a delightful experience, capturing the essence of holiday spirit.

Making strong use of our distinctive assets in a festive look and feel ensures not only the recognisability of the Lindt brand but also acts as a signpost for the category as a whole.

Our research shows that when shoppers purchase gifts for others, they tend to seek out trusted brands and often spend a little more than they might on themselves. This is particularly true at Christmas, a time when seasonal gifting is also notably less price-sensitive. This trend is a positive in the current economic environment and reinforces the importance of premium cues.

With this in mind, we have made sure to communicate very clearly on Lindt’s premium positioning. This means playing up the premium cues with bold use of signature Christmas colours, such as red and gold, which at the same time happen to be some of our brand colours, while also focusing on the premium gifting options in our portfolio.

Through these festive activations, Lindt not only showcases its premium gifting solutions but also builds emotional connections that enhance the overall travel experience.

Driving consumer engagement

With shoppers in the mood for festive fun and indulgence, we want to ensure that is exactly what we deliver. Our Christmas activations at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport combined visual impact with engagement and sampling, making Lindt the chocolate gift of choice. A ‘Spin the Wheel’ game offered shoppers the chance to win prizes, while samples were handed out by staff dressed in our Master Chocolatier uniforms.

These elements created a buzz and acted as a focal point to draw shoppers into a space jam-packed with festive touches that displayed clear gifting cues and offered dedicated gifting options, including beautifully packaged assortments and personalised messages. And at the centre of it all: our chocolate, which shoppers were able to taste live.

This level of engagement not only brings the Lindt brand to life but also serves to energise the entire retail space. Few categories are as intrinsically linked to Christmas as chocolate, which has a universal appeal that retailers can harness to drive footfall and increase penetration.

Visual storytelling: A treat for the senses

With many shoppers in gifting mode – and therefore likely to search out trusted brands with strong quality credentials – it is vital to communicate effectively. For all the shoppers that plan to pick up gifts for friends and family at the airport, there are plenty who will be making last-minute unplanned purchases. Clarity is key.

Across our activations this year, Lindt has focused on clarity of messaging and storytelling.

From the use of bauble motifs to images of our Master Chocolatiers and golden bows adorning our displays, our goal is to drive home clear gifting cues, quality credentials, and festive messages.

What truly makes these activations work, however, is the emotional storytelling around our products. Not only does this position Lindt as a leader in the chocolate gifting market, but it also reminds travellers that the act of giving can be as sweet as the taste of premium chocolates during the most wonderful time of the year.