BlogConfectionery & Fine Food

Introduction by: Peter Marshall

Last month in Dubai I had the privilege of being the only Travel Retail media attending the 10th Anniversary celebrations of Harison. Retailers across the world were invited to a number of events over 3 days, the highlight of which was the gala dinner. And it wasn’t just dinner, it provided a wonderful opportunity for Shibu Thomas, CEO and Chief Brand Architect Harison Chocolates and MD Sweet Garden Travel Retail and his team to launch a series of new products to Travel Retail.

As you will read from the interview with Shibu, his US Country Manager Cameron Morris and industry consultant, Felix Brunner, it has not been an easy road to success. There have been a number of bumps for this exclusive-to-duty-free brand – notably COVID. But Harison weathered the storm and this unique brand has upped its game with the launch of exciting, new products that almost double its product portfolio.

Harison deserves the recognition it has merited. The range of products offered are exclusive to duty free, offer premium quality chocolate and at a great price. The packaging is standout and, if you haven’t tried the product before, you should. The taste is great.

The interview was recorded at the anniversary event.


Peter Marshall (PM): Gentlemen, welcome to TRunblocked.com.  It’s been special being here in Dubai celebrating the ten year anniversary of Harison. With me now is Shibu Thomas, who is CEO of Sweetgarden, Cameron Morris, who is Harison’s Country Manager for the USA/Americas and Felix Brunner, previously with Dufry (Avolta), now acting as a consultant to the company. Thank you all for your time.

A special event celebrating Harison Premium Chocolate’s 10 Year Anniversary, and at a special hotel location:  Sofitel Dubai,The Palm

Shibu, let me start with you. When you started trading ten years ago, you took a long, hard look at the marketplace and realized there was a clear niche for premium, great tasting chocolates that delivered not only quality, but also offered real value for money.  As a company you decided – and this is unique – to source originally from different countries globally renowned for producing the highest quality chocolate product –  Belgium, Italy and Switzerland. So how have things moved on from there, because it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, hasn’t it?

Shibu Thomas (ST): Exactly. And thank you very much for this interview, Peter. And we are very delighted to share our experience over the last ten years. It has been a wonderful and sometimes very challenging journey.

You know, creating a brand, establishing a brand successfully, selling the brand to consumers, that’s been the real success of our story. We developed a product that is very consumer-centric. We think we have tapped into the emotional value that our consumers attach to our product range. In our development, we had to do a lot of blind tastings to get the right recipes, but we got there in the end.

As you said, the price point was key. We had to find a price which was affordable to every segment of the travelling community. On top of that, we had to make it an attractive proposition to the trade, the other major beneficiary. Harison chocolates are exclusive to Travel Retail. That’s what makes us so different – no one had ever dared to do this before. Others looked at packaging differences, but we did it as a brand. And in 10 years we believe the uniqueness of our brand has driven customer interest and footfall. I am so proud, the product ‘look’ looks so good on the shelf.

Shibu Thomas, CEO and Chief Brand Architect, Harison Chocolates and MD Sweet Garden Travel Retail

PM: It all started 10 years ago in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, then grew slowly but surely in the Middle East and Far East. But one of the things that really gave you liftoff was the connection with Felix, when he was at Dufry, who listed your products into a number of their stores in different countries. Felix?

Felix Bruner (FB): I mean, it was a bold decision at the time,  given Dufry’s existing relationships with some of the major other players. 

PM: What pointed you in the direction of Harison, and why did you decide to list the brand in  the first place?

FB:  I think it’s quite simple. Nestlé, Mondelez, Mars – they are all  linked to the major travel retail players. They are available in almost all the duty free stores. The same goes for other categories like perfume. You have Chanel, Dior etc. you have them all. In order to differentiate yourself, you need to have unique products. One way to do it is by sourcing  local products. But this is a completely different avenue. The main proposition in Harison’s case is that the offer was and remains exclusive to duty free. 

Felix Brunner, ex Dufry (now Avolta), is now acting as a consultant to Harison.

PM: So, Shibu, now how many markets are you currently listed in?

ST: Well, we are principally in the Middle and Far East. I would say we are now in 16 countries around the world, that’s the current reach, but now we are set for major expansion.

PM: Of course it wasn’t easy for you during COVID times.

ST:  You’re right.  We were supposed to grow much faster and COVID interrupted the entire business for us and for many other players in Travel Retail. We had to rebuild the business completely. So now anyway, we have more than recovered and the last two years have been phenomenal.

PM: As I understand it, during COVID  you actually managed to secure a domestic US business with Walmart, which has actually grown for you from 1500 outlets to 3400 today. That must have  given you a real lifeline to keep this business going and stay relatively stable through the COVID storm. Because many companies would have gone to the wall, and many did. But you’re a fighter, a tenacious character and you have to be congratulated on this.

And Walmart? Well, what a great retailer to be involved with. And that gives us a very useful bridge and introduction to Cameron, who now represents you in the States and who is now actively pursuing opening new Travel Retail doors to the Harison brand. Cracking Travel Retail in the US is not the easiest thing, Cameron, is it?

Cameron Morris (CM): Yes, Peter, you are right, it is a challenging market, but the outlook is  positive. We went to IAADFS this year and had some meetings there and we’ve unlocked, you know, South America, at least in Argentina. So we have a presence growing and see a really great future, in Canada, in the US and in South America as well.

Cameron Morris is Harison’s US Country Manager, developing business in the Americas

PM: That’s very good to hear. Is it going to be difficult shipping product to Argentina? 

CM: It takes around 45 days.

PM: Okay, so obviously we know where you are strong in certain markets. But one of the gaps is Europe. How are you going to convince the retailers with their incumbent brands to stock Harison? Felix, perhaps you give us an answer to that.

FB: Sure. I think the most important point is that we can practice in 1 or 2 locations, even if it’s the smaller ones. Then when you have a reference point, it is much easier to convince other retailers. And I think this is part, a big part of my role, to explain to the retailers that the brand is successful in different parts of the world.

As I mentioned before, I was in Asia and in the Middle East for Dufry. Now we obviously have great experience with Walmart. So we just need  to help the retailers believe that the brand is successful. So what we are asking is just to give us a chance, we will prove that the product is working well.

PM: Well, that takes us nicely to the brand itself. Last night we saw some product launches that actually rocked the audience attending, great tasting and beautifully packaged stuff. What was shown almost doubles your portfolio of products in real terms. Cameron, can you just give us  the detail? 

CM: Well first, you know, we had as a brand to be very, very sure about any line extension, because line extension always means that you put a lot of investment into that. 

And you have to make sure that is the right product. So research, tastings, etc, all of this is involved. And of course there needs to be differentiation – you don’t want to compete in any area where there are already lots of products, especially in Duty Free.

So, as you already stated, we have already three source origins within our portfolio.  We are now adding three more origins – from France, Germany and Dubai, too, So six origins are now there in total that comprises our range of chocolates. So when a customer comes to visit any duty free stores, the duty free operator can easily say: choose the origin you would like.

That’s what Harison is all about. You know, you may have 15 or 20 origins in one brand. So people say, okay, I want to have a chocolate from Switzerland. You got it. I wanted to have  chocolate from Indonesia. You got it. And Brazil. You got it. That’s how the brand is going to serve the customer.

That’s what the duty free concept is all about. And many people don’t understand it. We do, we understand and we are dedicated to serving today’s consumer needs.

PM: Okay Cameron, just walk us through exactly what the products are and the difference that they make. 

CM: So under Harison, there are four new products, in two separate groups. From France, we are introducing soft dusted truffles in a hazelnut and a dark chocolate, foil wrapped in a 200g box. I would say they are decadent, soft and delicious. Obviously a brand new origin source. 

Then, from the UAE we have the Choco Dates.These are Arabian Khudri dates wrapped in chocolate, enrobing a Californian almond

PM: Such a great taste.

CM: Thank you. We selected the date from this country. It’s  large, it’s juicy, it’s sweet. Moreover, it has two rounds of Belgian chocolate wrapped around it. And it’s individually wrapped, housed in beautiful, sustainable packaging. It’s a 250g box.

PM: I believe the two coatings of chocolate really make that truly original.

CM: Yes. The Khudri date we’ve chosen is a really premium date, from here, home grown. As you can imagine, we’re importing that chocolate from Belgium, and then inserting a California almond in the middle of the date.

So it’s a really unique product. But again it is, as Shibu says, giving the tourists something that’s essentially local with very premium Belgian chocolate.

And then, in the Jersee brand, we are launching three separate subcategories of product. These are currently only in the domestic market. The  first is No Sugar in 5 different varieties – dark, whole milk, white chocolate, cookies and hazelnut. The second one is our Vegan chocolate. This comes in dark, white and caramel. And then the last is our Protein Added product – there’s whey protein included in the chocolate. The choices here are chocolate crisp, white crisp and hazelnut crisp.

 

So, again, we start with the consumer – providing what they are looking for. This new Jersee range is sourced out of Germany. The Jersee brand is a nutritionally-based optimal chocolate catering to today’s consumer needs. We think we are meeting new consumer demand with this range. The packaging is also strikingly attractive in terms of its design.

Last, but not least, we’ve completely redesigned our Italian Truffles range. New colours, sustainable packaging in 350g and 100g packs. As with all our other brands, it’s a unique gifting product.

 

 

PM: So just how sustainable are your products?

ST: I mean that’s difficult to manage fully. We have taken a first step with these new products and are looking at all aspects of our packaging and our supply chain.

PM: One of the things that the last couple of days have shown us is your dedication to getting things operationally right. We all visited the 350,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution facility that you share with the Aal Mir Group which was actually very impressive –  highly automated and air conditioned, too – which makes a big difference here in Dubai!

 

ST: I think seeing the warehouse  showed a lot of our visitors that we have the wherewithal, the resources not only to arrange the assortments, but to match their expectations of our storage and distribution. We are one of a group of companies where 1200 people work and having access to this type of facility makes our operation that much more effective.

PM: So, Shibu, the brand clearly punches above its weight. If there are three things you wanted to communicate to the trade right now, what would they be?

ST:  First, we are there for the travel retail industry. We just want to provide them with the best product at the best price. So our retailers do not have to defend themselves about the price comparison with the local market. That’s the best thing we can offer to them.

So three things?  I would say, number one, we lead with taste, a really uncompromised taste. Then, it’s the service that we deliver to the trade, with our brand ambassadors out there helping promote our products every day of the year.

The packaging that Cameron talked about and the above average service of our brand ambassadors –  that really pulls the consumer in. And then it’s the taste sensation and the quality of the products themselves. And of course, the affordability. All these things combined.

Yes, it’s quality I really want to emphasise. I think in the industry we’re seeing change and the consumers are noticing that some of the well-loved brands from a long time ago simply don’t taste the same as they used to.

PM: That’s an interesting observation, and it’s not the first time I’ve heard it.

ST: So, for us, the manufacturing and the taste created is really a big thing and we are not beholden to anyone except our consumers. We simply  go to the best source of  origin and they get the taste, and retailers  get the service from my side. Only 1 in 2  retailers currently give the brand a chance. I think we deserve to be given more opportunity.

PM: You mentioned your brand ambassadors earlier. How important are they to you?

ST:  Critical. It gives the consumer the opportunity to be the judge. And when we let that opportunity happen, they vote overwhelmingly with their wallet in the store.

PM: OK, Shibu, you’ve doubled your portfolio of premium chocolates, does that mean you expect to double your shelf space?

ST: That’s a decision for our retail partners, of course, but our new product launches are certainly special and deserve their attention.

PM: It seems to me that what Harison is doing ticks many boxes. But can you unpick the lock of Travel Retail in the wider global Travel Retail market, Felix?

FB: You know, Peter, there’s an old adage: if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. So you have to try something new to have a different result. And, you know, I think it is quite simple. During my tenure in Travel Retail, which lasted over 20 years, I always gave brand new products a chance. And then, as I mentioned before, it’s the consumers who will decide whether they like those products or not. I am certain that they will like Harison and I stand behind the brand.

Peter Marshall

Founder: trunblocked.com/Marshall Arts
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