Small Brand, Big Channel: Jacqueline Lampert on the PeppaRose Travel Retail Strategy
4 minutes read
Introduction by: Peter Marshall
In an industry still dominated by scale and legacy thinking, founder-led brands are often expected to adapt fast – or fall away quietly. Jacqueline Lampert isn’t planning on doing that.
Through PeppaRose, she has built a brand that balances creative integrity with commercial discipline in travel retail. As the sector continues to debate how open it truly is to smaller players, the founder and creative director offers a clear-eyed view of what it takes to compete – and endure.
TRunblocked.com’s Colleen Morgan speaks with Jacqueline about her route into the industry, why travel retail became a strategic focus, the pressure points facing independent brands, and how she sees PeppaRose evolving in the years ahead.
Colleen Morgan (CM): Jacqueline, you come from a fashion background – what experience and expertise did you bring into launching PeppaRose?
Jacqueline Lampert (JL): My previous experience in fashion was fundamental. I understood early that success isn’t just about creative vision – it’s about reading the market, identifying gaps, and designing with purpose. Fashion is intensely crowded, so differentiation has always shaped my thinking.
That background also gave me the operational discipline needed to execute – from design and textile sourcing to close collaboration with manufacturers to ensure consistent, high-quality production.
CM: What was the original spark behind PeppaRose, and the market gap you identified?
JL: PeppaRose was born onboard a cruise ship. After COVID, my husband and I took a luxury cruise from Venice to Rome. Each evening as the ship left port, I visited the boutique hoping to find something emotionally connected to the journey.
While beautifully presented, the offer felt familiar. At port, I saw the same contrast: global luxury brands at one end and inexpensive souvenirs that felt disposable at the other, with very little in between.
That gap became the spark for PeppaRose: destination-inspired pieces that are beautifully made, easy to travel with, and meaningful to the journey itself.
CM: PeppaRose was conceived for the travel environment. What makes the travel retail customer – and moment – different?
JL: Travel retail customers are open to discovery and receptive to products tied to experience. Here, it isn’t enough to be well made or well known – a product must feel relevant to place and moment.
Our scarves are designed to be discovered while travelling. A destination-inspired piece becomes a tangible memory or thoughtful gift: lightweight, functional, easy to pack, and emotionally linked to travel.
For us, travel retail isn’t just a sales channel. It is the natural home of the brand.
CM: Working with major global travel retailers can be tough for smaller brands. What have you learned from operating at that scale?
JL: Execution and reliability are everything. Even as a small founder-led brand, our logistics and infrastructure must operate with the rigour of a much larger organisation. That expectation shaped the business from day one.
I’ve been deliberate about partnerships. Our manufacturers in Italy and Nepal are multi-generational specialists who understand quality, consistency, and accountability. Finding them required extensive vetting but has been central to our credibility.
Lead times are another reality, not only in production but in design. Because our artwork is hand-drawn and research-led, development takes time, making clear alignment with retail partners essential.
CM: Travel retail can be unforgiving in terms of margins, operational complexity, and the need to scale quickly. Have you questioned whether it was the right channel for PeppaRose?
JL: Travel retail is demanding and requires real clarity about who you are as a brand. The learning curve can be steep, but I approach challenges by asking what they teach me. I’ve never questioned whether this was the right path for PeppaRose.
We run a lean business and price competitively, while recognising we won’t be the right fit for every retailer.
Our scarves are made from natural fibres, finished by hand, and feature original artwork – and there’s a baseline below which this type of product cannot be ethically produced.
What keeps me committed is that travel retail ultimately rewards authenticity and differentiation.
CM: Why should retailers actively back smaller, founder-led brands like PeppaRose rather than defaulting to established names?
JL: Backing a founder-led brand only makes sense if it strengthens the merchandising mix, attracts customers, and drives results. Smaller brands are nimble, responsive, and closely connected to their product.
We design with specificity, responding to destinations and retail context in ways global seasonal cycles often can’t. When something works, we lean into it; when it doesn’t, we adjust quickly.
Retailers benefit from assortments that feel different and interesting, and founder-led brands can provide that edge.
CM: Looking ahead, how are you approaching portfolio expansion?
JL: Our destination-driven artwork extends naturally into new categories, but time is our most valuable resource. We focus on areas where demand is proven and momentum is building.
Sustainability is central to PeppaRose. We prioritise natural and plant-based fabrics and avoid petrochemical synthetics. While silk and cashmere will always remain the textile heartbeat of the brand, we are also introducing modal – a plant-based, regenerated textile – as a complementary material in 2026. This will allow us to reach a broader audience while staying aligned with our core values.
PeppaRose is currently sold onboard Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and we are deepening our cruise retail presence with additional partners for Alaska and Mediterranean sailings in 2026. We’re also selectively exploring airports and airlines. Growth matters, but it must be measured and sustainable.
CM: What does long-term success look like, and how ambitious must brands be today?
JL: For PeppaRose, success means sustained, incremental growth and earning a place across the travel retail ecosystem – starting with cruise, where momentum is strong, and expanding strategically into airport environments where our destination led approach can add value.
It isn’t about being everywhere. We are not mass produced; our role is to offer something distinctive that enhances the retail experience.
Brands must be deeply ambitious to succeed in travel retail. It’s intensely competitive, and complacency isn’t an option. Every brand must continually ask: what makes us different, and commercially meaningful?
