Moodie Davitt: “Babor partners with Blueprint to extend travel retail footprint”

The German beauty brand’s products are available in Gebr. Heinemann’s airport duty-free stores at Copenhagen Airport

German skincare brand Babor has partnered with Copenhagen business development consultancy Blueprint to bolster its travel retail presence.

The 68-year-old research-driven beauty brand continues to step up its focus in the channel through successful listings with Gebr. Heinemann’s airport duty-free stores, including the most recent one at Copenhagen Airport. It is also now listed with the travel retailer’s duty-free shops in Norway, Germany, Austria, Türkiye and the Baltics, as well as inflight and onboard cruises.

Babor Beauty Group is regarded as one of the top professional skincare brands in Europe, with sales reaching €265 million (US$282.2 million) in 2023. The company offers consumers the Babor Trinity of performance – luxury, experience and sustainability.

A pioneer in professional skincare, Babor is popular for using a combination of innovative and active formulas

The brand is popular for its key product ranges including its ampoule concentrates, cleansing lines and Doctor Babor collection. Its products are formulated with what it calls high-performance, clinical-grade skincare to ensure maximum skin compatibility and efficacy.

Babor also highlights its sustainability ethos, or “clean standards”, requiring all its products to be free from silicones, parabens, pegs, microplastics, sulfates (LES/SLES), mineral oil, synthetic colourants and non-certified palm oil. The company’s 2025 target is to use clean ingredients in all its product assortments.

Babor Director for Travel Retail Lara Schlüte said: “Babor is known as a standard-setter in medical-like skincare having developed highly effective, sustainable individual solutions for consumers with every skin type.

“In travel retail, we already have strong proof-of-concept thanks to our collaboration with Gebr. Heinemann, which has been highly successful. With a Babor product being sold every four seconds worldwide, we are ready for a wider geographical push into global travel retail.”

Gen Z in sharp focus

While Gen Z travellers are set to become the dominant consumer group in travel retail by 2028, Babor is setting its sights on this market segment. Citing data from management consultancy McKinsey, the company emphasised Gen Z’s important role in the growth of the beauty market, which is seen to increase by +6% a year, reaching approximately about US$580 billion by 2027.

Gen Z currently accounts for 9% of today’s travellers and by 2028 they are expected to account for 1.2 billion passengers a year.

Babor has partnered with Blueprint because of the consultancy’s focus on the Gen Z market, as well as its track record supporting more than 50 companies in travel retail.

Schlüter added: “Babor considers the travel retail channel a strategic priority. To support our strategy, we extend a warm welcome to Blueprint, a team of industry specialists with decades of experience having successfully supported brands, airports and retailers. We look forward to working side-by-side with Blueprint on reinforcing our travel retail business.”

Blueprint Partner Karl Walter commented: “Babor’s sustainable and clean-beauty credentials make it a highly amenable brand to travellers including Gen Z who are looking for science-backed, clinically proven ingredients coupled with eco-friendly, authentic messaging.

“Babor’s uncompromising commitment to clean beauty is backed by listings in 70 countries, from Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s to Stockmann, Magasin du Nord and Harvey Nichols – Babor’s track record remains impressive.”

The Babor headquarters in Aachen is where all research, development and production activities exclusively take place

Babor is the flagship brand of German family-owned company Babor Beauty Group, which has just opened a modern and highly sustainable production and logistics cluster. Based in Germany, the fully electric factory uses almost no fossil fuels and will be largely energy self-sufficient by 2030.

The Babor brand has already developed travel sizes within its collection and will be relaunching key product lines in the months ahead.

The brand is also well-known for its spas in popular global hotels, including the Adlon and Waldorf Astoria in Berlin, Dubai’s Marriott The Palm and The Westin Elbspa in Hamburg, as well as onboard MS Europa. ✈