Branded amenity kits beg to be re-gifted to friends, family

Go on admit it. You’ve thought about snatching up one of the branded amenity kits that are left behind by fellow premium-class passengers when deplaning the aircraft. I know I have!

No longer just humble giveaways containing socks and eye masks, amenity kits have evolved to become chic little satchels housing everything from lip balm and luxury skincare items to eau du toilette perfume. They are simply so stylish and utilitarian that they beg to be carried on board your next flight, or be re-gifted to partners, friends or family. In turn, they provide a valuable marketing platform for airlines and the brands they associate with.

If your airline of choice has teamed up with Hong Kong-based amenity kit provider FORMIA, chances are high the actual bag will boast the added panache of coming from a known luggage brand. FORMIA partners with the likes of Porsche Design and Rimowa, for example.

“We’ve developed an interesting niche over the last couple of years. A number of luggage brands never really looked at the airline market specifically, but now they develop mini-sized bags for the amenity kits that are very small in budget. If you fly first or business class, you tend to leave behind the amenity kit especially if it is not branded. But one of the things we work on is the amenity kit as a secondary function. We make it attractive enough that if passengers do not want to take it home for themselves, they’ll see the need to take it as a nice giveaway for friends, family or children because it has so much value to simply leave it behind,” says FORMIA executive director Yves Alavo. “That’s the value we bring to a small product like amenity bags.”

FORMIA’s customers include Austrian Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. Qatar’s amenity kits, pictured, feature Salvatore Ferragamo cosmetics in a bag embossed with the eponymous Italian luxury brand.

“Going forward, we see more luxury brands on board in general, and a better understanding of what the value is for them for them to be distributed to first- and business-class passengers,” says Alavo. “Offering an amenity kit of passengers is a fantastic marketing platform for airlines. It is the only place where the passenger receives their product, their sample, and they are stuck with it for a couple of hours; even the retail world can’t offer this captive audience. Some may describe it as ‘try-vertising’. We see more luxury brands open to partnerships with airlines as retails’ consumers are increasingly becoming frequent travellers.”

In the amenity kit market FORMIA is well positioned to attract continued business; the company holds an exclusive partnership agreement with LSG Sky Chefs to develop LSG’s in-flight amenity kits and cosmetics business. Through a partnership with ADA Cosmetics (Europe’s leading manufacturer of hotel cosmetics and  considered the pioneer of customised hotel cosmetic products) FORMIA has strengthened its access to a strong network of interesting cosmetics brands, as well as development expertise of  customised cosmetics lines.

“As FORMIA is today the only company in the industry doing amenity kits only, we’re focusing more on the development of the product and the value of the product on board. Our strategic partnership with LSG Sky Chefs allows us therefore for our joint customers to focus on the product development whereas the logistics, assembly, bringing to one region or another is something where LSG takes the lead,” says Alavo.