We carry 58 tonnes of M&Ms in our carry-on baggage

Wine gums for the kids, sunscreen lotion for the beach bag and a bottle of good wine for those warm evenings – there are many things to choose from. Copenhagen Airport's duty- and tax-free shop has made a survey of what summer holiday travellers buy the most, and sweets are not surprisingly the most popular items for the trip.

Although they don't exactly promote a perfect bikini body, summer is the time of the year when sales of sweets and chocolate are highest at the duty- and tax-free shops. In fact, the duty- and tax-free shops at Copenhagen Airport sold as much as 28 tonnes of Toblerone, 15 tonnes of cookies and 5.5 tonnes of Pingvin salty licorice pastilles during the months of June, July and August last year, when 6.5 million people travelled through Copenhagen Airport.

Mmm... lots and lots of M&Ms
Not surprisingly, the original, colourful and fun sweets called M&Ms are also a very popular choice. The survey shows that, during the months of summer last year, as much as 58 tonnes of the small, round, rainbow-coloured sweets were bought in the tax-free shops. Fifty-eight tonnes of these colourful candies would fill six swimming pools: they would weigh more than an empty Boeing 737 aircraft and are the equivalent of 2,522 full suitcases.

"Because we can see that our travellers love chocolate, especially M&Ms, we've decided to give them an extra chocolate experience this summer. Travellers will have a special opportunity to buy M&Ms for their journey when the popular chocolate brand moves into what we call 'the Brand Box'," said Søren Borch, managing director of Gebr. Heinemann Retail Aps, the company that operates the duty- and tax-free shops at Copenhagen Airport.  

At the Brand Box, you will see M&Ms in all colours of the rainbow and a very special machine that can tell you which colour of M&Ms suit you the very best. Of course, you can also buy lots of M&Ms at the Brand Box, as well as merchandise such as T-shirts, drinking bottles and teddy bears. Moreover, flyers will be handed out for passengers to scratch and see whether they are among the lucky ones who receive a 10% or 20% discount on their M&M product purchases.

Avoid carrying out and back
Passengers travelling through Copenhagen Airport can also order their duty- and tax-free products online even before departure, and their items will then be ready for pick-up on departure as carry-on baggage. Products purchased online can be picked up several places at the airport, making it easy for passengers to fit it into their travel plans.

Passengers who do not wish to take their duty- and tax-free items with them can use the Pick Up on Return service, which allows people to pick up their items in the baggage reclaim area on their return. 

Facts:

• Visit the online duty- and tax-free shop at www.cph.dk/taxfree  
• Products ordered online can be collected when you return to Copenhagen Airport with the Pick Up on Return service. More information on this service is available here.
• The M&M Brand Box will be in the main duty- and tax-free shop from 15 July to 30 September, offering M&Ms in all colours of the rainbow as well as a special machine that tells you which colour suits you best. You also receive a scratch ticket that could get you either a 10% or 20% discount on your M&M purchase.
• Top 10 products at the duty- and tax-free stores in 2013:
  1) Kildevæld spring water
  2) Coca-Cola
  3) Kelsen, Danish Butter Cookies, tin
  4) Kelsen, Danish Butter Cookies, box
  5) Coca-Cola Zero
  6) Pingvin salted licorice pastilles
  7) Marabou milk chocolate
  8) Marabou milk chocolate with nuts
  9) Biotherm moisturising lotion
  10) Sprite
• Moreover, 43% of all sunglasses and 44% of all sun screen lotion is sold in June, July and August