Blueprint celebrates major milestone with Gazelle Award
The award builds on a pivotal two-year transformation during which the company introduced new knowledge-transfer capabilities, took stakes in some of the businesses it supports and implemented a three-partner governance structure.
Copenhagen business development consultancy Blueprint has been honoured with the prestigious Gazelle award from Danish financial newspaper Børsen.
The prestigious recognition is awarded to only 0.9% of Danish-registered companies based on six financial and growth-related criteria. Established in 1995, the distinction is granted exclusively to high-growth companies and cannot be applied for.
The award comes as Blueprint continues to expand its client base to over 60 companies in 2024, up from 50 in 2023. It also follows a pivotal two-year transformation during which the company introduced new knowledge-transfer capabilities, took stakes in some of the businesses it supports and implemented a three-partner governance structure.
Blueprint Partner Sonja Soskic said: “Winning the Gazelle award matters. To make it through the COVID years and deliver +260% increase in 2024 revenue versus 2019 revenue is a heartfelt win. The award celebrates the team’s achievements, and it is an honour to be recognised by Børsen.”
Blueprint Partner Karl Walter added: “As with many businesses in travel retail, the COVID years were not easy to navigate. That period encouraged us to step outside our comfort zone. It forced us to ask ourselves what value we bring to the table and why we exist in the first place.
“Looking back, our first reality check in 2020 was that the status quo was no more. At the time, it felt like being lost in a dense forest, but standing still doesn’t get you out of the trees – only moving forward will.
“We chose a direction based on gut feeling and invested valuable resources with every single step, whether right or wrong – learning by doing if you like. Today, we have learned to embrace experimentation. We keep an open mind on our way to success. If we fail, we want to fail fast and succeed faster, and in doing both we are constantly learning and finding out what is scalable and what’s not.”
Delivering tailored solutions across global markets
Walter continued: “As we enter year nine as a business development consultancy, we will continue to service airports, operators and brands in Europe, Middle East, APAC and North America with tailor-made solutions.
“From insight workshops and trend analysis to commercial strategies, go-to-market planning and best practice sparring, we will continue to provide the industry with travel retail knowledge transfer.”
Soskic said: “Our two-year transformation process has strengthened our core capabilities and enhanced the team’s overall ability to evolve faster. This process has been necessary as it prepares us for the rapid and intense changes travel retail is facing in the coming years.”
Responding to rapid shifts in travel retail
Blueprint Partner Thomas Kaneko Henningsen commented: “The travel retail industry is no stranger to change. What’s new is the speed and intensity of change have accelerated to a level where it requires industry stakeholders to revisit the travel retail playbook.
“What worked yesterday will not work in the coming years. We truly believe megatrends, including artificial intelligence, social media algorithms and younger travellers, are transforming the travel retail experience as we know it.
“Today, we welcome a wider range of clients and business partners because they encourage us to think differently. Every single time we take on industry-first projects, it enables Blueprint to evolve in new directions.
“It may be a painful process at times, but it is highly necessary. One could argue that the harder the project, the more we rely on critical thinking and extraordinary capabilities to cross the finish line. This process encourages us to constantly evolve.
“What is our recipe for success? It is simple, it is people driven. We only take on clients and business partners we truly believe in. It is a privilege to work with people who are totally committed, capable and trustworthy – success is a team sport.”
Blueprint operates as a small yet highly effective team of partners and associates, bringing over 45 years of travel retail experience, having supported airports, operators and brands across Europe, the Middle East, APAC and North America.
Company associates offer critical day-to-day support in areas such as forecasting, trend analysis, content creation and graphic design.
The company is a member of major travel retail associations, including NTRG in the Nordics, ACI Europe, and APTRA in Asia Pacific.
Walter commented: “Our ambition is not to become the biggest consultancy in travel retail. What keeps us going is building relevant partnerships based on mutual trust, authenticity and positive energy. This has to flow both ways between us, clients and business partners, particularly when taking on industry-first projects.” 
