InnoTRI Co-Founder & Manager Steffen Brandt: Slowly but surely the retailers adapt. A lot of them are lured to continue a certain business/selling a product because the profit incentive is higher from a liquor giant versus a local craft distillery – which is very often the only chance to manage the cost structure at an airport. We are not pointing fingers as both airports and retailers are involved but we want to point out that the displayed assortment is not entirely based on consumer demand.

Increasingly, big liquor companies branch out and buy small distilleries trying to integrate them in their portfolio. Currently we see a lot of activities to create a ‘crafty’ environment but it won’t be enough to use big brands marketing activities such as ‘single barrel’, ‘limited edition’ or ‘forgotten distilleries’. Other ways are to localise global brands, such as the sleeving of regular products, thereby creating an illusion for the consumer.

Retailers have to deal with smaller suppliers or ‘boutique solutions’ like InnoTRI Limited. There they have the opportunity to buy local craft spirits from one source in order to keep complexity low without missing local trends and products. Most craft producers know about their unique product and their superb quality and as a result they won’t sell their portfolio at all costs. Margins will be definitely a few percentage points lower in comparison with the big brands.

Rockland Managing Director Amal de Silva Wijeyeratne: As long as the ‘old boys network’ continues, along with retailers that have committed to long term contract volumes and tied up their shelf spaces for a fee with the big few, there is little motive by retailers to rock the boat. Therefore, travel retail will see little change, and sadly, travel retail spaces will therefore continue to be as dull as ever.

The Cotswolds Distillery Head of Sales Kevin Fowler: We’ve just begun operating in travel retail and couldn’t be more impressed with World Duty Free. They’ve recognised the opportunity presented by local craft brands and really supported us through the launch. World Duty Free seem to understand that consumers passing through the airport are particularly keen to take home a taste of where they’ve been visiting – we’ve seen that for years in terms of fridge magnets and boxes of biscuits, but it applies just as much to spirits too. Craft brands have much stronger local or national stories to tell than their mass-produced counterparts, so it’s a great way of tapping into that consumer need.

Liviko Export Marketing Manager Anna-Kai Tõrs: I think retailers have accepted the category really well and include craft products in their portfolio. The biggest challenge for a craft spirit is to get listed by the big retailers and compete with the pricing and investments of well-known brands.