Craft Spirits
Voice of the brands on the craft opportunity (II)
How can travel retail become a home and testing ground for newness, innovation and a showcase for craft products?
Jägermeister Vice-President Global Travel Retail Tobias Witte: Travel retail is perceived as a premium retail channel for spirits in particular and at Jägermeister we will continue to be present to premiumise the storytelling of our brand and spearhead innovation in the channel.
Jägermeister is building on its status as the eighth largest premium spirits brand line in the travel retail channel (IWSR)
Whyte & Mackay Head of Marketing GTR & Emerging Markets Clarisse Daniels: Travel retail is an ideal showcase for innovation and is a perfect market to draw new shoppers into the single malt sector by engaging them with stories and brands which they do not otherwise see in person.
This market also provides an excellent platform for highlighting true craftsmanship. For example, The Dalmore Decades collection, whose six-bottle set was sold for more than £930,000 at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, was showcased with a very limited release of its five-bottle set with key travel retailers in Asia Pacific. Releases like this help to underline the luxury nature of the brand in a market where it can be appreciated by duty free shoppers.
The potential of travel retail as a testing ground and showcase for single malts, especially premium ones, is limited only by space available and the logistics for shoppers. Having the opportunity to showcase a product and tell its story is vital, and true partnership is needed with retailers to ensure this is possible.
Furthermore, more options are needed for consumers to allow them to take home the products they discover, through increased allowances for home delivery options. If brands can create incredible products and work with retailers to showcase them, then we must ensure shoppers can take them with them.
The Dalmore Decades: Crafting excellence
Bottega President Sandro Bottega: The tastings organised directly at the point of sale are an excellent way to promote craft and niche products. We have been doing these activities for several years in the travel retail areas at the main airports.
Brown-Forman Managing Director Global Travel Retail David Rodiek: A great opportunity lies in the close cooperation between retailers and the industry: By working closely together we can identify new trends in products, packaging or in the presentation, and test them in the travel retail sector before rolling them out to local markets.
As a result, the sector has the potential to establish itself even more strongly in its role as a driver and testing ground for innovations.
Fun and innovation in the drinks space with Extime Paris at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Sugarloaf Beverage Company Managing Director Shane Davey: As long as the duty free buyers are measured purely on margin and profit, the [channel] can never be a testing ground for real innovation. Small innovative brands will struggle against the budget [of the major players], and buyers will back the big guys.
Sustainaholics Founder David Mills: Retailers need to focus on long-term decision metrics supporting the total value proposition that innovative craft brands bring to their brand equity, rather than fixating only on percentage margin, lowest unit cost and listing fees.
The lowest cost often does not deliver the highest overall value. The ‘pay to play’ model only favours the big brands that can afford it, so unless retailers are willing to give innovators a chance then the traditional brands will continue to use their purchasing power to dominate the landscape, with the consumer losing out on choice.
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 322 | 14 April 2023
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com