Perhaps it was the warm Riviera sun which shone all week, or the bustling crowds waiting to get inside the Palais des Festivals each morning. Whatever it was, the mood at the TFWA World Exhibition was definitely more upbeat than I’d been expecting given the long list of challenges the duty-free business faces currently faces. In case you’d forgotten, that grim catalogue includes the Ebola crisis, declining spend among Russian and Chinese travellers, and squeezed margins caused by spiralling airport rents. 

It helped that the show got off to a good start with Monday’s opening conference. He may have known zilch about travel retail, but former US secretary of state General Colin Powell made for a great keynote speaker, robustly defending his government’s controversial decision to invade Iraq in 2003, and speaking out against racism and the need for more balanced immigration policies.

By all accounts the retired politician also made a great impression after the conference, taking the time to come on to the stands and chat to exhibitors and buyers rather than dash off home to cash what must surely have been a sizeable appearance fee. 

As for the show itself, it attracted a record number of visitors, up 6% on 2013 to 6,701, according to organiser TFWA. Yet looking behind those headline figures I sensed a marked shift in emphasis from recent years, which no doubt reflects the changed trading climate. For starters there were fewer luxury decanters and intricately decorated mahogany gift boxes on display with their invariably stratospheric price tags. 

In their place were some more modestly priced travel retail-exclusive collections from brands such as The Dalmore – better known in more recent times for the release of much higher-priced ranges. 

There was also a more business-like feel to many of the press receptions at the show with executives firing up old-school Powerpoint presentations sprinkled with facts and figures. After the boom years you got the impression it was time for brand owners to roll up their sleeves and work much harder to separate travellers from their hard-earned money. 

The TFWA World Exhibition is no stranger to celebrity appearances, but David Beckham’s arrival in town to support the travel retail launch of his (and Diageo GTME’s) modestly priced $62.50 single grain Haig Club whisky was undoubtedly the talk of the show. People with absolutely no connection to the drinks industry peppered me with questions about the ex-Man United and Real Madrid footballer: “What was he like?” “What was he wearing?” “Did he mention Victoria?” 

The truth is the man certainly knows how to work a room, making sure he shook everybody’s hands on his arrival at the press reception (including the hotel waiter) and clinking glasses with everyone to toast the whisky’s success. He was also quick to counter suggestions that Haig Club was just a superficial money-spinning venture trading off the Beckham name. 

He talked convincingly about his grandfather’s love of Haig Dimple and Haig ashtray and his own growing interest in Scotch whisky. 

“I am not going to stand here and say I know everything about every sort of whisky and every note that goes into every whisky because I don’t,” he conceded. “It’s still new to me. I think what’s special about Haig Club is the fact that it is a single grain. It is something which if you are interested in whisky but are not a whisky drinker it’s a great way to start.” 

Diageo GTME managing director Doug Bagley went on to claim Haig Club had the potential to “redefine” what Scotch whisky is, and while that may be over-egging things a little, who would put money against Haig Club selling well, especially in Asia where Beckham continues to be revered like some sort of sporting version of the Dalai Lama? 

Beckham and Haig Club weren’t the only show in town, of course. At a lavish Pernod Ricard media dinner on Monday night at the Majestic Hotel’s La Plage restaurant, Martell cellar master Benoit Fil unveiled Martell Premier Voyage – a new €10,000 blend of 18 eaux-de-vie with an average age of 84, years created to celebrate the cognac house’s 300th anniversary next year. 

The following night the Pernod spotlight switched to Chivas Regal and the first new permanent addition to the blended whisky’s range since 2007 – Chivas Regal Extra. 

Few drinks companies know how to throw a party like Pernod Ricard Travel Retail and the Chivas Regal Extra bash didn’t disappoint. 

Ensconced in his own 1920s-style speakeasy, global brand ambassador Max Warner was on hand to lead guests through a tasting of the new sherry-influenced whisky while up on stage indie rock band The Noisettes belted out hits such as Never Forget You and Wild Young Hearts. Upstairs, world champion pastry chef Jérome de Oliveira had prepared a range of sweet treats (including a Flaming Chocolate Bomb) to accompany the new whisky. 

Across town, Edrington-owned The Famous Grouse was having its turn to shake its tail feathers at a cocktail event to launch a new look for the blended whisky aimed at premiumising the brand. 

According to brand controller Asanka de Silva, red is the new signature for ‘famous’ (the bar call for the whisky in emerging markets, it transpires), which explains why Edrington and Maxxium executives all wore fetching red socks to the event. 

Cannes gives us trade journalists a once-a-year chance to have a proper face-to-face chat with some of the sector’s top executives, such as Pernod Ricard Asia Travel Retail managing director Con Constandis and marketing director John O’Sullivan. Few people in the trade have their fingers on the pulse of what’s going on in Asian travel retail drinks business like these two and, while playing down the effects of China’s anti-extravagance programme, they were concerned about increased discounting and tactical promoting by regional retailers. 

 “If we get too tactical we may find ourselves back in the dark days of duty free when it was the place you went to get the same thing cheaper, versus it is now a shopping opportunity where there are unique propositions and real value for the consumer,” warned Constandis. 

Another interesting meeting was onboard Heineken’s yacht with global duty free & tax free manager Sean McNaughten. The big news from the Dutch brewer at the show was a new Brewlock draught system, which has the potential to drastically cut wastage and reduce logistics costs in the onboard pouring cruise ship sector, one of the company’s most important travel retail sales channels. 

McNaughten also revealed how time-consuming and costly new EU food and drink labelling requirements coming into force this month are for drinks companies. 

“We’re having to re-label just about every single product we have with the new rules on language and what has to be on the label,” he told me. 

“These regulations are an increasing cost. We’ve had one person working for six month on the labelling. We source from 27 breweries globally. It’s not just the EU. For instance, we’ve had to talk to Mexico about Tecate, Dos Equis and Sol – they’ve all had to have new labels.” 

“On [New Zealand craft beer] Monteith’s there are 20 languages [on the label]. Now with the regulations there’s no room to tell the brand story and for consumers to self discover. How do we tell the story of the brand?” 

That’s one question with no easy answer.

SHOW NEWS 

Dalmore unveils new exclusives

Whyte & Mackay launched a travel retail exclusive The Dalmore collection at Cannes last month.

The Fortuna Merita Collection (meaning ‘fortune favours the brave’ in Latin) comprises three new non-age statement expressions, which have been aged in different types of Gonzalez Byass sherry casks. 

The Dalmore Fortuna Merita Collection will go on sale in duty free stores from spring 2015.

The entry-level The Dalmore Regal (€75) is matured in amoroso sherry casks; The Dalmore Luceo (€85) is aged in Apostole casks and The Dalmore Dominum (€120) is rested in Matusalem casks.

The Dalmore master distiller Richard Paterson led a tasting of the new range in Cannes. 

He noted: “When you see this collection, some of the people will say: ‘What is the age?’ It doesn’t have an age statement. Let me assure you in my capacity over the past 45 years with Dalmore we have only put out the very best. These are three prime examples because they are connected to 12, 15 and 18 year olds. However, the quality of these whiskies comes down to one thing – the cask.”

Travel retail is the largest volume market for The Dalmore. The whisky saw its sales in the channel jump by more than 26% in 2013, according to the IWSR. 

Disaronno takes big step upmarket

First-time Cannes exhibitor Ilva Saronno unveiled a new €300 scotch whisky-based liqueur at the show.

Disaronno Riserva is a mixture of Disaronno amaretto and blended malt scotch whisky rested in Sicily in oak Marsala wine barriques for six months at the company’s Cantine Florio winery. 

The company claims the winery’s closeness to the sea, combined with the temperature and the humidity, creates optimum conditions for the ageing process.

The 40% abv liqueur is presented in a frame, which uses a transparent film to give it the illusion of being suspended in mid-air.

“Disaronno Riserva is not a mass product,” said Augusto Reina at the launch of the product in Cannes. “It is targeted at people who really care and who are really interested in creating a different experience with liqueur.”

Stoli and Elit launches for SPI in Cannes

SPI released its second limited-edition Stolichnaya Premium Night Edition bottle at Cannes before a roll out to selected airports at the end of the year.

The frosted 1-litre bottle has a label featuring temperature-activated ink, which becomes illuminated once it’s placed in the freezer for half an hour. 

It then shows party night life-associated imagery such as a DJ, shakers, drinks and musical notes. 

The heart that features on the front of the bottle also grows horns to symbolise the change from day to night.

The new Premium Night Edition bottle will roll out globally from the start of next year and the travel retail support package for operators will include display units and POS material. 

LED-lit ice coolers and a 30-second video will show travellers how the bottle label activates.

SPI Group also launched the final edition of its ultra-premium elit Pristine Water Series vodkas at Cannes. 

The 40% abv elit Pristine Water Series: Andean Edition is made from mineral-rich water sourced from Colico Lake in Chile. 

Presented in a Glencairn crystal decanter housed in a Chilean black cherry wood case, the new vodka is priced at €3,000 and limited to 250 bottles.

New Marie Brizard liqueurs target chocolate lovers 

Marie Brizard-Groupe Belvédère targeted chocolate lovers with the release of two chocolate-flavoured Marie Brizard liqueurs at the TFWA World Exhibition.

Chocolat Royal is a 17% abv liqueur made with African cocoa beans grown in the Ivory Coast, a hint of vanilla, but no dairy products. 

Presented in a chocolate-brown coloured bottle with a red band around the middle, Chocolat Royal is priced in travel-retail at around €24-€25 for a 1-litre bottle.

Also new was Chocolate Royal Blanc – a 17% abv white chocolate liqueur presented in a cream-coloured bottle. 

Marie Brizard-Groupe Belvédère also presented the ultra-premium Cubay Extra Viejo rum, a mix of rums aged between three and 13 years in white oak, which are then blended together and returned to white oak barrels for a further decade of ageing. 

State-owned Corporación Cuba Ron SA produces Cubay Extra Viejo and Groupe Belvédère signed a five-year distribution deal in 2013 to represent the brand internationally. Presented in a luxury decanter, Cubay Extra Viejo is priced at €99 in travel-retail.