Last month brought a partial reprieve for major Cognac suppliers after China wrapped up its long-running anti-dumping investigation, but the country’s vital duty free channel remains in limbo. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) concluded that EU-made brandy was being sold in China at artificially low prices and inflicting substantial harm on the country’s own domestic brandy sector.

Consequently, it decided to impose five-year tariffs of 32.2%, but 34 producers, including the likes of Pernod Ricard, Hennessy and Rémy Cointreau, secured a carve-out after agreeing to minimum pricing terms. In addition, China has confirmed it will refund security deposits collected by the Chinese authorities since last October, which have seen EU brandy imports to China tumble 60% by volume in the first five months of 2025.

The immediate outlook for China’s duty free sector remains unclear, however. Since December last year, suppliers have been unable to restock the Chinese duty free market and the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), the official trade body for the Cognac industry, has said it has received no update about when this key distribution channel will reopen.

The duty free segment, the BNIC has highlighted, represents a substantial 20% of the entire Cognac market in China, and Cognac is by far the most popular overseas spirit among travelling Chinese shoppers.

Since the pandemic broke out in 2020, leading Cognac houses have invested heavily in the offshore island province of Hainan, with Hennessy most recently opening its largest boutique there in March. Since the duty free Cognac supply issue began, Cognac houses have refrained from commenting on the situation, unsurprisingly not wishing to derail the French government’s lobbying efforts to overturn the anti-dumping measures. Seasoned industry commentators have suggested the duty free supply issue will quickly be resolved now that something like normal trading conditions have resumed, but whether this upbeat scenario transpires is another matter.

Last year saw pent-up post-Covid demand from Chinese travellers finally uncorked, with Goldman Sachs estimating that outbound travel soared 62% year on year. This welcome surge in Chinese traveller numbers hasn’t translated into pre-pandemic spending levels, however, as evidenced by last month’s news that DFS Group, owned by luxury goods behemoth LVMH, was closing its downtown duty free stores in Auckland and Queenstown, New Zealand, as well as in Sydney, Australia.

DFS, a business which has long depended on Chinese travellers, reportedly said its decision was due to “challenging economic conditions” and aligned with the company’s broader strategy of “optimising” its global operations.

Holiday getaway

Away from Asia, the great European summer holiday getaway is well underway, encouraging drinks brands to step up their promotional activities at key hub airports. In the UK, for instance, Champagne Lanson leveraged its long-running supplier partnership with the Wimbledon tennis Championships to offer travellers at UK airports limited pouch editions of two of the house’s signature cuvées: Le Black Création and Le Rosé Création.

The campaign ran throughout June at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City, as well as the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle terminal in Folkestone, Kent. The activation, which featured digital tasting bars in Heathrow Terminals 2 and 5, was rolled out in partnership with Avolta, which continues to enjoy a dominant market share of the UK airport duty free market.

Continuing the sporting theme, William Grant & Sons-owned Silent Pool gin celebrated its new three-year partnership with Royal Ascot, arguably Britain’s most prestigious horse racing meeting, by launching a high-profile activation at London Heathrow during June. The promotion included tastings and the chance for purchasers to win a luxury fine dining experience during the Ascot Food & Wine Racing Weekend in early September, which included the opportunity to see the Silent Pool Gin Cup race.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Mast-Jägermeister SE has been promoting Jägermeister’s flavoured line extension, Jägermeister Orange, through a series of pop-up promotions in Avolta stores at airports across Europe, such as Alicante, Madrid, Barcelona, Ibiza, Manchester, London Heathrow and Gatwick. Jägermeister Orange (33% abv), which launched into global travel retail in April, is made from a base of original Jägermeister, which is then blended with Sicilian orange and mandarin peel.

The activation gave shoppers the chance to sample an ice-cold Jägermeister Orange shot at branded tasting bars and explore the musical vibe of what the brand labels The Orange Era, a reference to the herbal liqueur’s latest Gen Z-targeted marketing campaign. In Ibiza, a Jägermeister Orange DJ interacted with Gen Z partygoers and European holiday makers. Avolta Club members could become guest DJs at the booth by scanning a QR code to play a Mix, Spin & Win game by using sliders.

Gifts with purchase were another key element of the Jägermeister Orange campaign, with branded bucket hats and bum bags, orange-framed sunglasses, branded orange T-shirts, stickers and shot glasses making up the orange-hued gift list.

While many spirits brands speak earnestly about reaching Gen Z, Jägermeister is one of the few that consistently delivers on that promise in travel retail. Through bold flavour innovations such as Jägermeister Orange and dynamic, music-infused pop-up promotions across Europe’s busiest airports, the brand shows it understands how to connect authentically with younger LDA consumers.

In an increasingly competitive and volatile global market, where even heavyweight Cognac houses are facing headwinds, Jägermeister stands out by blending creative new product development with immersive, omnichannel engagement that actually speaks Gen Z’s language fluently.