Renowned Austrian distiller Bauer Spirits is gearing up to its first serious foray into the international market as a Silver Partner at the inaugural Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo.
The family-owned company will showcase a wide range of brands and expressions during the Expo (#Virtual Stand WS-S17).
The spotlight will be on the Bauer Schnapps and Bauer Liqueur ranges, but Stroganoff Vodka, Burschik Vermouth, The Stin and LAW gins will also be featured. Bauer Spirits Export and Global Travel Retail Director Hannes Koch said the company has “one of two surprises” up its sleeve as well.
“We are really looking forward to showcasing our premium quality crafted spirits to the travel retail audience for the first time; and we’re keen on making a good first impression,” Koch said.
Bauer is well known in Austria for its crafted spirits, and – until now – its focus on regional products and their ‘from field to bottle’ production process.
“That’s much more than just a buzzword to Bauer,” Koch said. “The company knows exactly where the fruit used in any distillation process is coming from. For 100 years Bauer has focused on the people and the stories behind its brands.
“Going forward it will continue to highlight those stories, its regional sources, the eco-friendly production standard and the awards we have won on an international level.”
A taste to “make you go nuts” Bauer Spirits’ products to be featured at the Virtual Expo include Bauer Kuss der Haselnuss, with roasted hazelnut.
Bauer Marille, which features the “purest and ripest” apricots, and pear-based Bauer Williamsbirne are suggested as digestive drinks or shots while Green Panther is a cream liqueur made from Styrian pumpkinseed oil. Other schnapps and liqueurs destined for the Expo limelight include Bauer Obstler, Himbeergeist and Zirbenzauber, which has the “unmistakable” taste of the Swiss stone pine. The pine schnapps is described by Bauer as a “special spirit for true connoisseurs”. |
According to Bauer, the schnapps echoes the taste of Austrian desserts and pastries and will, it claims, “make you go nuts”.
Koch said Bauer is convinced that its much-awarded and innovative products will be well received by the international travelling shopper. “We can and will support retail partners with good storytelling and POS material to ensure good revenue,” he commented.
Bauer Spirit’s expansion strategy focuses on Europe. However, other opportunities are also being monitored, Koch added.
“Generally, premium quality products from Austria have a great reputation globally and we are keen on proving this right by going international in domestic markets and most certainly in travel retail.”
Sloe and smooth Hailing from a Russian merchant family from Novgorod, Stroganoff Vodka is ice-filtered and made with Austrian alpine water. The double-headed eagle on the label symbolises ties with an ancient royal family. Stroganoff Red is described as a “clearly defined sloe-raspberry taste experience”.
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Considering the impact of COVID-19 on the wider industry, Koch said travel retail has obviously taken a “harder-than-ever-before hit”.
Bauer, he said, has identified opportunities which could drive the next stage in the channel’s evolution.
“Travel retail needs to feature new concepts and new brands,” he said. “It should integrate refreshing and innovative product concepts, which stand out, to regain the awareness of the travelling shopper. The offer needs to be more differentiated and enable shoppers to find and discover new brands and products.”
And, Bauer added, the channel needs to widen its focus on storytelling. “Travel retail needs to become the story teller, an engager and an enabler.
“Bauer has a great story and great products which tick all the boxes in travel retail. We have the people behind the brands who have their own stories to tell. Bauer Spirits’ owners are hands-on; always willing to chat and to get involved. They are a huge part of the overall story and make the company what it is: transparent and accessible, ‘touch and feel’ if you like.”
| Burschik is a family owned, traditional vermouth manufacturer in the heart of Vienna. It was founded in 1891 and sold just a few years later to the ancestors of the current owner, Leonhard Specht. Production facilities, which span several houses and are linked underground, are just minutes from Vienna’s Westbahnhof.
With the traditional family recipe as a base, Burschik’s small batch vermouth features 19 herbs and spices and selected wines. Burschik Classic offers a herbal taste and Dry has a scent of caramel and honey while light brown-coloured Red is compared by Burschik to a fine brandy. Oak is matured for at least one year in oak barrels. |
Koch said Bauer advocates pre-journey contact with travellers as a key to travel retail’s sustained post-COVID-19 recovery.
“Travellers need to have in mind that shopping in travel retail is beneficial to them. That it not only offers an opportunity to find a bargain, but also to discover new and exciting trends and products.”
Evolving industry partnerships, according to Koch, need to be “more open, fully transparent, with a can-do attitude driven by a realistic business model.
“Currently, many operators are being heavily squeezed by landlords and focus only on safe bets which makes the proposition to the potential shopper clearly not as exciting as it should be. Travel retail should become a front runner and disruptor. This is only doable with fresh concepts and ideas.”
Koch continued: “The channel should focus more on smaller brands with stories to tell and visible people behind the brand. It’s far better to have real faces talking to the consumer and giving the operator extra credibility. Shoppers are surely more trusting of a person who is involved with a brand rather than a marketing presentation from an external agency.”
The Stin gin was founded by friends Johannes Firmenich and Reinhard Jagerhofer who studied together at the University of Ntural Resosurces and Life Sciences in Vienna and decided to create an authentic Styrian gin. The small batch expression, which is distilled in a copper kettle, fetures 28 botanicals, including juniper, lemons, organge, cilantro and caraway, and apple and elderflower which are grown on the founders‘ farms. The range includes Classic Proof (47%), Overproof (57%) and Sloeberry (27%) which is macerated with sloeberries and sugar. |
He suggested dedicated temporary spaces for tastings and the promotion of lesser-known brands. “For example, Bauer could do tastings, offer training sessions, emphasise its ‘Made in Austria’ quality and deliver a different flavour to the existing offer.
“Generally, smaller brands have more of a ‘why not?’ attitude and are willing to make things happen, and are more agile in their decision process.”
Koch said craft and smaller brands in the spirits channel should be offered greater in-store visibility to increase impulse purchases. “They need to be more vocal to increase awareness and that is exactly what Bauer Spirits intends to do at the Virtual Expo.”
LAW gin takes its name from the names of its founders’ initials. “Bottled sunshine”, it was developed and is produced on the Spanish island of Ibiza using local botanicals including Phoenician juniper, prickly pear, Pimientos de Padrón, orange, lemon and Spanish cucumber. According to the brand it is “spiced up with a hint of salty sea breeze”. |
