PERU. The latest airport to feature in The Moodie Report’s popular series “˜A Sense of Place’ is Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport, which offers a superb representation of Peruvian coffee, food, gifts and arts and crafts.
The new Café Britt Peru outlets are a major highlight of the airport. “We think we have a very interesting mix of new operators at the airport and we are particularly proud of the Café Britt Peru,” Lima Airport Partners (LAP) CCO Marcel Rodriguez told The Moodie Report.
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Vivid colours and beautiful fittings lend elegant destination appeal | |
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Lima Airport Partners wants an “unforgettable experience” for international travellers | |
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High quality items ranging from fabrics to foodstuffs are on offer | |
The strong national theming of the food & beverage outlet maintains the destination appeal integral to the whole commercial offer. The various gifts shops have a stylised ethnic touch designed to reflect Peruvian culture and tradition.
Café Britt Peru offers the country’s best gourmet coffee and national cacao, as well as handicrafts, souvenirs and textiles of quality. “We are talking about a great showcase in which Peru’s image is commercialised and promoted to local and foreign tourists,” said LAP.
The Café Britt stores sell only 100% Peruvian products, each presented in an attractive manner. “Each detail in the store’s architecture contributes to a unique and pleasant atmosphere that makes sure the visitor has an unforgettable experience.
“The trapezoidal forms, the combination of exotic woods in each item of furniture, and the murals with representative illustrations of our country are all around the store, giving it plenty of colour and atmosphere.”
Additionally the famous 12 angle stone of the imperial city of Cusco has been reproduced in the store located in the international departures area.
LAP said: “The “˜Peru – Peru’ Café Britt stores want to make visitors feel involved with what Peru represents. It is about an interactive experience where the public obtains all kind of sensations: such as tasting delicious Peruvian products, listening to typical Peruvian music, touching and feeling the texture of the beautiful looms and alpaca articles and so on.”
Each store has a coffee bar where visitors can enjoy Peruvian gourmet coffee (including cappuccino, mocha, latte and iced coffee), taste national cacao, read a newspaper or magazine; listen to music or just rest.
Exclusive products on offer
In the center of the stores are four types of Peruvian gourmet coffee: Espresso, Decaffeinated, Light Roast and Dark Roast, from the Quillabamba and Chanchamayo zones, which have rich coffee ground valleys and microclimates.
Other products commercialized in the gourmet category include typical Peruvian sweets such as tejas “˜Helena’, “˜Turrón de Doña Pepa’ and a desert made of purple corn named “˜Mazamorra Morada’.
The gourmet area also offers asparagus, stuffed olives, sliced red peppers, jams of rocoto, sauco and aguaymanto, pisco, chicha morada, nectar of maca and Inca Kola, all packed in jute bags to be taken as gifts.
The display cabinets exhibit beautiful replicas of pre-Columbian ceramics of cultures such as Moche, Chimu and Chavin, as well as from Chulucanas and Cusco. There are also Huancayo burilado infusions and Ayacucho altar-pieces of the Urban school, turned wood jewelry of Sarmiento, utilitarian wood with applications of looms or huayruros and silver, basketworks of Catacaos, and a much wider range of high quality Peruvian articles.
“Our idea is to continue travelling and searching for typical articles of our country which has a great cultural diversity, and therefore a great potential in terms of its artistic expressions”, said Jose Antonio Vásquez de Velasco, Commercial Manager of Café Britt Peru.
“We support the work of the national craftsmen by generating demand for their products. We hope to build greater economic income for them through the sale of their products in our stores. And through our contacts in more than 20 countries, we are also opening the option to export these articles,” commented Vasquez de Velasco.
Besides gourmet items, handicrafts and ceramics, the stores also offer an ample textile article range. Café Britt has its own line of wool clothes with sackcloth applications, a variety of sweaters, woolen caps and scarves. The colourful looms and spectacular eiderdowns, carpets and alpaca teddy bears come from Ayacucho and Sicuani (Cusco), respectively, and are proving a popular purchase, mainly among foreign tourists.
The company has also developed a unique line of garments made of 100% Peruvian cotton named “˜Morpho Peru’. This line comprises a collection of T-shirts for adults and children. The designs have been carefully chosen to express Peruvian traditions, as well as the forms and colours of the tourists’ most visited attractions. Also on offer is a wide range of souvenirs with Peruvian theming, including key rings, caps, pins, and T-shirts.
In the books, magazines and newspapers section, high-quality books featuring recognised Peruvian photographers and writers stand out. Each store dedicates a section to books describing the national cuisine.
Coming next at Café Britt”¦
In coming weeks, Café Britt will launch the Pachamama Coffee line in its stores. This organic line comes from the plantations of Quillabamba.
Another new introduction will be Sacred Valley Coffee, a strictly-controlled denomination with distinctive production methods dating back through the generations.
The company promises that it will continue its focus on Peruvian culture and traditions, making Jorge Chavez International Airport a facility that truly captures and reflects “˜A Sense of Place’.
MORE STORIES IN OUR SERIES ‘A SENSE OF PLACE’
A Sense of Place: NewsLink’s Discover gourmet concept – 21/03/05
A Sense of Place: Kuala Lumpur International Airport helps passengers ‘Discover Malaysia’ – 23/12/04
A Sense of Place – Abu Dhabi Duty Free launches new Heritage Village – 13/12/04
Travel Retail TV on The Moodie Report: Duty Free in the Middle East – ‘A Sense of Place’
MORE STORIES ON LIMA AIRPORT
Lima Airport set to invest US$140 million to drive duty free revenues forward – 24/1/05
Lima Airport Partners to double retail revenues by 2007 at Jorge Chavez International – 14/09/04
