South Korea’s leading tobacco manufacturer KT&G has set its sights on accelerating its travel retail growth, with particular focus on Asia Pacific and Europe.
The company said it aims to build on its recent presence at TFWA World Exhibition, where it showcased its array of products and innovative technologies.
The brand owner said it was encouraged by duty free buyer visits from Europe, Latin America, Africa and other regions as it seeks to drive expansion in the travel business.
The company noted: “The business partners [in Cannes] encompassed not only those within the travel retail sector, but also cigarette importers from various countries around the world, opening up a broader spectrum of business opportunities for KT&G.”
KT&G has established a robust presence in Asia, with its products featured in 28 of the top 30 Asian airports by passenger numbers. Building upon this leadership, KT&G said it is confident of expanding its travel retail business into other regions, led by Europe as noted above.
KT&G showcased its core travel retail brands, including ESSE, RAISON, BOHEM, and several others in Cannes. KT&G placed a strong emphasis on its global premium brand ESSE, promoting its innovative technology and product portfolio. Digital screens and displays provided a comprehensive overview of the innovative technologies incorporated into ESSE and other products.
KT&G has been emphasising its ‘capsule technology’ and ‘smell-down technology’. After substantial investment into R&D, KT&G has integrated the ‘double capsule’ into 100mm super-slim and 99mm nano-slim products, and developed ‘smell-down’ cigarette paper that helps reduce the smell on fingers after smoking. In Cannes KT&G also showcased ‘blue band’ technology that reduces the risk of catching fire from cigarette litters and various filter technologies, such as ‘HEPA filter’.
KT&G said it plans to continue its efforts to enhance ESSE’s brand competitiveness and technology and to reinforce ESSE’s position as the world’s best-selling super-slim brand.
Summarising its core aims in the channel, KT&G Global Headquarters Executive Managing Director Jae Young Cho said: “We see the travel retail sector as a key business channel to launch active brand communications and extend brand reach in untapped markets.
“We will stay committed to the goal of establishing a dominant presence in the rapidly growing travel retail market post-pandemic.” ✈
