FRANCE. Alizé, the blend of fine VS Cognac and tropical natural fruit juices from Kobrand International, caused a stir at TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes last month with a party spirit to mark the brand’s debut appearance.
On Sunday during the show, the dynamic duo Lewis Johnstone (Kobrand marketing and sales director) and Michael Adamczyk (Kobrand sales manager Europe) donned cool shades and brightly coloured wigs to perform “Alizé: it’s Natural” to a funky beat.
Jean-Paul and Marie-Claude Lafragette, owners of the Lafragette Cognac distillery and creators of the Alizé Cognac liqueurs, were among the enthusiastic supporters at the performance.
Lewis Johnstone commented: “Alizé has already established a small but rapidly expanding duty free and travel retail business. Our presence at Cannes enabled us to consolidate existing key listings, such as Nuance Australia and Duty Free Americas, and to explore new business opportunities within Europe and Asia, particularly China and South Korea. We hope our commitment to the Singapore show in May will serve to clinch supply to this region where we believe Alizé has enormous potential.
“Building a domestic market by having a strong duty free presence is a real novelty, and the reverse of what many in duty free liquor circles would expect. But I have proof positive that the tactic has merit. The best example of this is Australia where the ability to purchase duty free both departing and arriving back in Australia is already bearing fruit.
“Cannes gave us some tips about our portfolio offerings for travel retail, which should lead to some exciting developments in the next year,” said Johnstone.
Travel retail enquiries to Kobrand International marketing and sales director Lewis Johnstone at ljohnstone@kobrand.com
