THE Copeland Distillery has secured significant new product listings at Belfast City Airport’s World Duty Free.
Its gin, rum and whiskey range has only been on-shelf for six weeks, but sales are already off to a flying start with the distillery’s traditional Irish gin the second most-popular duty-free purchase across all products sold at the airport.
According to a report from Allied Market Research, global duty-free spirits sales were worth$13.78 billion in 2019 and are expected to rise to $16.10 billion by 2027.
Travel retail is a key part of the growth strategy at the distillery (www.copelanddistillery.com) according to its founder Gareth Irvine.
He said: “This Belfast City Airport listing is a significant listing for us in travel retail – a critical channel for us as a premium brand.
“We know from our presence at Belfast International and Dublin Airport that duty-free shoppers want to discover new products when travelling and have come to expect a certain quality when it comes to their purchases.
“High footfall airports are central to our growth strategy as, along with supporting sales, the travel environment provides exposure to huge numbers of local and international consumers which is an unmissable opportunity as our export footprint continues to increase across the US, Australia and Asia.”
He added: “We’re really pleased with our performance at Belfast City Airport so far – it proves how strong a match we are for travel retail.
“We’re looking forward to continuing to work with World Duty Free and Belfast City Airport’s commercial team as we unlock further opportunities for our growing portfolio.”
Across June and July, Belfast City Airport experienced its busiest days since 2019, with up to 10,000 people travelling through the airport every day to its 27 destinations across the UK and beyond.
The airport's head of commercial Michael Jackson said having a varied range of premium local brands satisfies demand from travellers.
He added: “Our travellers want to experience what makes Northern Ireland special when shopping with us, with many keen to purchase items produced locally such as gifts and mementos.
“Our continued investment in Northern Irish food and drinks brands like Copeland, whose iconic distillery is just 30 minutes from the airport itself, is helping to drive footfall and give passengers a taste of our region.”
