SB meets… John McDonnell, Tito’s Handmade Vodka

The managing director, international, at Tito’s Handmade Vodka talks to us about the brand’s presence in travel retail.

As Tito’s has grown globally, how important is the travel retail channel?

Travel retail is an important channel for Tito’s Handmade Vodka, not only in terms of sales, but also as a storytelling opportunity to showcase the brand to consumers across the world. For example, people experience Tito’s when they visit the US, then see it in duty free stores at an airport, and eventually begin to recognise it and drink it at their favourite bars and restaurants at home.

How have smaller sizes performed for Tito’s in duty free?

There is a growing popularity for smaller sizes of Tito’s in many duty free stores, encouraging other retailers to fill their shelves, too. I was recently in Ireland, travelling through Dublin Airport, and they were doing a phenomenal job with our smaller sizes. That’s why shows like TFWA Cannes are so important; they give us an opportunity to sit down and meet with retailers and share success stories like this to help them replicate that same success in their stores.

What other regions are strong growth markets for the brand?

The Americas is our home market and consumers in the region are very familiar with, and loyal to Tito’s, so a great tasting, authentic, American-made product like Tito’s Handmade Vodka continues to perform well in that region. But we’re also seeing success in other markets throughout the world, especially in Europe and the Middle East. We’ve seen tremendous support for our brand in Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, and we were recently listed in Paris, Rome and Istanbul. In Asia, we’ve seen success in markets like Taiwan – where we did a major tasting programme this summer at Taoyuan Airport – South Korea and Vietnam.

How does Tito’s perform in travel retail in land border stores, ferry lines and cruise ships?

Land border stores, ferry lines and cruise ships are valuable channels for our duty free business, especially with American travellers enjoying their favourite spirit while on holiday. We perform strongly at stores on the US/Canada border, and we recently became listed on Stena Line ferries, for instance, in Scandinavia. Tito’s is poured on many cruise ships, especially in North America, and has become a successful part of those cruise lines’ bar programmes, contributing to our on-board duty free sales as well.

Are travel retail operators enthusiastic about craft vodka, or are they focused on gin and other categories?

Consumers today are very interested in craft brands – and that doesn’t mean only gin – when they’re shopping duty free. Smart retailers understand that people are looking for new and interesting products when they travel, and that’s why craft is so important in this channel. It’s great that travel retail operators are increasingly recognising this and are now devoting more shelf space to these brands across categories, including spirits like Tito’s.

Tito’s is well known for its philanthropic outreach and support of community causes. How does this extend into travel retail?

At Tito’s, we’re grateful to give back through our Love, Tito’s programme and Vodka for Dog People initiatives. These efforts allow us to contribute to meaningful causes that resonate with people around the world, which extend into travel retail through programmes that help support causes important to our friends in the duty free community. For instance, we’ve worked with several travel retail operators to design programmes that donate US$1 per bottle to various causes supported by those respective companies, such as animal wellbeing, hunger relief, and natural disasters.

Earlier this month it was announced that Hite-Jinro would distribute Tito’s in South Korea.