Travel retail is a channel in its own right.

It is neither a city-centre shop, entered out of necessity or habit, nor a hospitality experience, even though it adopts some of its codes. Retail in airports, railway stations and on board ships takes place in a distinct dimension, where time feels extended and people are more receptive.

Those passing through a terminal are not simply shopping: they wait, observe and allow themselves to be surprised.

Curiosity replaces haste.

It is also a space that has always had a close relationship with beverages.

A bottle purchased while travelling is rarely a purely practical choice. It carries with it the memory of a place, the idea of a gift or the promise of a moment still to be enjoyed.

It is both a product and a souvenir, capable of combining the memory of a destination with the subtlety of an experience.

Summer as an Accelerator

If this channel relies on mental openness, summer multiplies it. It is the time of year when passenger traffic reaches its peak and, above all, when the profile of travellers changes.

It is no longer only the business professional rushing towards a gate, but also families, couples and groups travelling by choice.

They have more time available and feel less pressure to make quick decisions.

In this context, beverages have a clear advantage. Summer is the season of conviviality: the aperitif that continues until sunset, dinner outdoors and the toast that marks the beginning of a holiday.

Travellers are not simply buying a bottle to take home. They choose it with a particular moment already in mind.

It is this imagined consumption, anticipated before it actually takes place, that makes the season especially interesting for those working in the premium beverage sector.

From Price to Experience

Travel retail originated from a tax-based strategy. For decades, duty-free shopping maintained its appeal through convenience: the same bottle, unchanged, but at a better price.

For a long time, this was the sole focus of its message.

That period, however, has come to an end. Today’s travellers are well informed, compare options and rarely purchase purely for the sake of saving money.

Instead, they look for something they cannot find elsewhere: a limited edition, a distinctive format or a story worth telling at the right moment.

The channel has changed its approach, shifting the focus from price to experience.

This transformation directly affects the beverage sector.

An aged grappa linked to a particular valley, a wine produced in only a few thousand bottles or a spirit bearing the name of its producer rather than merely its category: these are the products that perform well in the travel environment because they speak the language of the people buying them.

It is not simply a transaction, but the beginning of a new curiosity.

A Sense of Belonging

Behind this shift lies the way in which we connect taste with memory.

A bottle purchased during a journey evokes a sense of belonging to a particular place: the idea that what we drink comes from a land with its own climate and history.

Travel heightens our awareness of origin and makes it almost tangible, bringing us closer to a deeper and more concrete understanding of the world around us.

This works because distance makes us more receptive.

When away from home, travellers are more inclined to learn about where a product comes from, and origin ceases to be merely a label and becomes a story.

The bottle represents not only its contents, but also the territory it evokes and the excellence that defines it.

This dynamic is not exclusive to airports. It applies to anyone who sees consumption as a form of discovery rather than a habit.

Travel retail simply makes it more visible by concentrating within a few square metres what elsewhere remains dispersed, creating a more intense and engaging purchasing experience for the consumer.

What Distribution Can Learn from Travel Retail

Those working in premium distribution can learn a great deal from the travel experience.

It is not the duty-free setting itself that makes a bottle special, but the way it is presented: through a clear story, careful selection and a well-defined place within a broader offering.

These are the same principles that guide a thoughtful distributor across every season and channel.

This is also the approach embraced by Ludovico Soranzo.

With more than 1,800 references, we do not simply operate a warehouse. We offer a carefully curated portfolio based on provenance, consistency and the ability to adapt to every consumption occasion.

Selecting products for Ho.Re.Ca. and specialist retail means doing every day what summer travellers do instinctively: searching for the right product for the right moment.

The distance between being “in transit” and everyday life is therefore shorter than it may seem.

Travel retail makes visible, within just a few days of travel, what good distribution builds throughout the entire year.