Halewood Wines & Spirits is increasing Whitley Neill’s travel retail footprint via the cruise and ferry and inflight channels.
Whitley Neill has gained listings with airline Flybe and ferry operator Tallink Silja for the summer season. Results so far have been positive, according to Halewood Wines & Spirits Managing Director Global Travel Retail Simon Roffe: “Feedback from Flybe cabin crew is that it is literally flying out. The hand-picked 5cl gin range has proved a real hit with the flying consumer and Flybe has been struggling to keep up with the demand for Whitley Neill.”
Roffe continued: “Our listing with Flybe is hopefully just the start. With airlines restricted to space and the presence of major brands in the onboard bars, the airline channel will be a challenge. It may be that we can secure airline duty free listings as well as targeting the onboard drinks catalogues for the providers looking to offer more premium items onboard.”
Whitley Neill underlined its commitment to the airline channel by participating in the British Airways summer drinks festival, which took place at the airline’s UK lounges.
The full range of JJ Whitley gin is available with Tallink Silja, including the new nettle gin and Whitley Neill. Roffe said that Tallink Silja is the first travel retail operator to feature the super-premium Marylebone Gin. “We have already received repeat orders and during September we’ll be featuring tastings and training sessions with the onboard teams.”
“Whitley Neill and Crabbies have enjoyed listings for a number of years with UK-based cruise and ferry operators and now our range and number of operators we are working with has expanded. We are able to meet the demands of the cruise lines for their house brands and value wines as well as offering our premium gins such as Liverpool Gin and Whitley Neill in the premium onboard bars,” Roffe concluded.
