PATRÓN® and Lotte Duty Free unveil immersive Mexican experience at Melbourne Airport
“Our mission is to maximize our leadership position, elevate the category and deliver continued growth for our retail partners with prestige solutions such as PATRÓN El Cielo,” states Bacardi Global Travel Retail Global Head of Marketing, Ignacio Vazquez
At Melbourne Airport throughout October and November, travelers are being welcomed into an immersive Mexican experience brought to life by Patrón® Tequila and Lotte Duty Free. This joint effort has impressively revamped the airport's two “mega” event spaces to celebrate the debut of Patrón El Cielo, a new and distinguished silver tequila.
El Cielo, translating to “the sky” in Spanish, represents a breakthrough in the tequila category as the first unaged, quadruple-distilled silver tequila. Crafted from 100% Weber Blue Agave in Jalisco, Mexico, this tequila is notable for its sweet agave taste, a result of its unique distillation method. Its presentation is just as exquisite, featuring a 70cl glass bottle embellished with gold motifs.
The Día De Muertos bar, a vibrant centerpiece in the Lotte store, is one of two bespoke branded areas. It offers an engaging environment with brand films, skeleton cut-outs for photographs, and a distinct skull-shaped stock-holding unit. Here, visitors can indulge in Patrón Silver Margarita, Patrón Reposado Paloma, Patrón Añejo Old Fashioned, or savor Patrón El Cielo in its purest form. Interactive QR codes at the bar link to the Patrón Tequila Cocktail Lab for personalized drink suggestions.
A vibrant centerpiece in the Lotte store, the Día De Muertos bar, is one of Patrón's two bespoke branded areas
Additionally, the Experiencia Patrón zone elegantly displays the Patrón range, especially Patrón El Cielo. Its design includes piña patterns and interactive digital elements through QR codes, offering insights into product stories and cocktail ideas.
Ignacio Vazquez, Bacardi Global Travel Retail Global Head of Marketing, states, “The Tequila category is on fire right now and Patrón’s leadership credentials are robust. It is the world’s number one super premium tequila and, in GTR, with 45% super premium market share, it’s the top contributor to total category sales, delivering US$26 million in 2022, up 91% on 2021. We are so excited to realize our vision for supercharging PATRÓN in new Tequila markets like Australia,”
Here, a traveler at Melbourne Airport looks at the new prestige Tequila, El Cielo. With 11%* CAGR (2022-2027) and a global sales forecast of US$26 billion by 2027 for the prestige tequila segment Tequila is the fastest growing spirits category globally
Gaurav Joshi, Regional Director Asia Pacific Bacardi Global Travel Retail, remarks, “The growth in premium tequila in Australia is phenomenal and with Patrón’s market leadership representing 29.7% market share in travel retail, we are always open to create opportunities that add value to our retail customers. Melbourne Airport is a high performing location and under Lotte’s new tenure, we are delighted with the partnership in executing the Patrón campaign and excited by Lotte’s consumer-centric plans to take engagement to new levels over the next decade.”
Steve Timms, CEO Oceania Lotte Duty Free, comments on the collaboration: “The Patrón campaign is one of the first we’ve delivered since we commenced a 10-year partnership with Melbourne Airport this winter — and we love it! It’s such a cool and exciting concept that delivers a show-stopping and memorable experience for our customers — a central strategic pillar for how we are developing our business in Oceania.”
