Salud Duty Free has been named the exclusive distributor for Japanese whisky distillery Chichibu in European travel retail.

The company said it plans to initially focus on a select group of key travel retailers within Europe due to limited stock availability.

Salud Holding CEO Maurice van Vliet said: “Although supply grows organically, we are talking about a high-selling niche brand here, so we are focusing on conscious consumers by giving them a choice in selecting real Japanese whisky besides the widely available larger brands, they can choose from this beautiful hard to get niche brand from now on.”

Van Vliet also highlighted the need to address pricing differences between airport retail and domestic markets, noting that travel retail prices often exceed domestic market prices.

The partnership aligns with the rapid expansion of the Japanese whisky category, driven by a surge in new distilleries and brands.

Van Vliet said: “It looks like the market is balancing out, after so many Japanese distilleries popped up in the recent years, not only many so called ‘fake’ Japanese whisky appeared on the market due to the scarcity of Japanese whisky but also due to the popularity this category gained the last years.

“The market always develops faster than the industry catching up with, that’s what’s going on now as well. This combination of a lot more brands launched within a very short period of time – larger assortment of existing brands and a decline in consumer spending – results is slowing down of this category.”

He stressed that only “strong brands” with compelling stories such as Chichibu, will endure.

Van Vliet describes the brand as a niche, high-quality producer that prioritises craftsmanship over profit, distinguishing it from brands leveraging the category’s popularity.

He added that while the Japanese whisky category has strong growth potential, established brands that were around before its recent boom are expected to drive much of the expansion. These brands focus on authenticity and craftsmanship over market trends.

Chichibu was founded by its Master Blender Ichiro Akuto, who is credited with pioneering innovative releases, such as the rare Card Series and the World Blend, combining whiskies from various regions aged in Chichibu casks.

Akuto introduced the debut Card Series in 2005, well before Japanese whisky gained global recognition.

This ultra-rare collection of 54 bottles was sold for US$1.52 million at auction in 2020, showcasing Akuto’s forward-thinking approach to whisky-making.

Van Vliet said: “He recognised two things, the high demand for Japanese whisky while there was not much more to produce in a short period of time and the popularity of highballs in Japan. Having these two things in mind, he developed a new world whisky, communicated very clearly that this release contains whisky from all over the world including from their own distillery.”

Salud Duty Free plans to release four to six single-cask Chichibu whiskies annually, alongside its core range stored in a bonded European warehouse, ensuring premiumisation, scarcity and quality.

Recent Chichibu releases include the highly sought-after Intergalactics series and the ongoing 7EVEN Gods of Fortune series.

In addition, the company imports other niche Japanese whisky brands, such as Akkeshi and Yuza.

Headquartered in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, Salud Duty Free is a retailer and distributor of travel retail and duty-free products in Europe, the US and Asia, focusing on spirits, wines, Champagnes, confectionery, perfumes, tobacco and fine foods. ✈