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T ito’s Handmade Vodka has revealed it has secured a brand-new domestic distributor in Israel. Speaking at the Tito’s booth, Tito’s Vodka International Managing Director John McDonnell said: “They are named Zur and they are also our duty free customer in the Americas and we’ve just partnered with them in Israel which we are starting now.” According to McDonnell, this means that the relationship will “open up the market domestically. But then also they’ll supply Richardson’s in Israel”. It’s a move that McDonnell assured means that Tito’s will “be in every Middle Eastern country with the exception of Egypt”. McDonnell explained that what he wants to get out of the show this year is target “a couple of locations that duty free has in the region” like “Sri Lanka” In terms of trends Tito’s is eyeing, McDonnell insisted: “People are waking up and ge tt ing o ff the gin trend. Everybody stocked way too many gins in duty free travel retail, and now they’re de-listing a number of gins because it’s not working domestically either. Now, they are waking up to vodka,” and added: “The vodka category is coming back in a big way.” He observed: “The new drinking generation in Asia is looking to white spirits now versus brown spirits, so there’s a huge opportunity for the buyer.” Plus, he pointed out that people want “smaller formats because these are becoming much more important in the travel retail sector” and consumers are interested in drinking while travelling. McDonnell added: “People are buying the smaller formats and drinking them en route.” Basement 2 / 2-D11 On the expansion trail