02_singapore_2025_WEDNESDAY_ISSUE

0 9.07 yesterday morning Sandro Bottega shares a glass of sparking rose with TFWA Daily Publisher Paul Hogan – a key target consumer as he hasn’t had an alcoholic beverage for 19 years. “Non-alcohol is the opportunity to grow consumption – it’s a mistake to think it’s a substitute for alcohol sales which will always have stable dynamic growth – non-alcohol is real, new business growth,” says Bottega who has four products in the sector – two sparkling wines, Limoncino liqueur, and Elixir, a non-alcoholic bitter. Bottega reports that sales of its non-alcoholic products rose 80% last year to 450,000 bottles. He also predicts that while the groundswell for the growth in non-alcoholic sales originated in Europe, he believes that “the demand for ‘no-alcohol’ in Asia will also be immense and very important.” Basement 2 / 2-M9 Sober fact – Bottega’s non- alcoholic lines are up 80% Carl Friedrik – new exhibitor keen to enter GTR T he young luggage and accessories producer, Carl Friedrik, was only established in London in 2013 and is also a new exhibitor at TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference. After great successes in domestic markets, Carl Friedrik’s Wholesale Manager, Karl Gourgand, admits that it does not have a strong presence in GTR. However, after a first visit to TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes last October, Gourgand instantly established that the TFWA platforms were the best means of entry to the sector. Producing a full range starting at small leather accessories rising up to back packs and suitcases – whether finished in fine leather, or as a robust polycarbonate range – a hallmark of Carl Friedrik is that the handles of all the items are always produced from Vachetta leather, giving that characteristic soft, buttery feel to carrying every Carl Friedrik item. Visitors to the Carl Friedrik exhibit in Singapore this week can also check out the new grain leather range, expertly modelled and demonstrated here by Gourgand. Level 1 / 1-R12 Wednesday 14 May 2025 10 T F W A D A I L Y