Pernod Ricard is nominated for Digital Team of the Year at this year’s RG Excellence Awards. The global wine and spirits group’s Taste Odyssey platform, developed for the airport environment, guides travellers through a sensory tasting journey and transforms their personal flavour notes into generative artwork.

Julie Haché, retail experience manager for Pernod Ricard, shares how the idea reflects a wider shift in consumer expectations.

“Retail experiences and educational product discoveries are more than a trend,” she explains.

“An experiential service signature is proven to be very powerful to connect with clients and leave something for them to remember.”

A tasting that becomes a personal takeaway

Haché notes that digital was the right route, because it could make the tasting moment more interactive without removing the role of the brand ambassador.

“Digital was the perfect development solution to enable an interactive moment, where the traveller is leading their discovery plus capturing the moment as a takeaway.”

That balance between technology and customer service sits at the centre of the project: “Although Taste Odyssey is digitally enabled, it is human-driven.

“Both through the facilitated experience and connection that occurs between the staff and shopper and the sentiment shared while engaging senses and discovering taste flavours, nosing and more.”

One of the most distinctive features of Taste Odyssey is its use of generative artwork. Rather than ending with a sample and a verbal recommendation, the platform turns the traveller’s tasting notes into a personalised visual record of the experience.

“The generative artwork not only allows you to summarise your own tasting, it goes one step further by featuring a social and community dimension,” describes Haché.

“Through the platform, travellers can visualise their own responses and compare them with those of others who have tasted the same product. The social reference is an important element for many shoppers, and we wanted to make this accessible.”

Winning a greater share of time

The response so far suggests travellers are willing to spend time with immersive experiences when the value is clear. Taste Odyssey has achieved an average dwell time of 14 minutes and a drop-off rate of less than 1 per cent, results that challenge assumptions about airport shoppers being too rushed to engage.

“The general impression in retail is that shoppers do not have time,” Haché says. “I approach it with a different lens, where it is about what are we offering that is worth stopping for?”

That distinction is important in travel retail, where brands must often compete with tight schedules, busy terminals and distracted consumers. She adds: “A shopfloor service conversion strategy is no longer only about the ‘share of wallet’ and rather about the ‘share of time’ to convince shoppers.”

There are also shifts in consumer’s travel behaviours. More travellers are arriving earlier at the airport in search of a less stressful journey, creating opportunities for brands to offer a pre-departure moment that feels useful, enjoyable and memorable.

Taste Odyssey has also reshaped the role of retail staff by giving them a tool that supports customer discovery during tastings.

Haché notes: “Taste Odyssey plays a key role in supporting storytelling, while tasting and discovering products. It also develops awareness levels when tasting, to allow you to learn how to develop your palate.”

Additionally, the platform lowers the barrier to entry for travellers who may feel intimidated by formal tasting language. Instead of needing to identify every note perfectly, shoppers are encouraged to treat tasting as a skill that develops over time.

“Tasting is something you build over time, like food.The more you taste, the more you will develop your sense of taste and the different aromas to enjoy,” she explains.

“Tasting is not about discerning all the notes of a spirit perfectly. It is rather to practise discovering a new note flavour each time.”

Leveraging digital power and human expertise

Pernod Ricard is working to roll out Taste Odyssey gradually. The ambition is to extend its relevance across categories, markets and channels as the company continues to invest in more immersive forms of retail engagement.

“Taste Odyssey is still in the scaling phase and is gradually being implemented in key airport locations around the world,” Haché says. “The next time you come across one of our brands, take a moment to look for it.”

The next stage will bring more AI-powered support into the tasting experience. Haché says Pernod Ricard is developing an in-house tool that will allow customers to explore questions during a tasting in a more conversational and expert-led way.

“Our vision is to bring the expert panel to clients, where you can explore and learn as if you had a blending or brand ambassador team sitting right next to you,” she says.

“It is about leveraging the power of digital to connect human expertise.”

Pernod Ricard joins LeMeiux, Argos, Lush, Wickes and many more in the Digital Team of the Year category at this year’s RG Excellence Awards. See the full shortlist, and all categories here. This year’s awards will be hosted at the Underglobe on 14 October 2026. 

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