KT&G Corporation has placed its flagship ESSE cigarette brand in the duty-free shops of Istanbul Airport, deepening the South Korean tobacco company's push into one of the world's most heavily trafficked travel retail markets. The airport served approximately 84 million passengers last year, functioning as a key aviation crossroads linking Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The Brand's Scale

ESSE is no niche product. The brand accounts for roughly one-third of all super-slim cigarette sales worldwide and is sold in more than 90 countries. Last year it generated approximately USD 770 million in global sales, crossing the KRW 1 trillion annual threshold and cementing its role as KT&G's primary international growth vehicle. KT&G itself sells more than 870 brands across approximately 148 countries.

Five variants make up the Istanbul Airport launch lineup: ESSE Blue, ESSE Change 4mg, ESSE Himalaya, ESSE Double Shot, and ESSE Change Double Orange — a range designed to address the diverse preferences of international transit passengers.

Building a Türkiye Network

Istanbul is not KT&G's first Turkish duty-free foothold. The company entered the market in June 2025 through Antalya Airport, where it introduced five ESSE variants. The Istanbul listing represents a deliberate step-up in distribution density, moving from a leisure-travel gateway to the country's dominant international hub. Together, the two airport placements give ESSE meaningful coverage of Türkiye's inbound and outbound traveler base.

For operators tracking beverage and tobacco category performance in travel retail, the ESSE expansion underscores how premium-positioned tobacco brands continue to treat duty-free channels as a primary global launch pad, particularly in regions where international passenger growth is outpacing other retail formats. Duty-free remains one of the few physical retail environments where tobacco brands can reach affluent, globally mobile consumers in a single, concentrated footprint.

KT&G's strategy mirrors broader moves in the travel retail sector, where category managers are watching Asian tobacco and consumer-goods brands aggressively claim shelf space in high-volume hubs. The company has signaled that further airport duty-free expansions centered on ESSE are planned, though specific markets or timelines were not disclosed.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.