Kiwi flight drink company 1Above has gained over 60 North American retail stores, including Amazon.com in just six weeks.

The first 1Above kiosk opened in Auckland Airport four-and-a-half years ago. Since then, it expanded rapidly across New Zealand and Australia to finally enter the US, with retail stores carrying its product in Minneapolis and Newark, with more to be added soon.

It is already in early discussions with other key retail partners, which have upwards of 400 stores available to the company in their networks.

In March 1Above announced the signing of its first global ambassador, golfing sensation Lydia Ko, and its plans to move into the game-changing North American market.

“Our vision is to establish, develop and lead the flight wellness category globally,” says 1Above CEO, Stephen Smith. “There were 3.3 billion air passengers in 2014, with a growth of four per cent per annum predicted through to 2034. LS Travel, the world’s largest travel retailer, estimates the global travel retail food and beverage market is at US$16 billion. We’ve identified incredible opportunity in North America and beyond.”

1Above partnered with ACNielsen when breaking into the US market and conducted extensive research with over 2,000 US consumers to gain insight into the impact of travel and travel habits. Some of the key information from the research reveals that the longer people fly the less they drink, and that a staggering 80 per cent take a day or more to recover.

1Above’s strategy is to concentrate on multi-store airport retailers, along with specialty retailers, including pharmacy and nutrition outlets.

The company is currently experiencing up to 124 per cent year on year growth, and expects the momentum to accelerate during this phase of its international expansion.