Fever-Tree has entered into a deal with Molson Coors, which will see the brewer become the exclusive sales, distribution and production partner for the premium mixer brand in the US.
The tie-up will be underpinned by Molson Coors acquiring an 8.5% shareholding in Fever-Tree for a cash consideration of £71.0m.
Fever-Tree entered the US market in 2008 and has since become the number one tonic and ginger beer brand in the country. The British firm noted that the combination with Molson Coors’ expertise and scale would allow it to “drive the brand to the next level in its largest and most dynamic market”.
Fever-Tree highlighted that it would be able to leverage Molson Coors’ national network of US distributors and customers across the On- and Off-Trade as well as the strength of its sales and commercial teams. A “substantial” incremental marketing fund will be deployed across the initial period of the partnership to drive further brand and category awareness.
Meanwhile, the partnership will also capitalise on Molson Coors’ supply chain network and procurement strength to drive operational efficiencies and manage the onshoring of US production.
Tim Warrillow, co-founder and CEO of Fever-Tree, commented: “Today’s announcement marks a transformational step for the Fever-Tree brand in the US. Thanks to the superb work of our US team, we have seen Fever-Tree become the number one brand in both the tonic and ginger beer categories, a remarkable achievement which has redefined the US mixer category amongst consumers and customers alike.
“But what is so exciting is that as the Fever-Tree brand has grown in the US, so has the opportunity ahead of us, reflecting the increasing number of categories and occasions that our products are relevant to.
“With a national network providing significant scale and muscle, alongside its proven track record, supply chain expertise and clearly stated strategic desire to drive the future of their business beyond beer, Molson Coors are the ideal long-term partner to take the Fever-Tree brand to the next level across the US. This partnership will be fuelled by a step change in marketing investment to take advantage of the highly compelling opportunity ahead.”
Gavin Hattersley, Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors Beverage Company, added: “Our strategic partnership with Fever-Tree in the US is a meaningful step in Molson Coors’ journey to becoming a total-beverage company with a winning portfolio of drinks for a wide variety of consumer occasions. We’ve made progress here, and today we are building on that progress in a significant way with Fever-Tree as the latest and largest non-alc brand to join our portfolio.
“The US is our biggest global market by revenue, and the same is true for Fever-Tree, so we believe this partnership provides ample opportunity for our teams to build on the strong success Fever-Tree has achieved to date. Our distributors and customers have been asking for a brand just like Fever-Tree from us, and by leveraging the scale, strong relationships and expertise of our team at Molson Coors. I’m confident in the road ahead for Fever-Tree as part of Molson Coors’ growing set of non-alc offerings in the US.”
