Molson Coors Beverage Company has launched its Beverage Hub, a dedicated team to support its increasing portfolio of brands in emerging, fast-growth categories. It has also announced three new distribution partnerships as it continues to expand its footprint beyond the beer aisle.
The new 15-strong Beverage Hub team, led by Director Jack Daniel, will focus on building independent partnerships with new brands in key sectors, like Ready-to-Drink (RTD), adult soft drinks and premium spirits, supporting their growth through Molson Coors’ established on- and off-trade networks across Western Europe. The move follows the company’s re-brand to Molson Coors Beverage Company in 2019, as it looks to broaden its portfolio beyond beer and cider.
The Beverage Hub team will also focus on developing new routes to market including the expansion of Revl, Molson Coors’ direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform which launched last year.
Alongside the launch of the new team, Molson Coors revealed that it has agreed exclusive distribution partnerships with three brands; Jimmy’s Iced Coffee, Lixir Drinks and Tarquin’s Gin and Twin Fin Rum from Southwestern Distillery. This follows the launch of its own hard seltzer brand Three Fold, and partnerships with Bodega Bay and Miami Cocktail Company, announced last year, which will sit alongside the new brands in the Beverage Hub.
Daniel, who is the company’s Beverages Director for Western Europe, said: “Our mission is to provide consumers with the perfect drink for every occasion. The creation of the Beverage Hub is our response to the growing number of consumers reaching for ready-to-drink options, premium spirits and aspirational adult soft drinks and opening up those growth opportunities for our customers. Our latest partnerships are with brands that have great tasting products and founders who have fantastic stories to share that underpin truly distinctive brands.
“This is a milestone moment for us and marks the next phase of our long-term plan to ensure we are offering choice in line with new consumer tastes to drive our customers’ growth, while also continuing to grow our core portfolio in the beer and cider category. It’s the next phase of our already established wholesale offer to the independent on-trade, where we provide a range of beverages outside our own beer and cider heartlands. Through the Beverage Hub we now have the capability to bring a wider offer to our managed retail and off-trade customers as well.”
