International spirits company Quintessential Brands has appointed two experienced drinks retail experts to its UK management team.
Liz Peck joins Quintessential Brands UK as Business Unit Director – Grocery. Most recently Sales Director for Fuller’s Brewery, where she led all sales channels, Peck has also worked within commercial roles across the FMCG sector over the past 20 years. At Quintessential Brands, she will be responsible for leading its sales team looking after key customers in the grocery channel.
Meanwhile, Neil Anderson, who left Kingsland Drinks last year after five years as Marketing Director and was previously Global Brand Controller at Accolade Wines, has joined Quintessential as Retail Brand Marketing Director. He will focus on the company’s ‘Spirit Solutions’ business, specifically on continuing to grow the company’s retail brand and private label business.
Quintessential Brands has grown rapidly since it was established in 2011. It now has a wide portfolio of premium gins, including Greenall’s, Bloom, Thomas Dakin, and Opihr, as well as some Irish whiskey and liqueur brands.
The business is led by James Lousada, the former Carlsberg UK Chief Executive and Accolade Wines General Manager for Europe. He said: “We have succeeded to date in helping many customers win in the spirits aisle with innovative NPD that has captured the imagination of shoppers, particularly within the gin category; the challenge now is to maintain that consumer interest and keep them browsing the spirits aisle.
“We are now at a pivotal time for our business, as we look to build on the success we’ve had in the UK and ensure we are viewed by customers as their indispensable spirits partner, across all channels. With Liz and Neil’s vast experience, I have no doubt that our relationships with our grocery customers will go from strength to strength in the years ahead.”
