London, 2 February 2016
Catalyst Brands and Quintessential Brands have announced today that the On-Trade distribution agency for the Greenall’s and BLOOM Gin brands will pass to the brand owner company, Quintessential Brands, with effect from March 1st 2016, signalling the end of an agreement that has been in place since August 2012.
William Ovens, International Commercial Director for Quintessential Brands explains: “The acquisition of the On-Trade distribution and Brand Development company Marblehead in 2014, coupled with the Off-Premise capability provided by Essential Drinks, also part of the Quintessential Brands Group, means that the time is now right to build on the current strong brand performance and bring Greenall’s The Original London Dry Gin and the BLOOM Gin brands into the Quintessential Brands group of companies.”
“This will enable us to offer our complete gin portfolio including Opihr Oriental Spiced Gin and Berkeley Square London Dry Gin, as well as the recently launched Thomas Dakin craft Gin, to all customers. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Catalyst Brands for the invaluable role that they have played in building these brands.”
Gary Squire, Managing Director of Catalyst Brands explains: “Catalyst Brands have had great success in building these two brands over the past three and a half years. We have established the brands as major players within the UK On-Trade gin category through achievement of significant distribution and volume growth. In addition, we have executed some fantastic brand activation initiatives including implementation of the Greenall’s experiential activity with the Jockey Club, and BLOOM Gin’s sponsorship of the Vista Bar at London’s Trafalgar Hotel.”
Both brands will be distributed by Marblehead (On-Trade) and Essential Drinks (Off-Trade and Cash & Carry channels), whilst a number of direct supply accounts will be retained by Catalyst Brands. In addition, there will be continued collaboration between Catalyst Brands’ parent company, Matthew Clark, and Marblehead to continue the impressive growth trajectory of these two brands in the UK On-Trade.
About Quintessential Brands
QUINTESSENTIAL BRANDS was founded in 2011 and is made up of the Quintessential Brands Company, G&J Distillers, the world’s oldest gin distillers, Essential Drinks, the business-to-business supply division, First Ireland Spirits, a world leader in the supply of Irish Cream Liqueurs and Country Creams, L&L, one of the leading manufacturers of fine French spirits and the UK brand agency Marblehead Brand Development.
Quintessential Brands is the producer and owner of a fast growing portfolio of brands spanning gin; Greenall’s The Original London Dry Gin, Opihr Oriental Spiced Gin, BLOOM Gin, Berkeley Square London Dry Gin and Thomas Dakin Gin; Irish cream liqueurs, including Feeney’s and O’Mara’s; Irish whiskies including The Dubliner Whiskey and The Dublin Liberties and fruit and coffee liqueurs, including Alizé and Toussaint.
For more information on Quintessential Brands, Marblehead and Essential Drinks, please contact:
About Catalyst Brands
CATALYST BRANDS is a brand agency business which was launched in June 2012 to provide bespoke solutions for customers across a portfolio of premium brands, and to deliver against the consumer objectives of brand partners across all UK trade channels. Catalyst Brands is a trading division of Matthew Clark Wholesale Ltd, and we are proud to represent a fantastic portfolio of premium drinks brands on an exclusive basis in the UK.
For more information on Catalyst, please contact:
Mike Miller, Marketing Director Catalyst Brands
07803 854 855
ABOUT QUINTESSENTIAL BRANDS
Quintessential Brands owns an award-winning portfolio of world-class spirit brands, which is powered by a strong entrepreneurial vision and passion for innovation, backed by centuries of handcrafted distilling expertise.
Quintessential Brands Group was established in 2011 with the acquisition of G&J Distillers, the UK’s foremost gin distillery, which evolved from Thomas Dakin’s original 1761 operation and now produces an unrivalled quality gin selection. In Ireland, Dublin Liberties Distillery is our home of modern Irish whiskeys and First Ireland Spirits in Abbeyleix crafts award-winning Irish creams. Our French hub, L&L France, creates fine French fruit liqueurs, cognacs, brandies and vodka.
For more information, please contact the communications team at Quintessential Brands by e-mail: [email protected]
