London – 2 July 2013
The launch of a new drinks company, Quintessential Brands, is announced today. Established by Enzo Visone, former CEO of the Campari Group and investment banker Warren Scott, the company’s vision is to become a leading, independent European spirits company with global reach and world-class brand-building capabilities. Mike Salmon, formerly of IDV and BB&R’s Cutty Sark International, joined as Head of International Brands and Marketing.
Quintessential Brands’ first step was the acquisition of G&J Greenall, the world’s second largest gin producer which was founded in 1761, and the new company has plans to build G&J into a successful international spirits business. With this acquisition comes the opportunity to grow the existing gin portfolio, both in the UK and internationally, which includes Greenall’s Original London Dry Gin; Bloom, the world’s second fastest growing super premium gin and Berkeley Square, the ultra premium gin brand.
Quintessential Brands will be expanding its spirits portfolio via new product launches, brand development and strategic acquisitions and will work with other like-minded, international privately-owned companies. In December 2012, Quintessential Brands acquired Toussaint Coffee Liqueur which will be relaunched at Imbibe Live in July, together with the launch of an exciting new super premium spiced gin, further extending the company’s luxury gin brand offering.
In the future, Quintessential Brands plans to expand its production capabilities across a number of spirit categories, as well as broadening its existing distribution platform in international markets through further acquisitions and joint venture partnerships.
Enzo Visone comments, “We are very excited to have launched Quintessential Brands and our vision is to become a major independent player in the global spirits industry. We have the experience and know-how to make this happen and I am delighted to be working with Warren and Mike to realise this vision.”
Mike Salmon added, “We are committed to creating fantastic business models by working with like-minded, entrepreneurial companies to create and grow world-class brands. We have a skilled team of international brand managers in place and are excited about building our existing brands, as well as adding new ones to the Quintessential Brands portfolio.” www.quintessentialbrands.com
Notes to Editors:
G&J Distillers Limited has been distilling superior quality gin for over 250 years and produces 60% of all gin consumed in the UK market and 20% of quality gin globally. G&J Distillers is one of the UK’s largest vodka producers and the world’s leading provider of pre-mixed gin cocktails, selling over 40m cans per year worldwide. www.gjgreenall.co.uk
Enzo Visone, Quintessential Brands Founding Partner and Chairman, has had a 25 year career in the wine and spirits industry. He spent over 20 years with Campari and for 15 years of that was responsible for Campari’s expansion internationally. Enzo is also CEO of of the luxury cruise liner group, Silversea Cruises.
Warren Scott, Quintessential Brands Founding Partner and Director, spent over 25 years as a European investment banker during which time he worked for JP Morgan, Investec, KPMG, Jeffries Inc and Canaccord Genuity Hawkpoint. Over the last 10 years, Warren focused on the European consumer markets sector. In the UK he helped create and chaired Cambria Automobiles plc, a top 20 publicly quoted automotive distributor.
Mike Salmon, Quintessential Brands International Brands and Marketing Director, joined IDV in 1981 and went on to be responsible for a number of well-known spirits brands including Smirnoff and for the roll-out of Malibu. He joined Berry Bros. & Rudd and became Marketing Director and CEO of Cutty Sark International. He successfully led the business to become the number three Scotch Whisky brand in Europe, overseeing its sale to The Edrington Group and was responsible for a number of new international product launches, including The Glenrothes Single Malt.
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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]
