First Drinks announces £40m 2009 investment

First Drinks confirmed a £40million investment package for 2009 as it celebrated the arrival of the Rémy Cointreau brands into its portfolio.

The addition of the Rémy Cointreau brands makes First Drinks the leading supplier of premium drinks brands in the UK with almost a 26% share of the premium spirits market.

The company marked the occasion with the unveiling of a new company logo designed to reflect First Drinks’ premium focus.

The move to adopt the Rémy Cointreau brands – which include Rémy Martin, St Rémy, Louis XIII, Charles Heidsieck, Piper Heidsieck, Mount Gay, Cointreau and Passoa – will add a further 250,000 cases to its portfolio. Isolabella sambuca will also be coming into the portfolio on 1 June.

The announcement comes on the back of a successful 2008 for First Drinks, in which it outperformed the market in all areas of trade.

The company’s sales growth was up 13% in volume across all key trading channels – on-trade, grocery and convenience/specialists.

Chris Mason, managing director of First Drinks, said: “We are facing the future with relish and genuinely believe we have the best balanced portfolio in the industry.

“Premium branded spirits are estimated to grow by 30% by 2013 so it is a very exciting time for the category.

“2009 is shaping up to be our most successful year ever and we have heavyweight marketing investment planned across all categories.

“We are not ignorant to the difficult trading conditions the UK market currently faces and now more than ever, brands need strong investment and top quality brand teams behind them.

“We have a mix of engaging above and below the line marketing campaigns planned for the next 12 months, coupled with a passionate and highly capable work force.”

First Drinks also announced an internal restructure in order to best accommodate the new acquisitions.

The consumer marketing department appointed three new marketing controllers to head up the dark sprits, white spirits and Champagne categories.

The commercial team has also been strengthened, with a number of new roles created. A new head of category management has joined the company, plus two new account managers working in the HORECA channel.

A new trade marketing manager for Champagne is also now on board to focus on brand activities in this new category for the business.

A number of brand marketing initiatives are currently being planned and will be implemented over the coming months, with the company currently in the process of launching 35cl packs to the off-trade for Glenfiddich, Russian Standard, Grant’s and Three Barrels, in acknowledgement of the current financial backdrop.

Alan Lodge 08.04.2009