PARADISE BEVERAGES SIGNS US DISTRIBUTION DEAL
Paradise Beverages has agreed a new partnership with a leading US-based beverages company to distribute its award-winning range of premium rums in the west coast state of California.
With around 3,000 people in 10 states, Young’s Market Company is the premier distributor of wines, spirits and select beverages in the western United States. Still family-owned, its heritage dates back to 1888.
“Building strong international growth for our market-leading Paradise Beverages brands is a key growth driver for Coca-Cola Amatil’s Alcohol & Coffee business,” said International Sales Manager Heath Baker. “Young’s has a very strong reputation, thanks to its excellent portfolio and customer relationships and its core values as an ethical employer and responsible corporate citizen.”
Under the agreement, Young’s now offers the range of super premium Ratu and premium Bati rums to all its California-based on- and offpremise customers.
Produced in Fiji under the Rum Co of Fiji label, the rums have gained widespread acclaim since being launched two years ago.
In May this year, Ratu Spiced five-year-old was named Rum of The Year at the 2018 London International Wine and Spirits competition, with eight-year-old Ratu 8 Signature Rum Liqueur winning a silver medal.
At the last San Francisco World Spirits Competition held in 2017, Ratu Signature Rum Liqueur and Bati Dark both won double gold medals, with Ratu Dark 5 year also earning a gold.
“The US rum market is the second largest in the world (after India),” added Mr Baker.
“After launching the Rum Co of Fiji range in Australia two years ago and gaining exceptional traction with customers and consumers, the US market is the next key focus for us.
“We’re really excited about the opportunities in the west coast in particular, because of Fiji’s proximity and the strong attraction of consumers to the purity and culture of the Fijian islands.
“With the quality of our rums and our strong Fijian provenance, we believe Ratu and Bati can help support continued growth in the premium and ultra-premium segments and we’re thrilled that Young’s has seen this opportunity. These segments are growing in volume and.
value, and that’s continuing to drive category growth for rum as a whole.
“We’ve made our first sale and are already talking about potential opportunities to expand across the Young’s network.”
The partnership with Young’s follows a similar distribution partnership for the company’s Samoan beer, Vailima, struck earlier in the year with Foredrinks LLC in partnership with ODOM Corporation.
Source: Paradise Beverages