Molson Coors Beverage Company is getting in on the mixer set with a new strategic partnership with Fever-Tree, taking an 8.5% minority stake in the business and granting the alcohol giant exclusive U.S. commercialization rights to the premium brand, beginning February 1.
The deal makes Molson Coors the second largest shareholder in Fever-Tree and it will be responsible for co-manufactured production, marketing, sales and distribution in the U.S., according to this morning’s announcement.
“Our strategic partnership with Fever-Tree in the U.S. is a meaningful step in Molson Coors’ journey to becoming a total-beverage company with a winning portfolio of drinks for a wide variety of consumer occasions,” Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley said in a release. “We’ve made progress here, and today we are building on that progress in a significant way with Fever-Tree as the latest and largest non-alc brand to join our portfolio.
“The U.S. is our biggest global market by revenue, and the same is true for Fever-Tree, so we believe this partnership provides ample opportunity for our teams to build on the strong success Fever-Tree has achieved to date,” he continued. “Our customers have been asking for a brand just like Fever-Tree from us, and by leveraging the scale, strong relationships and expertise of our team at Molson Coors, I’m confident in the road ahead for Fever-Tree as part of Molson Coors’ growing set of non-alc offerings in the U.S.”
Founded in the U.K. in 2004, Fever-Tree first launched in the U.S. in 2008 and has since become a top innovator for premium mixers, making ginger beer, tonic water, and more recently adding modern flavor profiles like Lime & Yuzu and a new “Mix” line that includes larger format Espresso Martini, Margarita and Bloody Mary mixes.
Market research firm Circana reported sales of Fever-Tree’s tonic waters and club sodas rose +7.1% to over $71.4 million in U.S. MULO and c-store accounts in the 52-week period ending December 29, 2024 – the largest tracked brand in the set with an 18.89% dollar share, trailing only private label in dollar sales.
Its products classified as liquid cocktail mixes were up +187.2%, to $4.5 million, in the same period.
The partnership fits into Molson Coors’ beyond beer strategy focused on new beverage categories, including non-alc brands like energy drink ZOA, Peroni 0.0% and Naked Life.
“With a national network providing scale and muscle, proven track record, supply chain expertise and clearly stated strategic desire to drive the future of their business beyond beer, Molson Coors are the ideal partner to take the Fever-Tree brand to the next level across the US,” Fever-Tree CEO Tim Warrillow stated.
Fever-Tree North America CEO Charles Gibb told BevNET earlier this month that although cocktail mixers are seeing some new competition from ready-to-drink and ready-to-serve cocktails, the rise of both adult non-alcoholic alternatives and premium spirits has helped to fuel mixer growth.
“Having more competitors in there is good news, because it’s bringing more and more people in,” Gibb said. “More and more bartenders are talking about it, more and more retailers are giving interest to this category – because it was long forgotten. It had become very highly commoditized, and suddenly breathing life and revenue and innovation and excitement back into it, I think that means it’s a category that’s now moved from being sort of quite dusty and boring to quite interesting and exciting.”