Leading spirits brand Tito’s Handmade Vodka plans to leave Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) for Reyes Beverage Group in California. The announcement comes after RNDC filed notice to lay off at least 60 of its staff in the Golden State.
The switch is effective April 1, 2025, according to a statement from Reyes Beverage Group.
“We are honored and excited to welcome this iconic brand, America’s original craft vodka, into our business and look forward to fueling its unprecedented growth for many years to come,” read the statement.
Requests for comment to RNDC and Tito’s were not returned as of press time.
The shift is the second recent move from a major spirits company away from RNDC. Sazerac began moving its brands to beer wholesalers in 2022 by dipping its toes in the water with beer distributors in Washington and Colorado. It dove in further in early 2023, when it announced plans to leave RNDC and move to a combination of beer and spirits distributors, including Reyes in California, Hawaii and some markets in Texas.
Reyes, the largest beer distributor in the country, has been steadily growing its spirits and ready-to-drink portfolio, including with Sazerac’s recent BuzzBallz acquisition. The distributor has also been gobbling up smaller beer distributors across California.
Tito’s is the top spirits supplier by volume and value, although was down -0.4% and -1.9%, respectively, in the 52-week period ending December 28, 2024, compared to the prior year.
RNDC, the second largest distributor in the U.S., recently filed a notification January 7 under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which mandates that employers with 100 or more employees provide at least a 60-day advance notice to affected workers before a plant closure or mass layoffs. The layoffs will be effective March 8 and coincide with the loss of the company’s largest spirits supplier, in its largest market.
“These are challenging times and recent decisions have been tough, impacting colleagues and friends,” read a statement from RNDC in response to the layoffs. “These steps are crucial for RNDC’s long-term success in a competitive market. Like others in the wine and spirits industry, we’re facing tighter margins, higher costs and shifting consumer preferences.”
RNDC claims to employ 14,000 associates across the country, but like other mid-tier players and major spirits companies, employee numbers are getting slashed as companies reconcile with slower spirit sales. Last fall competitor SGWS reportedly laid off wine and craft spirit roles among others and this month Brown-Forman let go of over 600 employees.