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Jägermeister creates UK distribution arm following “outstanding growth”
By Becky PaskinJägermeister is to establish its first foreign distribution subsidiary in its third largest market of the UK after seeing “outstanding growth” in the country.
Jagermeister has been refocusing its UK marketing strategy on promoting its signature ice-cold shot serveMast-Jägermeister SE, owner of the herbal liqueur brand, is working with its existing UK distributor Cellar Trends to create a new subsidiary which will come online in October this year.
The new distribution arm will initially be created as a daughter company of Cellar Trends – called CTJM – until it has been “successfully established”, at which time it will transfer to Jägermeister and become Mast-Jägermeister UK Ltd.
Martin Watts, joint managing director of Cellar Trends, said the creation of CTJM will ensure a “seamless continuity of service” as the group enters its busiest season of the year.
“This we can also ensure that when the business transfers to the brand owner, it will be a fully operational business,” he added.
Cellar Trends has managed the distribution of Jägermeister in the UK for 13 years, building the brand up to become the third best-selling spirit in the country’s on-trade with 280,000 nine-litre cases sold in 2012, in increase of 16% on the previous year. It comes in only behind Smirnoff (1.3m cases) and Jack Daniel’s (344,000 cases).
“We all agreed that this was the best way forward for us, the brand and our people,” Watts said. “Cellar Trends will continue to operate as a leading independent family-owned distributor and we will further build our premium spirits portfolio for our international partners with the same passion and quality as before.”
Mast-Jägermeister SE has appointed Guy Lawrence, former European managing director for Russian Standard Vodka, to run its new UK subsidiary.
“The British spirits market often sets the trend for the category elsewhere, so managing the development of the brand has become of major importance to us,” said Michael Volke, member of the executive board at Mast- Jägermeister SE, who added that the UK was “one of the most dynamic Jägermeister markets in the world”.
Cellar Trends will continue to provide services to Mast-Jägermeister SE after the transfer to ensure business continuity.
Britain’s love of the Jägerbomb – a shot of Jägermeister submerged in a larger glass of Red Bull – is so strong that 66% of bars and 50% of pubs now offer the drink as part of their repertoire, according to research by CGA Strategy. With over a third of outlets now serving bombs, sales have risen by 9% year-on-year.
However, Jägermeister has been working to disassociate itself with the serve that it claims it never backed, focusing instead on serving the herbal liqueur as an ice-cold shot.