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Pernod moves into alcohol-free ‘spirits’

Pernod Ricard has entered the realm of alcohol-free ‘spirits’ after agreeing to launch Ceder’s in the UK.

Pernod Ricard will exclusively distribute and market Ceder’s in the UK

Ceder’s, described as a “premium brand that contains all the flavours of gin without the alcohol”, was launched by husband and wife entrepreneurs Craig Hutchison and Maria Sehlstrom in early 2017.

Pernod Ricard will exclusively distribute and market the range in the UK, but has not purchased an equity stake in the brand.

Ceder’s ingredients are inspired by botanicals found in the Cederberg mountains, in the Western Cape of South Africa. The distilled botanicals are then blended with Swedish water before being bottled in Sweden.

The range consists of three expressions: Ceder’s Classic, which is “akin to a classic gin”, with a flavour of juniper and floral hints; Ceder’s Wild, which contains juniper, ginger, clove and rooibos; and Ceder’s Crisp, made with juniper, citrus, cucumber and camomile.

“This is a growing and exciting area for Pernod Ricard UK and we are delighted to offer our customers and consumers a non-alcoholic gin alternative,” said Laurent Pillet, managing director at Pernod Ricard UK.

“It’s our ambition to continue to give consumers more choice and to satisfy the growing demand for no alcohol options. We are delighted to work alongside Ceder’s to offer exciting new premium serves to UK consumers.”

Ceder’s will be available from Sainsbury’s and The Whisky Exchange from 22 and 7 July respectively, with further listings to be announced in due course. Each bottle in the range has an RRP of £19.99 (US$26.32).

Craig Hutchison, founder and managing director of Ceder’s, added: “We are proud to launch Ceder’s and have realised our ambition to create a handcrafted alt-gin with natural botanical distillates and extracts.

“We want to satisfy those looking for a non-alcoholic serve without sacrificing premium and sophisticated flavour experiences.”

In 2016, Pernod Ricard’s rival, Diageo, acquired a stake in Seedlip, said to be the “world’s first” non-alcoholic distilled ‘spirit’.

The deal was made through Diageo’s investment and growth accelerator programme, Distill Ventures, which last year offered a group of entrepreneurs £10,000 to create alcohol-free products.

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