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Distill Ventures invests in Rheinland Distillers

Diageo-backed Distill Ventures has made a minority investment in Siegfried Dry Gin producer Rheinland Distillers.

L-r: Raphael Vollmar and Gerald Koenen, founders of Rheinland Distillers

The funding will help Rheinland Distillers, which also producers alcohol-free ‘alternative gin’ Siegfried Wonderleaf, to drive growth and amplify both brands.

Rheinland Distillers was founded by two friends, Raphael Vollmar and Gerald Koenen, in 2014. The pair set out to ‘disrupt’ the gin category with their alcoholic and non-alcoholic offerings.

Vollmar, managing director of Rheinland Distillers, said: “At the beginning, we asked ourselves how far we, as people from outside the industry, would be able to go in such a competitive market with a handcrafted product, €4,000, hard work and a lot of passion.

Siegfried Dry Gin and alcohol-free Siegfried Wonderleaf

“With today’s step, we are answering this question for ourselves and are delighted to be able to carry the Siegfried brand and associated attitude to life even further into the world than we ever dreamed possible.”

Distill Ventures, established in London in 2013, is the world’s first independent drinks accelerator. It aims to support entrepreneurs as they strive to grow their drinks brands.

Siegfried is the first brand in Distill Ventures’ portfolio with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic products. Non-alcoholic ‘spirits’ currently comprise 25% of the Distill Ventures’ portfolio.

Frank Lampen, co-founder and CEO, Distill Ventures, said: “It was the passion, innovation and obsession with quality that we saw in Raphael and Gerald which drew us to their brand.

“Their success story shows precisely where the future of spirits lies: consumers come first and they want the freedom of choice whether with or without alcohol.”

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