Global Brands FY sales up 26.6%
Franklin & Sons owner Global Brands saw turnover grow by a quarter for the year ending 30 September 2022, driven by a 50% increase in international sales.
UK-based Global Brands reported a 26.6% increase in full-year turnover to £84.4 million (US$106.5m), up from £66.6m (US$84m) in 2020/2021.
Steve Perez, founder and chairman at Derbyshire-headquartered Global Brands, said the 2021/2022 financial year was the company’s “sixth successive year of growth, almost doubling our turnover in the last five years”.
The group is now the biggest supplier of branded canned cocktails to the UK off-trade, and the largest provider of ready-to-drink (RTD) products in the nation’s on-trade.
The firm’s international business surpassed £50m (US$63m) in sales for the first time. Global Brands said the subsidiary is now experiencing ‘significant growth’ after mixer brand Franklin & Sons’ US launch in 2019, just months before the pandemic.
Late last year saw the hard launch of Franklin & Sons’ range of tonics, sodas and mixers into the States to ‘further capitalise on international growth’.
“Franklin & Sons is now the second-biggest premium tonic in the UK on-trade, and we’ve seen fantastic growth for the brand in the UK and especially internationally, in markets in Asia, through Europe, and from our newly opened office in the USA,” added Perez.
The company’s portfolio of drinks brands also includes RTD products VK, All Shook Up, Shake Baby Shake, and Beviamo, as well as Corky’s schnapps and Lustre liqueur.
Earlier this year, Global Brands acquired a trio of drinks brands, including Hooch, from Molson Coors Beverage Company.
“We’ve recently purchased the trademarks for Hooch, Hooper’s, and Reef from Molson Coors, and have lots of exciting new products in the pipeline,” said Perez.
This month saw the company unveil a rebrand and new recipes for Corky’s.
A £2m (US$2.5m) expansion of the Global Brands Distribution Centre was also recently completed, increasing capacity from 30m to 40m products stored.
“We’re unique in that we create everything in-house, from design, marketing, and NPD [new product development] through to the distribution of our brands from here in Chesterfield and Clay Cross – areas where we’ve invested just under [US$3.7m] in the last year,” Perez continued.
‘Strong position’
Global Brands said it has started the 2022/2023 financial year in a ‘strong position’.
“While economic conditions have been challenging in the six months since we’ve published our accounts, especially in regard to energy and raw material costs, we’re confident going forward that the company will continue its momentum in the next financial year,” Perez said.
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