JBE Imports-led consortium buys Pinkster Gin
English gin Pinkster has been sold to a consortium that includes former and current employees and the founder of UK distributor JBE Imports.
A consortium, led by newly-formed Pinkster Drinks Co and JBE Imports, has purchased the pink gin brand from Ginmeister for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 2013 by Ginmeister managing director Stephen Marsh, Pinkster is a pink gin infused with raspberries.
The new owners plan to launch an eco-friendly bottle for Pinkster and expand the brand into the national off-trade and in international markets, following its ‘success’ in the UK on-trade.
Pinkster Drinks Co has been set up by Steven Sussman, ex-chairman of wealth management firm JM Finn; Gus Hinton, head of operations at Ginmeister; and Amy Norris, who was Pinkster’s first head of sales.
The newly-formed company recognised Pinkster’s ‘huge potential and clear product proposition in a crowded market’.
Marsh, who will remain with the brand to aid its expansion, said: “I look forward to supporting the new owners with their investment plans to accelerate the trajectory of the Pinkster brand forward into the next decade and to build upon the reputation for quality that we have earned over the past decade.
“I believe that their future is bright, possibly even bright pink.”
JBE Imports, which is led by Jonathan Braham-Everett, imports and distributes drinks brands in the UK including Ms Better’s Bitters, Sly Dog Rum and King of Soho Gin.
“We have big plans for Pinkster Gin and are delighted to be working with such experienced industry players as Stephen Marsh and Jonathan Braham-Everett to help bring those plans to fruition,” added Hinton, operations director at Pinkster Drinks Co.
In 2018, Pinkster raised £1.1 million (US$1.4m) in private finances to increase production and “fully capitalise” on the pink gin boom.
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