Quintessential Brands announces standalone North America unit

Quintessential Brands, the owner of Greenall’s Gin and Dubliner whiskey, will reorganise its North American operations to form a standalone business entity covering all of North America.

Quintessential Brands North America will take over the management and import responsibility for Quintessential’s portfolio of spirit brands, beginning from the start of May. The separate entity will serve the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

It represents the company’s first independent venture outside of Europe and will be led by former Edrington and Heineken executive Steve Ward, currently vice-president business development for the US and Canada.

The changes to the US business follow the recent unveiling of Quintessential Brands’ new distillery in the heart of Dublin, which opened in February.

Quintessential Brands co-founder and executive chairman Enzo Visone said: “Since we established Quintessential Brands in 2011, we have enjoyed great success in the UK thanks to our clear dual focus on providing unrivalled innovation and quality, but as a company with global ambitions, we’ve always had great aspirations for North America when the time was right.

“We believe that time is now, so by taking ownership of our route to market in North America, we can now become the masters of our destiny in the continent. The team we’ve assembled to drive the success we aspire to in North America are highly capable and ambitious to achieve our goals, so I’m confident this is the start of a new exciting chapter for Quintessential Brands as we begin to unlock our true potential in the Americas.”

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Steve Ward, CEO for Quintessential Brands North America, added: “The scope of brands, products and services we bring to the market is second to none so as we now take control of our importing business in the US, we are determined to deliver a superior service to the distributors and retailers of our brands across America and drive improved awareness and resonance amongst consumers through a programme of engaging marketing activity.”

Since its inception eight years ago, the company has accelerated growth through a number of high-profile acquisitions in the premium spirits category – namely that of Dublin Whiskey Company in 2016, when it took on brands including The Dubliner and The Dublin Liberties; French spirits manufacturer Lafragette & Legier in 2015, which saw it add a number of speciality brands like Alizé; and First Ireland Spirits in 2014, when it expanded into the Irish cream liqueurs segment.

Its earliest acquisition was of gin producer G&J Greenall, from which it inherited a number of brands that are still central to its premium gin offering today.