The deal will see Molson Coors Beverage Company gain exclusive commercialization rights for Fever-Tree’s line-up of tonics, ginger beers and cocktail mixers in the US.
Fever-Tree was established in 2004 under the simple premise of capitalizing on the gin boom by creating an equally premium mixer to accompany the spirit. The business has boomed over the past decade with group revenues reaching £364m in 2023.
And the company now counts the US as its largest global market by revenue: sales topped £128m in 2024 after 9% growth on the year before.
North American beer giant Molson Coors has been expanding its portfolio beyond its core range of beer (such as Coors Light, Miller Lite and Blue Moon) with brands in spirits and non-alcoholic beverages.
Fever-Tree is an attractive brand for Molson Coors because it sits at the intersection of beer and non-alc and is often available in stores where beer is sold.
That means it ‘perfectly complements’ Molson Coors’ Beyond Beer and premiumization strategies, playing in both alcohol occasions and non-alc occasions, said the company.
Molson Coors wants to build on the position Fever-Tree has already established in the US by leveraging its core strengths, commercial scale and supply chain expertise. That will allow it to expand distribution, grow brand awareness, and create a solid runway for Fever-Tree’s long-term growth in the US market.
Molson Coors will pay £71m ($88m) for an 8.5% stake in Fever-Tree Drinks Plc: a deal which sent Fever-Tree shares soaring after it was announced on Thursday (Jan 30). It becomes the second largest shareholder in the company.
“Our strategic partnership with Fever-Tree in the US is a meaningful step in Molson Coors’ journey to becoming a total-beverage company with a winning portfolio of drinks for a wide variety of consumer occasions,” said Molson Coors Chief Executive Officer Gavin Hattersley.
“We’ve made progress here, and we are building on that progress in a significant way with Fever-Tree as the latest and largest non-alc brand to join our portfolio.”
The deal follows Molson Coors’ acquisition of a majority stake in Dwayne Johnson’s ZOA Energy brand last year. And the company will launch Aussie non-alcoholic RTD cocktail brand, Naked Life, in the US this year.
The company has also made many other moves beyond beer but within alcohol with drinks such as Vizzy Hard Seltzer, Five Trail whiskey and Kentucky’s Blue Run Spirits.
Taking Fever-Tree to the next level
Fever-Tree was founded by Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow. In 2013, it was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category.
While demand in the US for the brand is clearly there, Fever-Tree the US is ‘an enormous market, fragmented and diverse’, as Warrillow puts it.
The deal with Molson Coors will mean Fever-Tree can be produced at scale in the US: helping solve the elevated glass and transatlantic freight costs the company has had to deal with up to now.
“This announcement marks a transformational step for the Fever-Tree brand in the US and is not only a reflection of how far we have come since first entering the market in 2008 but also how the opportunity ahead for the brand continues to grow,” said Fever-Tree CEO, Tim Warrillow.
“With a national network providing scale and muscle, proven track record, supply chain expertise and clearly stated strategic desire to drive the future of their business beyond beer, Molson Coors are the ideal partner to take the Fever-Tree brand to the next level across the US.”
