Molson Coors Beverage Company is expanding its U.S. non-alc portfolio through a new strategic partnership with Fevertree Drinks plc, one of the world leading suppliers of premium carbonated drinks and mixers.
Starting February 1, 2025, Molson Coors will assume exclusive commercialisation rights to Fever-Tree’s award-winning lineup of tonics, ginger beers, cocktail mixers and more in the U.S. and will be responsible for co-manufactured production, marketing, sales and distribution of the brand in the U.S. The move is a significant step forward in Molson Coors’ strategic ambition to build a total-beverage portfolio for a wide range of consumer preferences across traditional alcohol occasions and non-alc occasions alike.
“Our strategic partnership with Fever-Tree in the U.S. 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. We’ve made progress here, and today 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,” Molson Coors Chief Executive Officer Gavin Hattersley said. “The U.S. is our biggest global market by revenue, and the same is true for Fever-Tree, so we believe this partnership provides ample opportunity for our teams to build on the strong success Fever-Tree has achieved to date. Our customers have been asking for a brand just like Fever-Tree from us, and by leveraging the scale, strong relationships and expertise of our team at Molson Coors, I’m confident in the road ahead for Fever-Tree as part of Molson Coors’ growing set of non-alc offerings in the U.S.”
Established in the UK in 2004, Fever-Tree has become a proven leader in a high-growth, above premium space. Drinks International voted it the ‘Number One Top Selling Mixer’ and ‘Number One Top Trending Mixer’ for 11 years running, while the New York International Spirits Competition voted it ‘Mixer Brand of the Year’ for four years running. In the U.S., Fever-Tree’s largest global market by revenue, the brand has consistently built on its first-mover advantage, and in doing so has become the #1 tonic and ginger beer brands nationwide, per Nielsen [since 2007].
Molson Coors plans to build on the position Fever-Tree has already established in the U.S. by leveraging its core strengths, commercial scale and supply chain expertise to expand distribution, grow brand awareness, and create a solid runway for long-term growth in the U.S. market.
Underpinning the partnership and reflecting Molson Coors’ long-term focus on – and belief in – the opportunity, the company has agreed to acquire an 8.5% stake in Fevertree Drinks plc, resulting in Molson Coors becoming Fever-Tree’s second largest shareholder.
The partnership with Fever-Tree builds on Molson Coors’ strong recent momentum in the advancement of its Beyond Beer and premiumization strategy. The company took a majority stake in ZOA Energy in November 2024 and has since expanded distribution into new accounts and channels. Additionally, Molson Coors is preparing to bring Naked Life, Australia’s #1 non-alc RTD cocktail, to the U.S. this spring.
Molson Coors and Fever-Tree’s strategic partnership is subject to customary closing conditions.
Fever-Tree launched Soda Collection, a brand-new range of delicious flavoured sodas, expertly crafted from the finest naturally sourced ingredients.
Each soda is low in calories and uses no artificial colours, sweeteners or preservatives, making them perfect for creating delicious yet simple spritz drinks.
Raspberry & Rose
Raspberry and Rose Soda is made with delicately perfumed Damask rose petals combined with the juicy sweetness of late-harvest raspberries to create a unique and delicious soda that’s perfect for mixing with pink gin or premium vodka for a refreshing summer spritz.
White Grape & Apricot
Wonderfully tart white grapes and sweet apricots from Italy are balanced with the subtle floral notes of French verbena oil to create White Grape & Apricot Soda.
Italian Blood Orange
Juicy blood oranges from Sicily meet an iconic herbal blend to create Italian Blood Orange Soda. This complex and sophisticated mixer pairs perfectly with Italian liqueurs, bitters and premium vodka.
Mexican Lime
Mexican Lime Soda is made with Tahiti lime from Mexico’s fertile groves in addition to pressed oil extract from the wonderfully floral Japanese yuzu to create a low-calorie soda that’s perfect for mixing with premium vodka or tequila for a mouth-wateringly zesty summer spritz.
The range is available throughout the UK across pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels from March 2020 before launching in retail in the run-up to Easter 2020.
This June, Fever-Tree, the UK’s leading premium mixer brand, launched a limited edition Cucumber Tonic, the taste of British summertime. Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Cucumber Tonic, created using naturally-sourced ingredients, is a delicate and crisp tonic water, the perfect addition to outdoor drinking during the summer months.
The Cucumber Tonic Water is available in 500 ml glass bottles in the off-trade. The new tonic water uses a natural cucumber essence, extracted through low- temperature distillation process from fresh General Lee cucumbers to capture the very purest cucumber essence.
The flavour notes of the cucumber essence are perfectly balanced with the gentle bitterness of Fever-Tree’s signature quinine sourced from the Eastern Congo and soft spring water. The result being a tonic with a refreshing taste and aroma, which pairs perfectly with fresh and floral gins and when served with a cucumber ribbon and sprig of fresh mint, gives a fresh cucumber twist on the quintessentially British G&T as well as great accompaniment to premium vodka.
The new release is a limited edition extension to Fever-Tree’s award-winning portfolio of 14 mixers and tonics, all of which are also available in Refreshingly Light variants. This release follows the success of Fever-Tree’s first limited edition, Clementine and Cinnamon tonic water, launched over the Christmas period last year which became the third most popular Fever-Tree product by volume sales in December 20171.
1 Company FY results year end 31st December 2017
Joe Hutson, a consumer analyst from GlobalData reports that “The evolving market has enabled Schweppes’ rival Fever-Tree to experience vast growth in 2017”. UK revenues doubled to almost £33.6m, while Schweppes’ retail sales fell 6 %. Fever-Tree saw 76 % gross profit growth in the UK during this period, with sales split evenly between on and off-trade. With Fever-Tree already established as a premium product range, the success of Schweppes will determine the brand’s fortunes in the coming years.
Schweppes (Coca-Cola) has announced a new range of premium tonic water, Schweppes 1783, to combat declining sales in the face of competition from Fever-Tree, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Hutson commented “The new range will be of the same design that was formed by inventor Jacob Schweppe in 1783. It will be hoped that the golden sash and black livery will allow the product to stand out in both the on and off-trade, where Fever-Tree’s presence has been mounting.”
The launch will be accompanied by the largest marketing effort in the brand’s history at a price tag of £6.6m. Engagement at taste experiences, festivals and nationwide cocktail events will be seen alongside the sponsoring of The Jonathan Ross Show.
Traditional flavours Crisp Tonic Water, Light Tonic Water and Golden Ginger Ale will be available alongside distinctive tonic water offers Salty Lemon, Quenching Cucumber and Aromatic Floral. The new range has been designed with guidance from mixologists and drinks experts, appealing to a new age of mixer drinkers that are keen to discover new flavours.
This strategy will be executed with the hope of carving Schweppes out a segment of the rapidly growing premium tonic water segment. This market has seen been increasing in value in recent years. This is thanks to the increasing premium nature of spirits driving a concurrent interest in high-end mixers.
