Molson Coors Beverage Company has announced a new strategic partnership with Fevertree Drinks, the leading supplier of premium carbonated drinks and mixers.
The deal gives Molson Coors exclusive commercialisation rights to Fever-Tree’s US portfolio, effective 1 February. The firm will be responsible for co-manufactured production, marketing, sales and distribution of the brand’s lineup of tonics, ginger beers, cocktail mixers and more in the US.
In addition, Molson Coors has agreed to acquire an 8.5 per cent stake in the British company for a reported $88 million (£70.6m), becoming Fever-Tree’s second largest shareholder.
The company said the move is a significant step forward in its strategic ambition to build a total-beverage portfolio for a wide range of consumer preferences across traditional alcohol occasions and non-alcoholic occasions alike.
“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. 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 Gavin Hattersley said.
“The US 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.”
Established in the UK in 2004, Fever-Tree has become a proven leader in a high-growth, above premium space, with distribution to over 90 countries worldwide. In the US, 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 No.1 tonic and ginger beer brands nationwide, as per Nielsen data [since 2007].
“Today’s 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 Tim Warrillow, Fever-Tree chief executive.
“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.”
The partnership with Fever-Tree builds on Molson Coors’ strong recent momentum in the advancement of its Beyond Beer and premiumisation strategy. The company took a majority stake in ZOA Energy in November 2024 and has since expanded distribution into new accounts and channels.
