Fever-Tree accelerates growth in Germany with GDP acquisition

Fever-Tree has acquired drinks distributor and sales agent, Global Drinks Partnership (GDP), in a deal valued at €9.5 million, as it aims to capitalise on the German market.

The acquisition follows a seven-year partnership between the two companies. During this time, GDP has reportedly enabled Fever-Tree to establish a growing brand presence in the on-trade and a strong footprint across national and regional retailers in the off-trade.

Based in Munich, GDP is a sales agent and importer of premium drinks. With its acquisition, Fever-Tree will gain access to established management, distribution relationships and sales channels. The British mixer brand claims this will further strengthen its presence in Germany and at a much faster rate than could have been achieved from scratch.

According to Fever-Tree, the German market represents a notable opportunity for the group as it is one of the largest mixer markets in Europe and is underpinned by emerging premiumisation trends.

Alongside Fever-Tree, GDP also distributes a portfolio of complementary premium beer and spirits brands, which allegedly generated €10 million of sales in 2019. Fever-Tree says it looks forward to continuing to work with these brands in the future.

Tim Warrillow, CEO of Fever-Tree, said: “The completion of the GDP acquisition is an important step as we execute our growth plans in Germany, providing us with an ideal platform to take advantage of the opportunity within the German market and accelerate our growth.

“I have worked closely with Morgan Zuill and his team at GDP since we first entered the German market and have been impressed with their approach and expertise in growing the Fever-Tree brand, so I am delighted that they are joining the Fever-Tree team.”

The announcement was made in Fever-Tree’s trading statement, released ahead of its interim results, which highlighted the company’s performance amid the coronavirus pandemic.

From March onwards, Fever-Tree said its trading across regions was dominated by the impacts of Covid-19, leading to widespread closure of the on-trade alongside a consistently strong performance through its off-trade channels.