A Taste Of New Things To Come: CleanCo, The U.K.'s Leading No/Low Spirits Brand, Launches In The U.S.

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After cultivating a groundswell in the booming U.K. no-and-low (No/Low) alcohol market, CleanCo announces its entry to the U.S. market, in partnership with the newly formed Adult Beverage company, Demeter & Co.

Founded in 2019 by entrepreneur and creator Spencer Matthews, CleanCo offers cocktail lovers a non-alcoholic alternative when they seek moderation combined with the taste and nose of their favorite spirit, but without the sugars or calories.

Following his own desire to reframe his relationship with alcohol in 2018, Matthews discovered there were no options in the market that could match the taste and mouth feel of full-strength spirits in a mixed drink. CleanCo is for people who want to enjoy a full-flavor alternative, when the occasion calls for it, that also gives the sensation and taste of their favorite spirit.

With the dedication of Matthews and his U.K. team, CleanCo is off to a strong start and is set to achieve its projected sales of at least 50,000 9 liter cases across the U.K. and U.S. in 2021 alone - making it one of the world's largest and fastest growing No/Low spirits brands.

Spurred on by consumers growing interest in health and wellness, CleanCo seeks to empower a new category of cocktail lovers in the U.S. who wish to moderate without compromise.

"The No/Low alcohol industry is embarking on a major revolution driven by a large and growing consumer audience," enthuses CleanCo Founder, Spencer Matthews.

"There's this incredible surge of global cocktail lovers seeking to moderate their drinking habits to be healthy, happy and connected. In the U.S, our research found that one in five premium spirits drinkers sought a way to moderate while still enjoying the cocktails they love."

"With everything we learned, it is the right time for us to introduce CleanCo to the U.S., the world's largest alcohol market, before expanding globally."

To build a global brand at speed, Matthews and his team have partnered with Demeter & Co led by Jim Clerkin, former CEO of Americas for Moët Hennessy and Jim Beam, and Jeff Menashe, founder and CEO of Demeter Advisory Group, the leading investment bank to the adult beverage industry in the U.S.  

As two of the U.S.'s most proven industry leaders, Clerkin and Menashe are the only team in the industry to blend the dynamic perspective of entrepreneurs and corporate brand stewards, investment banking and operations, as well as digital and field marketing across both U.S. and global markets.

Significantly, CleanCo's proposition is so compelling, Clerkin and Menashe have put their stake in the ground by launching the No/Low alcohol spirit company as Demeter & Co's first brand in its portfolio.

NEW BOUNDARIES
Matthews' ambition for CleanCo to lead the charge in this rapidly growing billion dollar No/Low category are rooted in the changing cultural landscape which CleanCo has tapped into in the U.K., and in addition to the special relationship cultivated with Demeter & Co.

"CleanCo is the first example of Demeter & Co's approach to building global adult beverage brands, which involves pushing new boundaries and making a positive impact on culture," comments Jeff Menashe, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Demeter & Co.

"Spencer and his team have a proven concept in the U.K. and deep learnings that help inform how we will approach the U.S. consumer. As the only brand with an existing portfolio of traditional spirit alternatives, CleanCo is able to customize the launch of each market with the spirit most aligned with its cocktail culture," added Jim Clerkin, Co-Founder and CEO of Demeter & Co.

"So, in the U.K., CleanCo leads with Clean G [Gin], whereas in the U.S., we will lead with Clean T [Tequila], our take on an agave forward Tequila Blanco. In this way, we are complimenting the significant growth of Tequila in the U.S., while showcasing CleanCo in one of the country's fastest growing cocktails - the Paloma," continues Clerkin.

CleanCo's arrival in America is being elevated with key distribution deals, including with the world's largest distributor of beverage alcohol, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, who launches CleanCo next month across seven states, which include California, Texas, Florida.

Wayne Chaplin, Chief Executive Officer, Southern Glazer's said: "The consumer is telling us that the opportunity in No/Low alcohol is now. For Southern to be part of a team to help develop and lead this cultural movement in the US with a proven group of industry experts like Demeter & Co is incredibly exciting."

To build immediate national relevance, CleanCo is entering the U.S. with a digital first marketing focus, and a sales strategy that has an equal focus on wholesale and direct-to-consumer. These efforts are led by CleanCo's global chief brand officer Lana Buchanan, former VP of Beyond Beer at Anheuser Busch, and Demeter & Co's head of sales Rudy Costello, former global CEO, Stoli Group.

NO/LOW INDUSTRY
To put this in perspective, Nielsen reported a 37%-dollar growth in non-alcoholic Beer, Wine and Spirits for 2020 compared to 2019, in a recent Beverage Alcohol Webinar. In the U.S. alone, IWSR projects No/Low spirits sales to grow to $1B by 2025. Sales projections for the global No/Low overall category are projected to reach $74B in 2025, equating to 6.2% of global beverage alcohol.

For more information, visit www.drinkclean.com and follow the brand on Instagram at @CleanCo.US

About CleanCo
Founded in the U.K. in late 2019 by entrepreneur Spencer Matthews, CleanCo is the world's only premium No/Low spirits brand that offers a range of superior tasting, full-flavored alternatives to full strength spirits without compromising on taste, aroma or mouth feel.

CleanCo makes its debut into the U.S. in early October 2021 with a product portfolio that includes Clean T (Tequila), Clean G (Gin), Clean R (Dark Rum), and Clean V Spiced Apple (Flavoured Vodka).

About Demeter & Co
Established in 2021, Demeter & Co is an adult beverage company co-founded by Jeff Menashe, Founder and CEO of Demeter Advisory Group, the leading investment bank to premium adult beverage brands in the U.S., and Jim Clerkin, former CEO of the Americas for Moët Hennessy and Jim Beam.

Demeter & Co's mission is simple and bold - to grow and develop global, digital-first adult beverage brands that are as authentically bold and expressive as the consumers who love them.

In addition to founders Jeff Menashe, and Jim Clerkin, Demeter & Co's team include Jacques Mantz, chief financial officer and former global chief financial officer and chief operating officer, Moët Hennessy, Rudy Costello, head of sales and former global chief executive officer, Stoli Group, Lana Buchanan, chief brand officer and former VP Beyond Beer, Anheuser Busch, Stephanie Olmstead, head of ecommerce and former director, commercial strategy and transformation, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, Richard Hurst, head of strategy and former head of strategy / M&A, Moët Hennessy Americas, Laurence Wolfe, head of operations and former senior vice president operations and chief supply chain officer, Heineken USA, Elizabeth Lee, head of financial planning and analysis and former manager, Business Transformation Group, Mattel, Amee Lile-Schrock, controller and former vice president and controller of finance, Sacramento Kings LP, Linda King, accounting director and former senior accounting manager, Campari America LLC.

For more information, visit www.demeterandco.com.

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Sources:
https://www.theiwsr.com/wp-content/uploads/IWSR_No-and-Low-Alcohol-Gains-Share-Within-Total-Beverage-Alcohol-2021.pdf 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizthach/2021/04/06/no-low-alcohol-wines-hit-the-us-looking-to-gain-traction/?sh=5aae0de8257c 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisfurnari/2021/02/09/iwsr-report-noand-low-alcohol-products-gaining-market-share/?sh=dffeb22484bc 
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/08/these-are-the-5-fastest-growing-spirits-in-the-us/ 
https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2020/07/most-spirits-categories-up-30-or-more-in-us-off-trade/ 
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2020/05/tequila-sales-soar-in-us-during-lockdown/ 
https://www.theiwsr.com/global-beverage-alcohol-expected-to-gain-3-volume-in-2021/ 

SOURCE The Prophets Agency

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