Next Century Spirits, A Leading Innovative Spirits Company, Announces Acquisition of Emerging Better-For-You RTD Portfolio Company, XED Beverages

RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Next Century Spirits, a growing company at the forefront of spirits innovation that uses its proprietary blending and filtration technology to build a best-in-class portfolio of owned brands and a robust B2B and White Label business, today announced the acquisition of XED Beverages, a leading future-focused beverage company.

On the heels of several momentous announcements, including the launch of Truthteller 1839 Whiskey in partnership with Fox Entertainment, the national rollout of Bear Fight American Single Malt Whiskey, Co-Founded by Seth McFarlane, and the recent launch of the golf inspired RTD, Caddy Cocktails with Greg Norman, Next Century Spirits is delighted to finalize the acquisition of XED Beverages, owners of a high growth ready to drink seltzer portfolio that focuses on creating "better for you" brands.

XED launched its first brand SESH in March of 2021 and has quickly established it as one of the fastest growing brands on the market with best-in-class rate of sale and velocity metrics. Having initially launched in four test markets, SESH outperformed the category average by +46% (dollars / facing) and is now a top 10 overall brand (adjusted for category weighted distribution) in focus markets and is in major retailers in 11 States and counting. XED recently launched the second brand in its portfolio: a sake based spiked seltzer called HAPE. Available exclusively in key retailers in CA, HAPE is made with only real tea, real fruit, and real premium junmai sake.

"The acquisition of XED Beverages is another positive step in the growth of our portfolio," said Co-CEO Anthony Moniello. "XED has great momentum and their consumer first mindset fits right into Next Century's Spirits philosophy. We believe that with our growing route to market team, NCS will help accelerate the growth of both SESH and HAPE and ensure consumers are getting access to these amazing products."

This acquisition continues to accelerate NCS's emergence as one of most significant and dynamic total beverage alcohol companies and reemphasizes NCS' focus on launching consumer driven brands with award winning liquid in growing categories. NCS's owned brand portfolio includes: Creek Water Whiskey, a 100-proof whiskey Co-Founded by rapper/musician Yelawolf, Caddy Cocktails, a golf occasion based RTD in partnership with legendary golfer Greg Norman, and Bear Fight, the most award winning American Single Malt Whiskey on the market Co-founded by Seth MacFarlane. The portfolio now adds XED's brands: SESH and HAPE Sake Spritz, with several highly disruptive brands in development and launches scheduled over the coming years.

"We are incredibly excited and energized to be partnering with Next Century Spirits and continuing to build towards our vision: creating a dynamic and differentiated portfolio of beverage brands that stand the test of time." Say XED Co-Founders, Zeke Bronfman and Nate Medow, "We look forward to accelerating the exponential growth of our brands – SESH and HAPE – with the support of NCS' sales and distribution team and creating new to world brands together to complement NCS' existing portfolio and meet evolving consumer needs."

About Next Century Spirits

Next Century Spirits (NCS) is a leading beverage alcohol supplier behind some of the country's most coveted beverage brands.

Using their proprietary finishing & blending technology, NCS produces differentiated spirits brands including owned brands/celebrity partnerships, B2B sales, and white label spirits production. Next Century Spirits own brands have also quickly become some of the most exciting new beverage alcohol brands on the market, including Bear Fight American Single Malt Whiskey, Creek Water American Whiskey, and Caddy Cocktails, with 105+ awards secured to-date across the company's portfolio of products.

Whether it is through their own brands or through collaborations with notable partners, Next Century Spirits is a leader in spirits innovation.

To learn more about our services in addition to our own award-winning portfolio of products, visit https://nextcenturyspirits.com/ and or check us out on Instagram or Facebook.

About XED Beverages

XED, founded in 2019 by Nate Medow – an athlete and type one diabetic – and Zeke Bronfman–a fourth generation spirits entrepreneur – is pioneering the 4th category of beverage alcohol with a fast-growing portfolio of brands at the intersection of health and wellness and bold, authentic flavor. XED's first brand, SESH, launched in March 2021 in four test markets and has since expanded to 11 States with retailers like Kroger, Total Wine, Winn Dixie, GoPuff and more – SESH is already a top 10 performing brand in key markets. XED launched its brand, HAPE Sake Spritz, exclusively in California early this year and has several high-profile celebrity brands in the development pipeline.

Communications Contact
Taylor Foxman – Next Century Spirits
[email protected]

SOURCE Next Century Spirits