“Ultra-premium” drinks brand expands to US with new distribution partnership

East Imperial, the global purveyor of “ultra-premium beverages”, is pleased to announce it has signed a long-term distribution agreement with Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), one of the largest distributors in the US operating across 37 states.

Under the terms of the agreement, RNDC will commence distributing to the on-trade and off-trade markets from March 2022 across eight US states; California, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Maryland, Illinois, Washington DC & Florida.

These states have been experiencing rapid growth in demand for premium mixers and represent an opportunity for East Imperial to achieve a step-change in the scale of the business across the US. RNDC already provides distribution for East Imperial’s best-selling beverages in California, which has experienced “strong sales growth”.

Following the agreement with RNDC, the US is expected to make up an increasing and significant proportion of East Imperial’s revenues. East Imperial is actively seeking a US-based third-party bottling provider in anticipation of the increased demand and to significantly improve the efficiency of operations.

While RNDC’s distribution will focus on the on-trade and off-trade market, East Imperial will continue to provide a direct-to-consumer offer in the US through Amazon Marketplace as part of a multi-channel strategy. East Imperial’s canned product range became available on Amazon in November last year and has seen demand throughout the US.

Tony Burt, founder and CEO, said: “This US distribution agreement is a huge milestone for East Imperial. RNDC is the second-largest distributor in the US and our partnership with them will transform our presence in this major market.

“The global trend towards premiumisation is rapid and the US is driving that demand. We have a great opportunity now to capture a huge slice of this valuable market and I’m confident we can achieve that and deliver a step-change in the scale of our business as a result.”