LONDON 21 December 2020 – Building on its success across Asia Pacific over the past 18 months, ecoSPIRITS has announced a global licensed operator program, which will bring its closed loop spirits distribution technology to new markets worldwide. The first market under this new program will be the United Kingdom, where ecoSPIRITS has partnered with premium spirits importer and distributer, Mangrove UK. The new partnership will bring closed loop spirits distribution to London in April 2021, with additional cities to follow over the course of the year.ecoSPIRITS’ patent-pending system of closed loop technologies offers both a substantial reduction in the delivered cost of premium spirits, and a transformative reduction in waste and C02 footprint. As one of the world’s most mature markets for premium spirits, the United Kingdom is a natural fit for this cost reduction advantage. The ecoSPIRITS circular solution to eliminating single use glass waste in spirits is also in sync with United Kingdom consumers, who are increasingly transitioning to sustainable consumption and purchasing choices.
Mangrove UK, an experienced spirits industry partner, will lead the local investment in the ecoSPIRITS hardware and technologies, including the ecoPLANT, ecoTOTE and SmartPour system, as well as the setup of the new ecoSPIRITS licensed operator UK corporate entity. In return, the new eS Licensed Operator will receive the rights to operate the ecoSPIRITS closed loop technology in the United Kingdom, with comprehensive technology, engineering and product support from the ecoSPIRITS team. The new platform will be open to premium spirits brands, distributors and wholesalers who are looking to improve their cost and environmental performance.
“Since launching in Asia Pacific in late 2018, ecoSPIRITS has received inquiries from countries around the world about the prospect of closed loop service,” notes Zdenek Kastanek, ecoSPIRITS International Sales Director, “The ecoSPIRITS Licensed Operator program makes this prospect a reality. Together with our local partners, such as the wonderful team behind Mangrove UK, we can scale our climate impact many times over. From a personal perspective, I am excited to have this opportunity to reconnect with so many industry friends and relationships that developed during my years working in hospitality in London.”
Founded by spirits industry veterans Nick Gillett and John Coe, Mangrove UK is a leading specialist distributor of premium spirits and liqueurs. As the anchor investor in the new United Kingdom Licensed Operator for ecoSPIRITS, Mangrove UK brings an extensive network of industry relationships, and an existing portfolio of premium spirits and liqueur brands, to the launch of closed loop service in this all-important spirits market.
Nick Gillett, Managing Director, Mangrove UK, added, “I have tracked the progress of ecoSPIRITS in Asia since its launch, and firmly believe their technology offers a sustainable blueprint for the UK drinks industry to follow. A number of brands in our portfolio have sustainability, environmental and Fairtrade principles at their core, and ecoSPIRITS offers us a very natural next step. The on-trade community is a driving force for change – campaigning against plastic straws, ill treatment of workers in production, treatment of waste water. ecoSPIRITS offers the potential to remove single glass from a large portion of the UK trade, in addition to commercial and logistical advantages, and deliver greater long term sustainable benefits. We are all experiencing a seismic change in the industry and revaluating everything we have previously believed in, so the question for me was – how can we not get involved?”
The more than 500 hospitality venues that operate the ecoSPIRITS technology in Asia Pacific markets will soon be joined by leading United Kingdom hospitality operators, both large and small. As the on-trade community begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2021, reduced spirits costs, smaller carbon footprints, and sustainable consumption choices offer the prospect of a ‘green reset’ – moving forward to a more sustainable future, rather than a simple reversion to the old normal.
“Every now and then there is a need for a disruption in the market place. A disruptor who understands there is a need for change, who is not afraid to challenge status quo and who goes and figures it all out and dedicates massive effort to solve the problem. ecoSPIRITS is the disruptor and a total game changer.”
Monica Suh & Alex Kratena, Tayēr + Elementary London
“I am really excited to have ecoSPIRITS on the UK market. Reducing waste in our industry is sometimes really hard work, but in this case someone has basically done it for you while you are saving cost, which ultimately is a benefit for our guests as well. Having great spirits delivered to your bar, while helping the environment is just a beautiful thing! I cannot wait to have them over in the Mezcaleria soon.”
Maxime Schulte, KOL Mezcaleria
“Many have seen circular spirits as mission impossible. ecoSPIRITS have made it mission possible to bring the ground breaking concept to the bars to reduce the waste in bars which has a massive impact on our environment. Definitely the way forward as our industry needs to see more actions like this from drink producers.”
Erik Lorincz, Kwãnt London
The first United Kingdom ecoPLANT, the 16th worldwide, will be located in central London. More details regarding the United Kingdom launch will be released in January, including the initial portfolio of spirit brands that will be available in ecoSPIRITS format. In the meantime, spirit brands, importers, distributors and venues interested in learning more about closed loop service in the United Kingdom can reach out to ecoSPIRITS via email at uk@ecospirits.global or Mangrove UK via email at marketing@mangroveuk.com.
For media enquiries, Images and Interview opportunities please contact:
ACCELA FOR ECOSPIRITS SINGAPORE
Jessica Slevin
jessica@accela.asia | +65 9238 6930
FLOURISH MARKETING FOR MANGROVE UK
Ellie Murphy: ellie@flourishmarketing.co.uk 07990-548023
Jude Henderson: jude@flourishmarketing.co.uk 07739-791792
About ecoSPIRITS
ecoSPIRITS is a patent-pending, first-in-the-world technology developed by the award-winning team at Proof & Company. Founded in Singapore in 2018 and now available across Asia Pacific, ecoSPIRITS is an innovative closed-loop distribution technology that nearly eliminates packaging waste in the premium spirits supply chain. With each single use glass spirit bottle eliminated, ecoSPIRITS saves at least 550 grams of carbon emissions. The ecoSPIRITS Forest Program plants one tree for each cycle of an ecoTOTE through the ecoSPIRITS closed loop system, sequestering an additional 1,800 g of carbon emissions per glass bottle saved. The ecoSPIRITS Licensed Operator program allows experienced spirits industry partner to bring closed loop service to local markets around the world. ecoSPIRITS is currently available in Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, China, Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives, Australia and New Zealand.
For more information, please visit ecospirits.global
About Mangrove
Mangrove UK was established by John Coe and Nick Gillett in 2014 and now employs over 30 specialist spirits professionals, mixologists, sales and brand experts with extensive experience in both the On and Off trade UK spirits market. Mangrove UK’s hand-picked portfolio displays heritage, innovation and commercial viability. The company has delivered measurable growth for a number of brands to become market leaders in their categories in under five years through strategic marketing and commercial advice, category education, menu creation, PR partnerships and brand activations. With over 100 routes to market, the business has grown turnover from £10.5million in 2015 to £21.4 million in 2019. Focusing on the premium market, Mangrove UK ensures it represents the highest quality of brands by hand-selecting all products based on their provenance, category authenticity, innovation and commercial value to the trade.
For more information, please visit mangroveuk.com