Matthew Clark, the drinks wholesale business owned jointly by Punch Taverns and wine company Accolade, has launched a new division to supply drinks brands to the UK on and off-trades.
The launch of Catalyst Brands follows that of Wine Studio Agency in 2010, which specialises in distributing wine. Catalyst Brands has already announced an agreement to distribute brands from spirits company Gruppo Campari from 1 July this year, taking over from Cellar Trends.
Gary Squire, Catalyst Brands managing director, said: “We believe there is a gap in the UK market for a brand agency which could deliver distribution, not only through traditional on-trade and off-trade routes to market, but also at an outlet level using insight to establish better engagement with consumers in the right outlet styles. With this in mind, we are delighted to be announcing the launch of Catalyst Brands. We aim to demonstrate our capability and add value to brands within our portfolio, ahead of our competitors, and become the preferred agency business for the UK market.”
Catalyst Brands said its supply chain already imports more than five million nine-litre cases into its national distribution centre in Bristol from over 25 countries, and distributes 21m cases through its secondary network into the UK.
