Month: February 2024

MIAMI 9 February 2024 ecoSPIRITS USA has welcomed major beverage importer Preiss Imports, leading distributor XXI Wine & Spirits, and Fair Trade spirits brand FAIR^® to its closed loop network in the United States. The three companies have joined the ecoSPIRITS Climate Partner Program in Florida, home to the first ecoPLANT™ in the United States. The first brand from the Preiss portfolio to be distributed by XXI Wines & Spirits is FAIR Café Liqueur, which is now available to Florida venues as part of a Sustainable Espresso Martini campaign, which reduces single use glass waste in one of the most popular cocktails in the United States.

Preiss Imports is based in California and works with distributors across the United States to share brands from its portfolio with bars, hotels, retailers and restaurants across the country. Preiss is a third-generation family business, which specializes in importing and marketing international spirits, wines and culinary specialities across the United States. The company represents niche and artisanal brands and its team also has expertise in education and training on suppliers’ portfolios in various markets. Together with XXI Wine & Spirits, Preiss is offering select brands from its portfolio in ecoTOTE™ format to venues across Florida.

XXI ‘Twenty-One’ Wine & Spirits is a Miami-based distributor of hand-crafted spirits and artisanal wines from boutique vineyards, from all around the world. The company started in 2016 and now distributes fine wines and craft spirits to venues across the entire Florida state. The company’s mission is to offer wines and spirits with unique character, and ones which speak of the place they emanate from. XXI Wine & Spirits has joined the ecoSPIRITS system in Florida to represent brands across the state.

One of the first brands from Preiss Imports portfolio distributed in ecoTOTE format by XXI Wine & Spirits across Florida is FAIR Café Liqueur from the FAIR portfolio of Fair Trade-certified spirits brands. The company sources the best ingredients from all around the world to create its high quality spirits. FAIR focuses on paying farmers at a fair price, so that they can cover their production costs, live from farming, educate their children and build schools. FAIR Café is made from 100% Arabica beans from Mexico using a slow roasting process to extract the best properties from the coffee, supported by a three-week maceration to create a rich flavoured spirit.

FAIR Café Liqueur is one of two ecoSPIRITS Climate Partner brands featuring in the Sustainable Espresso Martini campaign, along with Tried & True Vodka. This is currently being offered to venues in Florida, allowing them to create this classic cocktail using high quality ingredients – such as FAIR Café Liqueur – but without single use glass. To create this, ecoSPIRITS teamed up with the two brands to develop an exceptional – and sustainable – version of the Espresso Martini cocktail, with both the spirit and the liqueur delivered to the venue in ecoTOTE format.

Several venues in Florida are already offering Sustainable Espresso Martinis, including Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Surfside. Many of the group’s hotels and resorts in the Asia-Pacific region already partner with ecoSPIRITS, and as one of the first in Florida to work create Sustainable Espressos, Four Seasons is strengthening its commitment to eliminating single-use glass waste throughout its business. The popular Miami-based bars Esotico and Lost Boy Dry Goods, and Silverspot Cinema, Downtown Miami, have also joined as early pioneers for the Sustainable Espresso Martini in Florida, along with the luxury hotel: The Miami Beach EDITION. Venues in Orlando and Tampa are also preparing to add this to their menus.

Since the launch of closed loop spirits in the United States was first announced at the start of 2023, ecoSPIRITS USA  now supplies many high-profile bars and restaurants with a collection of brands in ecoTOTE format from the country’s first two ecoPLANTS, serving venues across Florida and California. Plans for a third ecoPLANT, in Nevada, were revealed at the end of last year and this facility is now ready to start deploying ecoTOTEs. Additional ecoPLANTS are planned for other U.S. states, with details to be revealed later in 2024.

To find out more about ecoSPIRITS in North America, please contact Sales Director, North America, ecoSPIRITS on [email protected]. For media inquiries or general information on ecoSPIRITS, you may contact Sonya Hook, Senior PR Manager at [email protected].

About Preiss Imports

Preiss Imports is a third-generation family business which specializes in the importing and marketing of one-of-a-kind artisanal spirits and is dedicated to developing a portfolio that embodies our passion for exceptional products made by exceptional people. As a boutique firm, we are structured to manage niche and family-owned brands where product intimacy and knowledge matter most. Our portfolio represents brands that are handcrafted and showcase the excellence that exacting technique can bring: we seek products and brands with a rich and meaningful legacy and craft. Most of the products in our portfolio are made with pure, organic ingredients, using sustainable methods that are synergistic with the ecosystems and land in which they are made. Our portfolio is deep and varied and our territory spans markets in almost every corner of the U.S.

About XXI Wines & Spirits

XXI Wine & Spirits is an importer and distributor of fine wines and craft spirits from all over the world, with its headquarters in Miami, Florida. The company was set up with the aim of celebrating what has been possible in the world of beverage alcohol since the shackles of prohibition were lifted with the passage of the 21^st amendment. Showcasing the way this sector has evolved and developed since prohibition is the company’s mantra, and to do this, it hones in on premium products including hand-crafted spirits, artisanal wines from storied vineyards, craft beers and ciders, and other unique and high-quality products. All in all, its wide-ranging and eclectic portfolio now represents a whole new frontier.

For more information, please visit: https://www.xxiwinespirits.com

About FAIR

FAIR is the leading Fair Trade liquor brand. The hallmark of this range (liqueurs, vodka, whiskey, rum and gin) is in the combined use of Fair Trade, sustainable development and French craftsmanship for producing these products. The brand has a philosophy of fair deals for all partners involved in the production chain. This aim has taken them across the world in order to produce high-quality spirits from the finest ingredients.

For more information please visit http://fair-drinks.com/

About ecoSPIRITS

ecoSPIRITS is a circular economy technology company that has developed the world’s first low carbon, low waste distribution technology for premium spirits and wine. Our patent-pending closed loop system nearly eliminates all packaging waste in the supply chain. By dramatically reducing packaging and transport, ecoSPIRITS provides a transformative carbon footprint reduction. Founded in Singapore in 2018, the ecoSPIRITS technology is now available in more than 23 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. More than 2,000 leading bars, restaurants, hotels and retailers have adopted the technology, including Michelin-starred restaurants, World’s 50 Best and Asia’s 50 Best bars and iconic hotels. ecoSPIRITS is now rapidly building a global network of closed loop service, with coverage to grow to 27 countries worldwide by early 2024. Together with our brand partners, importers, distributors, wholesalers, venues, and retailers, we are already making a difference. Each year, ecoSPIRITS and our partners are eliminating hundreds of tons of single use glass waste, planting tens of thousands of trees, and inspiring others to change.

For more information, please visit: www.ecospirits.global

BARCELONA 1 February 2024 ecoSPIRITS has announced plans to launch closed loop service in Spain under a Licensed Operator Agreement with a new company created by Francesc Escolà, CEO of Spanish wine and spirits distribution group, Ecosistema Escolà (‘Escola’). ecoSPIRITS Spain will start its activity in the Spanish market from this month, starting with three spirits in ecoTOTE™ format. These will be deployed from the country’s first ecoPLANT™, which will be hosted by the Barcelona-based spirits producer, Bardinet-España. Distribution will initially commence in the Spanish region of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands and will quickly expand to the rest of Spain and Andorra. The move into Spain builds on ecoSPIRITS’ rapidly expanding European footprint, following recently announced partnerships with new Licensed Operators in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Italy.

Escolà has a history dating back to 1962 when the Escolà family found success in Barcelona; initially with grocery shops and later, in 1973, moving into wine and spirits distribution. Today, the company has more than 90 employees and more than 5,000 products, marketed under two different distribution divisions.

Also in Barcelona, the company runs Magatzem Escolà, an impressive space which serves as its training centre and showroom. The building, which dates back to 1890, was carefully restored by the company in 2011 and retains many of the original architectural elements.

Spain has been earmarked as a world leader in tourism competitiveness for the third consecutive year (World Economic Forum) and it recently launched its 2030 Sustainable Tourism Strategy, which will help it to maintain its global leadership. Barcelona has long been known as a capital of gastronomy and the city is home to at least 26 Michelin starred restaurants. In addition, its cocktail scene is now thriving, with the city having recently enjoyed an influx of bar talent from overseas. Barcelona is one of the country’s top tourist destinations and in 2022 it saw 12.4 million tourists.

Spain also has ambitious waste reduction targets. In December 2022, the country issued its Royal Decree 1055/2022 on Packaging and Packaging Waste, which seeks to align Spain’s packaging legislation with the new extended producer responsibility scheme set in place by the European Union. It also sets in place a series of measures for producers for both the marketing of their products and management of their waste. The main purpose of this new Decree is to make all packaging on the market recyclable by 2030 and, where possible, reusable.

The Barcelona-based Bardinet-España has been selected as the host company for ecoPLANT No. 036, which will be Spain’s first ecoPLANT. Bardinet-España is part of the French group La Martiniquaise-Bardinet, based in Paris, which has a wide portfolio of different spirits brands. The parent company, which has a history dating back to 1857, is one of the world’s top ten spirits producers with 29 subsidiaries and manufacturing plants in Spain, France, UK, Portugal and the Netherlands. The ecoPLANT for Spain is a 2.0W model, capable of processing both spirits and wine. It will be hosted in a dedicated production and warehouse facility to be operated by Bardinet-España staff, who will be trained and supported by ecoSPIRITS’ global Closed Loop Operations team.

Spain will also participate in the ecoSPIRITS Forest Program, planting one tree for every cycle of an ecoTOTE delivered to hospitality venues. To find out more information about opportunities to partner with ecoSPIRITS in Spain, please contact David Grau at eS System Operator Spain, SL, on [email protected] or Iain McPherson, ecoSPIRITS Sales Director, EMEA, at [email protected]. For media inquiries or general information on ecoSPIRITS, you may contact Sonya Hook, Senior PR Manager at [email protected].

About Ecosistema Escolà

The history of Escolà dates back to 1962, when the Escolà family found success in Barcelona, initially with grocery shops and later, in 1973, changing the activity to wine and distillates distributor. Today, the company has more than 5,000 references, marketed under two different distribution divisions and more than 90 employees. Also in Barcelona, the company manages Magatzem Escolà, a magnificent space that serves as the company’s training centre and showroom. The building, which dates back to 1890, was carefully restored by the company in 2011 and retains many of the original architectural elements. At the same time, it has developed other projects related to the distribution and development of the spirits industry in Spain, such as the OTC Group importer and the Spirit Essence training activity and competition, which will be integrated into the newly created Liquid Solutions Foundation in the current financial year 2024. All these projects are part of the Escolà Ecosystem as they serve the wine and spirits industry from different perspectives that are complementary to each other.

For more information, please visit: www.escoladist.com

About Bardinet-España

Bardinet-España belongs to the French La Martiniquaise-Bardinet Group, based in Paris. It is one of the top ten spirits producers in the world. Bardinet is positioned among the leaders in the Spanish and world spirits market. It was in 1993 that Bardinet joined La Martiniquaise, France’s leading group in the production and distribution of wines and spirits and currently ranked in the top 10 worldwide. This alliance, known as the LMB Group, gives Bardinet the opportunity to increase its already strong international presence. Bardinet has a portfolio covering all categories of the sector, from rum, whisky, liqueurs, gin, vodka, tequila to brandy, port and cavas. To do so, it has facilities occupying 24,000 square metres at its plant located on the outskirts of Barcelona, in Gelida, and has a staff of around 100 collaborators.

For more information, please visit: www.bardinet.es

About ecoSPIRITS

ecoSPIRITS is a circular economy technology company that has developed the world’s first low carbon, low waste distribution technology for premium spirits and wine. Our patent-pending closed loop system nearly eliminates all packaging waste in the supply chain. By dramatically reducing packaging and transport, ecoSPIRITS provides a transformative carbon footprint reduction. Founded in Singapore in 2018, the ecoSPIRITS technology is now available in more than 23 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. Nearly 2,000 leading bars, restaurants, hotels and retailers have adopted the technology, including Michelin-starred restaurants, World’s 50 Best and Asia’s 50 Best bars and iconic hotels. ecoSPIRITS is now rapidly building a global network of closed loop service, with coverage to grow to 27 countries worldwide by early 2024. Together with our brand partners, importers, distributors, wholesalers, venues, and retailers, we are already making a difference. Each year, ecoSPIRITS and our partners are eliminating hundreds of tons of single use glass waste, planting tens of thousands of trees, and inspiring others to change.

For more information, please visit: www.ecospirits.global.