LONDON 23 May 2024 Rémy Cointreau and ecoSPIRITS have announced a four-year global licensing agreement, bolstering their existing partnership in the United Kingdom and launching in the United States, with other global markets to follow. The collaboration will see the commercial scale-up of the existing pilot project in the UK, which started in early 2023 when two Rémy Cointreau brands were introduced in ecoSPIRITS’ circular packaging technology to select on-trade venues, predominantly in the London area. The new global agreement also provides a framework for Rémy Cointreau to make its iconic liqueur and spirit brands available in ecoSPIRITS’ technology in more markets around the world over the coming years.

Trailer Happiness, pictured here, is just one of the venues in London taking delivery of Mount Gay Eclipse rum in ecoTOTE format.

In January 2023, ecoSPIRITS and Rémy Cointreau jointly launched closed loop service in the United Kingdom, with two of the producer’s iconic brands – Cointreau liqueur and Mount Gay Eclipse rum – made available in ecoTOTE™ format for on-trade venues in London. The UK launch also marked another milestone in ecoSPIRITS’ journey to develop industry-leading circular technology when the co-branded SmartPour 2.0S Cointreau Edition became the first SmartPour™ to be specifically tailored for liqueurs.

Since early 2023 the Mexican bar-restaurant, El Pastor, has been reducing its glass waste by taking Cointreau in ecoTOTE format.

Many London venues, such as the four-strong Mexican restaurant chain, El Pastor, have seen a significant reduction in single use glass waste by taking Cointreau in ecoTOTE format. The success of the original collaboration between ecoSPIRITS and Rémy Cointreau has now led to the scaling up of the UK operations, to make Cointreau – a staple ingredient in the original Margarita – more widely available in closed loop packaging. In recent months Cointreau in ecoTOTE format was rolled out across The Alchemist’s key London sites with plans to cover all 23 of The Alchemist’s locations nationwide by December 2024. Meanwhile, many iconic venues across the UK, such as the award-winning cocktail bar and rum lounge, Trailer Happiness, have been taking delivery of Mount Gay rum in ecoTOTE format.

Cointreau in ecoTOTE format is being introduced to all 23 of The Alchemist’s UK sites throughout 2024.

In addition to the commercial scale up in the UK, ecoSPIRITS and Rémy Cointreau have also cemented plans to extend into the United States. The first phase of this launch will focus on Nevada, and more specifically Las Vegas, a city known for its casinos and high volume beverage operations. Cointreau will become the first global brand available in ecoTOTE format in the United States. Supported by ecoSPIRITS’ partner for National Accounts, DrinksCorp, the iconic liqueur will be deployed to venues in Nevada from ecoSPIRITS’ existing ecoPLANT in Las Vegas, before expanding further across the country.

The first phase of expansion into the United States will focus on Las Vegas in Nevada, featuring Cointreau as the launch brand.

The global licensing agreement with ecoSPIRITS is another step for Rémy Cointreau in its overall commitment to sustainable practices. In 2023 it announced its Sustainable Exception roadmap to reduce glass bottle usage and this expanded partnership marks a significant step in achieving its ambitious goals across its portfolio. The company has also pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% per bottle by 2030 and plans to move towards Net Zero by 2050.

Élisabeth Tona, CEO - Liqueurs & Spirits, Remy Cointreau

“We are thrilled to see the warm welcome our joint initiative received from our UK on-trade partners. This first pilot, successfully led by both our teams, is now ready to expand not only in other key British cities but also in one of the Group’s leading markets, the United States. This initiative is a great example of how our Group and its partners can collectively contribute to reduce single-use glass bottles. It is also a great step in our Sustainable Exception roadmap.”

Thomas Decré, Innovation Packaging Manager, Rémy Cointreau

“Thanks to this partnership, we have achieved a CO2 reduction of more than 80% and reduced packaging waste by 90% per bottle equivalent. Specifically for Cointreau in London – which represents 13 iconic bars – five tons of CO2 has been saved in the first 12 months of the pilot period.”

Paul Gabie, CEO, ecoSPIRITS

“We are pleased to be in partnership with Rémy Cointreau and to be part of this industry leader’s journey on its Sustainable Exception roadmap. Rémy Cointreau was our first global brand partner in the United Kingdom and we are delighted this relationship is now being taken to the next level with a deeper commitment to the circular economy and plans to expand significantly, not only within the UK, but other global markets.”

James Doyle, Senior Vice President, Sales & Customer Success, ecoSPIRITS

“This has been a successful partnership in the UK since we first started working together in 2023 and we are thrilled that Cointreau liqueur and Mount Gay rum are being made available in ecoTOTE format to new venues nationwide. We are also looking forward to working together to launch Cointreau liqueur in circular packaging technology in the United States, starting with Las Vegas.”

For media enquiries about Rémy Cointreau, please contact Melissa Levine, Group Corporate Communication Director at [email protected]. For media enquiries or general information on ecoSPIRITS, you may contact Sonya Hook, Head of Communications at [email protected].

About Rémy Cointreau

All around the world, there are clients seeking exceptional experiences; clients for whom a wide range of terroirs means a variety of flavors. Their exacting standards are proportional to our expertise – the finely-honed skills that we pass down from generation to generation. The time these clients devote to drinking our products is a tribute to all those who have worked to develop them. It is for these men and women that Rémy Cointreau, a family-owned French group, protects its terroirs, cultivates exceptional multi-centenary spirits and undertakes to preserve their eternal modernity. The Group’s portfolio includes 14 singular brands, such as the Rémy Martin and Louis XIII cognacs, and Cointreau liqueur. Rémy Cointreau has a single ambition: becoming the world leader in exceptional spirits. To this end, it relies on the commitment and creativity of its 1,924 employees and on its distribution subsidiaries established in the Group’s strategic markets. Rémy Cointreau is listed on Euronet Paris.

For more information, visit www.remy-cointreau.com.

About Cointreau

“I have passionately thrown myself into researching this liqueur. I wanted it to have the purity of crystal and a delicately subtle flavour thanks to the perfect harmony of sweet and bitter orange peels.” Edouard Cointreau. Iconic orange liqueur creator and cocktail pioneer, Maison Cointreau was founded in 1849 in Angers, France. The brand’s heritage as a liquorist-distiller lives on today at the heart of more than 500 cocktails, including the original Margarita and Cosmopolitan. Cointreau liqueur’s distinctive character is the result of the meticulous selection, harmony, and distillation of sweet and bitter orange peel essences, a task entrusted to Maison Cointreau’s Master Distiller. Unique and boasting exceptional organoleptic qualities, it’s a staple for bartenders and at-home cocktail enthusiasts around the world.

Visit www.cointreau.com and follow us on Instagram for more.

About Mount Gay

Mount Gay is the world’s oldest running rum distillery established in 1703. Founded and still located in the Parish of St Lucy, at the northernmost tip of Barbados, Mount Gay is crafted using pure, coral-filtered water and the finest Barbadian and Caribbean molasses. Distilled in traditional double copper pot and copper column stills, Mount Gay rums are aged in a diverse selection of casks including American whiskey, Bourbon and Cognac. Harnessing over 300 years of heritage and expertise, Mount Gay rums are a fine balance between science, art and innovation. Blended by Master Blender Trudiann Branker and aged under the influence of Barbados’ tropical climate, our rums highlight a unique, rich and flavourful character. Mount Gay’s core range includes Mount Gay Silver, Mount Gay Eclipse, Mount Gay Black Barrel and Mount Gay XO alongside the annual limited editions 1703 Master Select and the Master Blender Collection. In addition to crafting the world’s oldest rum, Mount Gay is committed at all times to the use of sustainable and transport practices in order to realise our vision of environmental stewardship and carbon neutrality.

For more information on our rum and to explore more about what we do for our community and planet, visit www.mountgayrum.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 27 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. Nearly 3,000 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 further by the end of 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.

Visit www.ecospirits.global and follow us on Instagram for more.