PARIS 28 November 2024 Rémy Cointreau’s newly-created corporate venture capital fund, Rémy Cointreau Ventures (“RC Ventures”), has made an investment in ecoSPIRITS. The news means Rémy Cointreau is the latest customer to participate in ecoSPIRITS’ customer investment program, following on from the four-year global licensing agreement announced by the two companies in May this year. The funding also represents the first investment made through the French spirits group’s venture capital arm, RC Ventures, which was launched this month to support the growth of innovative start-ups in the drinks industry and to help Rémy Cointreau test market trends and explore new technologies in the sector.
The investment follows on from the four-year global licensing agreement, announced by the two companies in May 2024.
In May 2023, ecoSPIRITS launched its customer investment program alongside the closing of its Series A funding round. The program is only open to ecoSPIRITS’ major customers who enter into long-term licensing agreements for the company’s circular packaging technology. Under the program, eligible customers have the opportunity to make small equity investments in ecoSPIRITS with each participant guaranteed to receive the same terms as other customer investors. The program terms include restrictions that help guarantee universal access and equal treatment for all users of the ecoSPIRITS technology platform. The proceeds will be used to accelerate ecoSPIRITS’ research and development program and to strengthen its leadership position in closed loop packaging technology for spirits.
Cointreau orange liqueur was first introduced in ecoSPIRITS’ circular packaging technology to select London venues in late 2022.
The partnership between Rémy Cointreau and ecoSPIRITS began in late 2022, when two Rémy Cointreau brands – Cointreau orange liqueur and Mount Gay rum – were introduced in ecoSPIRITS’ circular packaging technology to select on-trade venues in London. More recently, in May 2024, the two companies announced a four-year global licensing agreement to bolster this partnership and, as a result of this, Cointreau and Mount Gay rum in ecoTOTE format have been rolled out across more sites in the United Kingdom. Plans are also now underway to extend into the United States, starting with Las Vegas. The global agreement enables Rémy Cointreau to make its liqueur and spirit brands available in ecoSPIRITS’ technology in more markets around the world over the coming years.
Mount Gay rum in ecoTOTE format is now being rolled out across more sites in the United Kingdom.
Rémy Cointreau Ventures (“RC Ventures”) is a new corporate venture capital fund, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rémy Cointreau. It was created to support the growth of high potential, innovative start-up companies that share Rémy Cointreau’s vision and values in the wider world of wines and spirits. The fund offers financial support and operational expertise to these companies while also helping Rémy Cointreau anticipate and test new market trends, reinforce its innovative capacity and explore new product categories, client experiences and technologies within the wine and spirits ecosystem. The minority stake in ecoSPIRITS is RC Ventures’ first investment.
This funding news aligns with Rémy Cointreau’s Sustainable Exception roadmap, which aims to reduce its global carbon footprint.
The investment via RC Ventures is another step for Rémy Cointreau in its overall commitment to sustainable practices across its whole business. In 2023 it announced its Sustainable Exception roadmap to reduce Rémy Cointreau’s global carbon footprint and this funding news – alongside last year’s announcement of a four-year global licensing agreement with ecoSPIRITS – marks a significant step in achieving its ambitious goals across its portfolio. The company has also committed to ambitious CO2 reduction targets, SBTi certified, aligned with the 1.5°C global warming threshold. In 2030, the Group carbon footprint for scope 1 and 2 will be reduced by 42% and plans to move towards Net Zero by 2050.
“We are delighted that the RC Ventures fund is taking part in this investment, which strengthens the existing operational relationship between ecoSPIRITS and Rémy Cointreau. ecoSPIRITS is perfectly aligned with the fund’s aim of investing in innovative companies with high growth potential that share our vision and values. Through its innovative project, ecoSPIRITS is contributing to Rémy Cointreau’s transformation plan, the Sustainable Exception.”
“Our relationship with Rémy Cointreau continues to strengthen and this investment is a clear sign both companies are committed to a less wasteful future for the industry, and one that is not dependent on single use glass. Rémy Cointreau has iconic brands that are much-loved by consumers around the world and we are pleased to see the number of venues taking delivery of these in ecoTOTE format is increasing at a steady pace in the UK. We are looking forward to working together to expand into new markets.”
For media inquiries or general information on ecoSPIRITS, you may contact Sonya Hook, Head of Communications sonya.hook@ecospirits.global.
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 1,943 employees and on its distribution subsidiaries established in the Group’s strategic markets. Rémy Cointreau is listed on Euronext Paris.
For more information, please visit www.remy-cointreau.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 in 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 https://ecospirits.global/.