The founder of drinks company The Bloomsbury Club UK has relaunched the business with a new model and a new partner.
Carl Stephenson (pictured right), who launched the company in 2015, has partnered with industry veteran Mike Beavan. Stephenson said the new distribution model “gives brands the opportunity to deal directly with the trade via our channel specialist sales team and importantly, retain their margin for their own allocation choices”. Brand owners will pay an administration fee for the company’s services.
The relaunch features six ‘partnership brands’ as well as the company’s wholly-owned brands. The partnership brands include Copper Rivet, Dockyard Gin and The Brixton Distillery. The existing brands include The Boston Bakers Irish whiskey, Elements 8 Rum and Gin Lane 1751.
The Bloomsbury Club UK has teamed up with Tortuga Logistics to provide the back-office function from order capture to trade delivery. The company said the model is flexible for both the brand owners and customers, with a minimum case order of six, which can be applied to mixed cases.
“The Bloomsbury Club UK offers a “‘supplier first’ approach,” the company said. “Crucially, giving the distributor margin back to the brand owner and greater marketing autonomy.”