Venezuelan distiller inks distribution deal with Bacardi

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FT – 03/01/17

by: Andres Schipani

Worldwide drinkers, get ready. Venezuela’s Santa Teresa, one of a dwindling number of successful companies in the benighted country, inked a deal with the Bermuda-based Bacardí, the world's largest privately-held spirits company, for global distribution. [...]

the deal will grant the family-owned Santa Teresa "a significant market expansion from the existing 34 markets, aiming for double-digit growth for its portfolio of aged rums within the next three years." The company will retain distribution in Venezuela, though. Santa Teresa is one of Venezuela's top rum companies. It was founded in 1796 by a German adventurer, and began producing rum in 1885. Over the centuries the company modernised its distillery. International sales have risen steadily in recent years – from 160,000 boxes in 2014 to 200,000 boxes in 2016.

Michel Dyens