FDBusiness.com

William Grant & Sons UK has announced that Russian Standard Vodka will be joining its premium spirits portfolio on 1st January 2016. Russian Standard Vodka is part of Roust International which represents the William Grant & Sons portfolio in Poland/Central Europe.

In the UK William Grant & Sons UK has represented Roust’s Green Mark and Żubrówka for over two years, and the move represents a consolidation of the full Roust portfolio in the UK market.

This agreement is a continuation of the international alliance between two of the world’s leading spirits businesses. Russian Standard Vodka is the number one premium vodka in Russia and has grown to a c1 million 9L case brand in the UK and a 12% share of the vodka market since its UK launch in 2007.

Chris Mason, managing director UK of William Grant & Sons, comments: “Roust is one of the world’s leading vodka producers and we look forward to continuing a successful partnership to achieve our ambitious goals. Russian Standard Vodka is an excellent fit within our existing premium portfolio, complementing our current brands. This partnership will ensure that William Grant & Sons UK has the strongest vodka portfolio offering with authentic brands that are differentiated within the category including: Russian Standard Vodka, Green Mark and Żubrówka.”

Vodka is the largest spirits category in the UK, where there are 12.2 million vodka drinkers and one in three sprits bought in the on or off trade is vodka.

Roust chairman and owner Roustam Tariko comments: “We look forward to the continued rapid growth of Russian Standard vodka and our wider vodka portfolio here in the UK under the stewardship of the William Grants & Sons UK team. We believe our powerful brands in conjunction with William Grant & Sons own strong portfolio of brands will deliver accelerated volume and market share growth in the UK.”