Magellan & Cheers buys Perucchi vermouth and expects to bill 150 million in five years

Jean-Noël Reynaud is a French executive who has developed the bulk of his professional career in the mass consumption sector and, especially, leading food and beverage companies. He began his career at the Rémy Cointreau group in 1991 and then went through other companies such as Lorenz-Bahlsen Snack-World, Coca-Cola, Lactalis, and Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits, where he became CEO in 2014 with the aim of tackling a major restructuring process and return to growth.

After the pandemic, Reynaud has decided to drive a new stage in the spirits sector with the creation of his own company, Magellan & Cheers, which is born with the vocation of acquiring iconic and artisanal high-quality and locally produced brands to boost their international growth and multiply their size. "The objective is to help small local brands that do not have the structure or financial muscle of large companies, which makes their survival difficult. We want to boost the development and strengthen these regional and local brands, enhancing their distribution and visibility in the market," explains the founder and CEO of Magellan & Cheers.

In this strategy, last November, Magellan & Cheers announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Perucchi vermouth from Badalona, an operation that is the first executed by the French company in the Spanish market and marks the starting gun for incorporating new brands into the firm's portfolio in the coming years. "Perucchi is one of the great jewels of the spirits market. It is a brand that can boast history and has managed to grow without forgetting its artisanal, sustainable, and local values," assures Reynaud. According to the businessman, "now is the time to give wings to the brand so that, without changing its DNA, it can reach a much wider market".

Made in Badalona, Perucchi vermouth has more than 150 years of history, as there is evidence of its production in this Barcelona city since 1876. Its creator was a citizen of Turin origin named Augustus Perucchi. This brand passed into the hands of entrepreneurs Álex Soler Kettlitz and Eduardo Fló Vidal-Ribas in 2017 and is now integrated into Magellan & Cheers to undertake "a clear growth strategy and magnify the distribution of the product," currently very focused on the hospitality sector (vermouth bars, restaurants, bars, and hotels) and specialized stores in Spain. The challenge is for the brand to cross borders and reach countries like the United States and Italy.

Knowledgeable about the spirits market, Reynaud has opted to create a company specialized in the artisanal segment, one of the fastest-growing globally and even more so in this post-pandemic context, where there is greater sensitivity towards local products. According to Magellan & Cheers, in the United States, the artisanal spirits segment is growing at a rate of 10% and already represents 4% of the market. In Europe, its share is only 1%, although the figure is expected to increase to double digits in the next 5 years. In the specific case of vermouth, it remains the fastest-growing segment worldwide.

Thanks to these market prospects, Magellan & Cheers has set the goal of reaching a turnover of more than 150 million euros in the next five years. In its first phase of constitution and creation of the structure to forge this "alliance of iconic and high-quality artisanal brands," the company has allocated an investment of between ten million and twelve million euros. According to Reynaud, the purchase of Perucchi marks the beginning of the second phase, focused on acquisitions, with an investment budget that could reach 90 million euros, of which between 40 million and 50 million will be allocated to the Spanish market. In parallel, a similar budget has been stipulated to incorporate brands from France and Portugal. At the beginning of 2024, Magellan & Cheers explains that it plans a third phase that will lead it to allocate 60 million more, exceeding an investment of 150 million euros.