Beam Global Spirits & Wine, a unit of Fortune Brands Inc. (FO), adds one more drink to its portfolio of spirits by acquiring the brand Skinnygirl on undisclosed terms. Skinnygirl is best known for its signature Skinnygirl Margarita, which is a low-calorie bottled cocktail. Its 100-calorie per four-ounce serving is much lower than any other margarita-style drinks.
With an annual shipment of more than 100,000 nine-liter cases, Skinnygirl was jointly launched by Bethenny Frankel and David Kanbar in 2009. Currently the product is concentrated in the New York, New Jersey and Florida markets. Bethenny Frankel is a renowned natural foods chef, reality TV star and entrepreneur in the U.S. Frankel will continue to be associated with the product acting as the collaborator, developer and marketer of the brand.
Skinnygirl is already a well-known brand in the U.S., popular among women seeking low-calorie drinks. Beam Global’s acquisition of this premium brand would help the latter leverage the company’s strong distribution and sales network, thereby adding more consumers and growing this high-quality brand from coast to coast. The company intends to add a few more drinks under the Skinnygirl brand that would build a strong platform of future growth.
Beam Global Spirits & Wine is one of the world’s largest premium spirits companies and a chief competitor of Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corporation (BF.B). Beam’s portfolio includes nearly 100 brands, including Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark bourbon brands.
Fortune Brands Inc. is a leading diversified consumer products company that caters to a wide array of products ranging from home and hardware to premium spirits and golf equipment. The Illinois-based company manufactures and sources its products largely from Canada, Mexico, Europe, China, Thailand and the U.S. Fortune Brands offers its products mainly in the U.S., Canada, Europe (primarily the U.K, Spain, Germany, and France), Australia, and Mexico.
Fortune Brands holds a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. Our long-term recommendation on the stock is Neutral.
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