MBG began building its spirits division five years ago and its growth has been down to brands such as: Three Sixty Vodka, Scavi & Ray Grappa, Dos Mas Tequila and, most recently, Sears Gin.
The acquisition means its bitter division has been strengthened by the addition of the herb liqueur brand Meyer’s Bitter.
The company says there will be a drive to raise the international profile of this brand via MBG UK, MBG Middle East and MBG North America
MBG managing director, Andreas Herb said: “The acquisition of the long-established German brand Meyer’s Bitter enhances our know-how in the spirits market. Our partners in non-European countries in particular have been pushing for a strong spirit brand in the bitter segment - and thanks to our acquisition of the original herb spirit we are now well placed to satisfy this request.”
Since 1999 the brand had been owned by the Schwarze & Schlichte GmbH & Co. KG company, based in the Westphalian town of Oelde. Three years ago MBG acquired a 50% stake in E. Eduard Meyer GmbH.
The company says this deal marks the logical next step to boost the international presence of a business that has performed extremely well to date.
“Our goal is to achieve sales of one million bottles of Meyer’s Bitter in the next five years“, said Herb. To this end a major offensive will get underway in the German catering industry over the next year based on the practical Meyer’s Bitter machines.
Meyer’s is a full-bodied herb liqueur distilled according to a secret traditional recipe from more than 40 selected herbs and roots. The original recipe was said to have been first written down by the drink's inventor E. Eduard Meyer in 1853.
The drink is available in two varieties: ‘German Woodland and Field Herbs Liqueur’ and ‘German Alpine Herbs Bitter’.
