Marussia Beverages completes Itkulsky Distillery purchase

Dutch group Marussia Beverages has purchased a controlling stake in Siberian vodka producer Itkulsky Distillery.

The distillery sits in the most eco-friendly region of Russia and it produces 24 million litres of vodka from pure malt on an annual basis. Itkulsky also produces with 10 million litres of annual grain spirit each year.

Marussia plans to double its market share in Russia by mid-2021, and it will also set about producing two new premium vodka brands.

The group already has Mamont vodka in its portfolio, along with Mozart liqueur, Mossburn and Torabhaig whiskies, Mezan rums, Hatozaki whiskeys, 135° East gin, Akashi-Tai sake, and wines from Schlumberger, Château Mukhrani, Tamada, Old Tbilisi and Vismino.

Mamont vodka is sold in tusk-shaped bottles inspired by the discovery of the Great Yukagir mammoth, which was found in arctic Siberia after spending 18,000 years in the ice.

“Marussia RUS is an established and successful importer and distributor of premium wines and spirits in Russia,” said Yury Tint, general manager of Marussia RUS LLC. “The acquisition of the Itkulsky Distillery is a logical move for our Group and will enable us to maintain the high quality of our vodkas, as well as allowing us to satisfy our customers’ high expectations for innovative products.

“We look forward to further developing the business and broadening the range of quality products available to our customers.”

Distributors in export markets are also excited to start supplying the Siberian vodka.

“The purchase of the Itkulsky distillery will have a very positive impact on our distribution of super-premium vodkas here in the UK,” said Sarah Gandy, head of marketing for Marussia Beverages UK.

“Obviously Covid-19 and the shutdown of the UK on-trade has slowed things down temporarily, but with changing consumer consumption habits of drinking more at home and ordering online for home delivery this will help to balance things out while we look forward to on-premise establishments being opened up again.”

Marussia Beverages will be launching its premium Japanese spirits portfolio in the UK at Think Spirits, which will now take place on September 15, 2020.