Fevertree Drinks plc, known as Fever-Tree, is a British producer of premium drink mixers, founded by Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow in 2004.[5]
History
Fever-Tree was founded by gin industry expert Charles Rolls and advertising executive Tim Warrillow in 2004.[6][7][8] The duo shared a desire to create the perfect all-natural tonic water mixer,[9] producing a premium option to standard mixers available on the market without high quantities of preservatives and artificial sweeteners.[10][11] Following an excursion to the Democratic Republic of the Congo,[8] and several months of development and experimentation with different botanicals, the first product; Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water was launched in 2005,[12] with their products listed in Selfridges and Waitrose stores.[13]
In 2006, the company received investment from London & Lochside, a venture capitalist.
In 2007 Fever-Tree launched in the United States of America and Spain, and in 2008 had listed products with the Sainsbury's and Tesco U.K. supermarkets.
By 2011 Fever-Tree became recognised as one of the fastest growing UK drinks companies by being included in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list. Their distribution range had expanded to 25 countries in the same year. This led to growth in foreign sales, with an increase of 94% annually between 2008 and 2010, from £1.1 million to £4.4 million.[14]
In March 2013, the founders sold 25% of the company to Lloyds Development Capital,[5] and London & Lochside exited its holding with the business. In November 2014, the company floated on the London Stock Exchange[15] under the ticker symbol LSE:FEVR; the IPO valued Fever-Tree at £154.4m.[16] As of 2019, its market value had increased elevenfold since its 2014 listing.[17]
Since its initial offering, the company has expanded its product line to include a wider range of mixers including ginger ale, ginger beer, lemonade and flavoured tonic and soda water.[18][10]
In January 2022, the company launched its product range in South Korea.[19][20] In September, as part of its expansion in the US, Fever-Tree announced its acquisition of Powell & Mahoney mixers for $5.9 million.[21][22] Within the same year, Rolls retired from his position as non-executive deputy chairman of Fever-Tree.[23]
In July 2024, Fever-Tree was reported to have sponsored the Republican Party Convention in Wisconsin.[24] However, the company later clarified that it had only supplied free products to the venue, along with many other venues that were existing customers, and that it was not a sponsor of the convention.[25]
Name origin
The company's name comes from its initial product, a tonic water. The tonic is flavoured with quinine, a chemical extracted from the bark of the South American cinchona tree.[26] When introduced to India as a pharmaceutical to aid in reducing the fever associated with malaria, quinine was blended with soda water and sugar to make it more palatable, producing the earliest tonic water.[27] The cinchona tree has been referred to in India as the fever tree.[28]
Products
Based in west London, Fever-Tree makes a variety of beverages, including tonic water, ginger beer and lemonade. As of 2023, Fever-Tree products are exported to and available in over 80 countries.[12]
Products are manufactured in Somerset.[29] The range includes:
Fever-Tree has established strategic partnerships with various distilleries and bars in recent years.
In 2013 Fever-Tree began actively supporting the non-profit organisation Malaria No More; a charitable organisation dedicated to eliminating Malaria.[18]
In 2018, Fever-Tree announced a three-year collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association,[37] serving as title-sponsor.[38] In addition, in August of the same year, Fever-Tree entered into a distribution agreement with Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, the largest distributor of alcholoic beverages in North America. As a result, Fever-Tree secured exclusive on-premise channel distribution in 29 states.[39] The following month, Fever-Tree launched its citrus tonic water partnership with Bacardi's Patrón Tequila.[31][40]
In 2019 the British coffee chain Caffe Nero partnered with the company to sell two variations of the drink espresso and tonic across its outlets.[41]
In 2022, the leading multi-channel foodservice provider for UAE, Bidfood UAE, became the exclusive distributor of the Fever-Tree products in the United Arab Emirates.[42] In the same year, Fever-Tree sponsored the Time Out Hong Kong Bar Awards.[43]
In 2023, in combination with Chemist Spirits, Fever-Tree opened its first U.S. Rooftop Botanical Bar Experience in North Carolina.[44][45]
^"Fever-Tree, the World's Leading Premium Mixer Brand, Opens Its First U.S. Rooftop Botanical Bar Experience with Chemist Spirits in Asheville, North Carolina: Chemistspirits-Bar". PR Newswire US. 11 May 2023.
