Rémy drops Izarra liqueur brand

Rémy Cointreau has offloaded its Izarra French liqueur to US producer Spirited Brands after it achieved only €400,000 (£290,000) of sales last year.

Izarra is produced in the Basque region of France (Photo: Izarra)

The sale also includes rights to the Distillerie de la Côte Basque where the herbal liqueur is produced. The financial details of the sale have not been made public.

Rémy Cointreau will retain control over the manufacture and bottling of Izarra, a statement from the company said.

The deal is the “first step” in Spirited Brands’ 15-year plan to “breathe new life into brands which, like Izarra, have been globally renowned with sales in excess of a million bottles”, the Missouri-based company said.

Roland Giscard d’Estaing, Izarra’s new executive director, said: “By expanding with Izarra 54 – voted the best new French spirit in 2013 – the product range of this liquor which conquered the world last century, Rémy Cointreau has demonstrated to us the path to revival.

“We intend to build upon these solid foundations and continue the work to re-establish this brand in the Basque country, bring it back into fashion and thus enable this Basque star to be reborn. Such is the level of our commitment.”

Rémy Cointreau’s performance in the first half of this year has been hampered by distribution issues in its major markets. Its sales declined by 5.9% in the six months to 30 September.