Pernod Ricard’s venture capital fund, Convivialité Ventures, has taken a minority share in ecoSPIRITS, a circular economy technology startup focusing on low carbon, low waste distribution systems for the premium wine and spirits industry.
Pernod Ricard joined a $10 million Series A funding of ecoSPIRITS, along with New York-based circular economy investment fund, Closed Loop Partners and leading Asian and global investors, including food sector private equity investor, Proterra Asia, Singapore-based growth stage investor Pavilion Capital, and ecoSPIRITS’ existing investor, Wavemaker Partners.
ecoSPIRITS’ closed-loop distribution system provides a powerful cost advantage and drastically reduces waste and carbon emissions by avoiding the production and transportation of glass bottles and other secondary packaging.
In March 2022 Pernod Ricard was one of the first global drinks companies to partner with ecoSPIRITS for the distribution of some of its premium brands in Hong Kong and Singapore. Absolut vodka, Beefeater gin, and Havana Club rum are transported in bulk and delivered to hospitality venues on a fully reusable 4.5-liter glass container, thus reducing waste and carbon emissions resulting from the production and transportation of bottles and other secondary packaging.
The new funding will be used to strengthen ecoSPIRITS’ leadership position and accelerate its research and development program. It will help the company scale up its hardware, software and Internet-of-Things (IoT) research and development program, expand operations in key markets worldwide, including the United States, and grow its regional customer and engineering teams in Miami, London, Singapore and Shanghai. The investment comes as Pernod Ricard is in the process of expanding its partnership with ecoSPIRITS to markets outside of Asia.
Stéphane Longuet, co-founder and Managing Director of Convivialité Ventures, said: “We are very pleased to participate in this investment which will help develop a company offering such an innovative solution to our industry, by drastically reducing waste and carbon emissions. ecoSPIRITS’ approach is perfectly in line with our Group’s objectives to reduce its carbon emissions and we are looking forward to using it on a large scale around the world.”
Sui Ling Cheah, ecoSPIRITS executive board chairman, said: “We are thrilled with the successful close of our Series A round, which not only validates ecoSPIRITS’ impressive progress in building a comprehensive technology platform, but also marks a significant milestone in our journey to global scale. We are equally honoured to welcome leading investors to our journey such as Closed Loop Partners, Proterra Asia, Pavilion Capital and Convivialité Ventures. The future gets brighter when more resources are invested in circular economy innovation.”