Drinks collective Virtus Brands signs major deal to sell vodka with Central Co-op
A West Midlands couple who founded their own vodka brand have raised a toast to their own success after the Co-op agreed to stock it in its stores.
Baz and Sunny Kooner set up Jatt Life, a five-times filtered French grain vodka, four years ago and say they’re thrilled to see their drink on sale in the spirits section of Co-op stores across the chain’s Central England region.
It is the biggest deal yet for Jatt Life, which is available in five varieties – original, forest fruits, lime zest, orange and pineapple and vanilla bean - all of which are now stocked at dozens of Co-op stores, from West Midlands through to Norfolk.
Baz hailed the deal as a major step forward for Jatt Life and his drinks venture Virtus Brands, which is a fast-growing independent collective of 28 spirits and wines created and launched by entrepreneurs in the UK and overseas.
He said: “Sunny and I are extremely excited to have agreed this deal and it’s amazing to see Jatt Life appearing on the shelves of Co-ops serving communities across the country.
“We’ve always had the highest aspirations for Jatt Life. We knew that the premium vodka market needed shaking up with the introduction of independent brands which offered younger drinkers something different from the more established names.
“That ethos is at the centre of what we’re trying to achieve with Virtus Brands and for the Co-op to buy into our brand and want to share what we’re about with their many thousands of customers is incredibly rewarding.
“This is a new chapter for Jatt Life and Virtus Brands and a massive step on the journey to where we want to go.”
Sunny added: “We’re super-excited about the Co-op deal. Jatt Life is a family venture at heart and we’re really proud that a retailer that has built its business on being at the heart of its local community has agreed to sell it on our behalf.
“Jatt Life started out as an idea we had on a holiday and to see how far it has come over the past four years is incredible.”
Jatt Life, which is also sold worldwide, is produced at a 15,000 sq ft facility in Kingswinford, near Dudley, which also produces a range of other spirits being sold under the Virtus Brands banner.
The Co-op deal follows a similar partnership with leading wholesalers Parfetts, which earlier this year began offering Virtus Brands products through its drop shipping scheme, giving the firm access to 1,000 independent retailers nationwide through the firm’s symbol group.
