Dutch Brewery Bavaria has acquired American Latis Imports, specialized in Belgian craft beers like the Palm and Rodenbach beers of the Palm Breweries which Bavaria bought in May.
“Next step”
“This is our next step in the United States“, board member Peer Swinkels told Dutch newspaper FD. “We get improved access to one of the most competitive and inaccessible markets this way.”
Bavaria now plans to expand Latis Imports’ product range, although Rodenbach will remain to be the focal point. Nevertheless, it wants to try to launch brands like Bavaria, Hollandia and Claro in the United States. “Adding Palm’s brands means our portfolio is large enough to work the American market. This way, your brands get more attention than they would get if they were with an importer that carried 100 brands”, Swinkels added.
Latis’ acquisition from Manhattan Beer Distributors and its founder David van Wees – who will maintain his position at the company – and previously Palm’s purchase all fit in Bavaria’s new strategy which is to expand through acquisitions. The goal is to double the company’s turnover to one billion euro in the next four years.
