Vape supplier Supreme has diversified its offering with the £15m acquisition of Clearly Drinks.
Established in 1885, the business supplies soft drinks and spring water in cans, glass and plastic bottles to the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Aldi and Farmfoods.
Alongside making its own brands, such as Perfectly Clear, Northumbria Spring and Revolution Waves, and providing private-label beverages for supermarkets and discounters, Clearly Drinks is a contract manufacturer for a number of the world’s biggest soft drinks companies.
The business employs about 100 staff at its 150,000 sq ft site in Sunderland, which has capacity to produce 350 million canned drinks a year, and generated EBITDA of £3m on revenues of £22.4m in 2023.
Supreme said the deal broadened its product offering and brought non-vape annualised sales to more than £100m, with the opportunity to extend the group’s established sports nutrition category by producing wellness and energy drinks.
It added that Clearly’s operational footprint could benefit from Supreme’s vertically integrated distribution platform.
CEO Sandy Chadha said the acquisition was “a significant component” of its broader diversification strategy.
“Our enlarged business is not only gaining a strong additional pillar, but also a significant opportunity to develop and capitalise on further cross and upsell opportunities.
“We look forward to welcoming Clearly into the Supreme family and updating shareholders on our progress over the course of the current financial year.”
London-listed Supreme operates across five categories: vaping, batteries, lighting, sports nutrition and wellness, as well as branded distribution.
It supplies a range of major retailers in the UK, including B&M, Home Bargains, Poundland, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Iceland.
The group distributes the likes of Duracell, Energizer and Panasonic, and supplies lighting products under licences from Energizer, Eveready, Black & Decker and JCB in 45 countries.
Its in-house brands include 88Vape, Sci-MX and Battle Bites.
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