Responsibility for distribution and marketing of the Appleton portfolio in the US will shift from Kobrand to Campari America from March 1 2013.
Appleton, along with the Wray & Nephew and Coruba Rum brands, was acquired by Gruppo Campari in December 2012, as part of the company’s purchase of the Jamaican company Lascelles de Mercado & Co for $409m.
Currently Gruppo Campari’s owned distribution of the Lascelles de Mercado brand portfolio is limited to Jamaica and the UK, and the company said it would benefit from taking distribution into other key markets.
Bob Kunze-Concewitz, CEO, said: "This is a key step in the integration process of the Appleton portfolio into our distribution network. It confirms our strong commitment to achieve a swift in-sourcing of the brands with the objective to exploit the brands’ full potential in the key US market.
"Owned distribution will enable greater focus on the acquired business and more efficient brand-building activities. Moreover, it will allow us to further leverage our strong distribution capabilities as well as to entirely capture the brand contribution in the highly strategic US market," Kunze-Concewitz added.