Next Century Spirits acquires RTD company XED Beverages
XED, founded in 2019 by Nate Medow – an athlete and type one diabetic – and Zeke Bronfman– a fourth generation spirits entrepreneur – is pioneering what it describes as the ‘4th category of beverage alcohol with a portfolio of brands at the intersection of health and wellness and bold, authentic flavor.’
XED's first brand, SESH, launched in March 2021 in four test markets and has since expanded to 11 States with retailers including Kroger, Total Wine, Winn Dixie, GoPuff and more. Meanwhile, HAPE Sake Spritz launched this year exclusively in California, which the company says it has several high-profile celebrity brands in the development pipeline.
Portfolio growth
Next Century Spirits – a company that uses its own proprietary blending and filtration technology to build a portfolio of owned brands and a B2B and White Label business – has also recently announced the launch of Truthteller 1839 Whiskey in partnership with Fox Entertainment, the national rollout of Bear Fight American Single Malt Whiskey, Co-Founded by Seth McFarlane, and the recent launch of the golf inspired RTD, Caddy Cocktails with Greg Norman.
"The acquisition of XED Beverages is another positive step in the growth of our portfolio," said Co-CEO Anthony Moniello.
"XED has great momentum and their consumer first mindset fits right into Next Century's Spirits philosophy. We believe that with our growing route to market team, NCS will help accelerate the growth of both SESH and HAPE and ensure consumers are getting access to these amazing products."
XED Co-Founders, Zeke Bronfman and Nate Medow, said: "We are incredibly excited and energized to be partnering with Next Century Spirits and continuing to build towards our vision: creating a dynamic and differentiated portfolio of beverage brands that stand the test of time.
We look forward to accelerating the exponential growth of our brands – SESH and HAPE – with the support of NCS' sales and distribution team and creating new to world brands together to complement NCS' existing portfolio and meet evolving consumer needs."
