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Amazon launches its own premium gin brand in the UK

Amazon has launched a premium spirit, Tovess Gin, in the U.K.
Amazon

Amazon is adding to its own-label product line with its first spirit brand in the U.K. called Tovess Gin.

The drink is listed as a premium single batch crafted dry gin and sells for £24.99 ($32.32) for a 70cl bottle, and is produced at a distillery on the outskirts of Birmingham in the U.K.

Available online since 20 September, the gin is promoted as a "summer drink" or for "any time of year," according to its product page.

Promotional text on the site claims the gin has been produced in 18th century copper stills, named MacKay, Angela, Constance and Jenny.

Those buying a bottle will need to provide proof of age on delivery.

Gin is the U.K.'s most popular spirit, according to Kantar, with more than a quarter of the population buying gin in the 12 months to June 2019. It doesn't require ageing, unlike other spirits, meaning it is relatively quick and inexpensive to produce. A search for "gin" on Amazon's U.K. website produces more than 10,000 results.

Amazon has been expanding its own range of goods, listed under "Our Brands", which are created by Amazon or its partners and sold exclusively on the site. These benefit Amazon by offering better margins and can be used to help persuade big brands to cut prices.

Amazon has launched its first spirit, Tovess Gin, in the U.K.
Amazon

Tovess gin is the only alcohol product listed as an Amazon brand on the U.K. site, while other groceries include Amazon Brand Solimo coffee capsules, Presto! kitchen rolls and Happy Belly dried fruit and nuts. Products from Whole Foods, the grocery store Amazon bought in a deal worth $13.7 billion in 2017, are also listed under Our Brands.

Amazon is currently advertising various roles in its Private Brands EU team, including a Senior Program Manager — Private Brands, Consumables, part of a department that is creating a "global portfolio of premium consumables products." It is also advertising for a Brand Manager in a team known as "Softlines Private Brands," covering the clothing, accessories and footwear market, which the ad says it aims to grow into a "worldwide billion-dollar business."

In April, Amazon removed some of the sponsored spots that gave special treatment to its private label products, and in July the European Union announced an antitrust investigation into whether it breaches competition rules. The EU opened a formal investigation into whether the company uses data from independent retailers who sell on the company's marketplace to its own advantage

Tech companies have been under increasing scrutiny from regulators and earlier this month Amazon posted a blog explaining its position on controversial issues facing the company, such as corporate tax and counterfeiting .