With about $18 million in revenue in 2021, Meier’s is a leading producer, bottler, importer and marketer of specialty beverage alcohol and non-alcohol products and is one of the oldest and most versatile custom beverage production facilities in the Midwest. A leading service provider of custom blending, contract storage, contract manufacturing, and private labeling for wine, beer, and spirits, Meier’s owns a bonded winery, brewery, and distilled spirits plant with processing, blending, and bottling capabilities for a broad variety of beverage alcohol and non-alcoholic products. These operations include three bottling lines and a state-of-the-art beverage canning line that produces over 800,000 cases annually.
“Vintage Wine Estates has a longstanding relationship with Meier’s and has been a spirits client for many years. We know their operation to be among the most well-managed in the business,” commented Pat Roney, CEO of Vintage Wine Estates. “We are particularly excited about their expertise in ready-to-drink (“RTD”) wine and beverage alcohol production and plan to expand our RTD production, including Ace Cider products, at their facility.”
Along with enhanced production capabilities and supply chain efficiencies, Meier’s offers significant additional warehouse and storage space. The central Midwest location provides more efficient access to Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast markets, allowing for rapid expansion of points of distribution for products such as Ace Cider which VWE acquired in November 2021.
Meier’s President, Paul Lux will continue to bring his longstanding expertise to the operation. Commenting on joining the VWE team, Mr. Lux stated, “We are excited to partner with Vintage Wine Estates which has been successfully growing its beverage alcohol business over the last 20 years. We were attracted to the opportunity to join VWE because we expect the combination to accelerate cash flow growth from stronger operating leverage while also expanding our capabilities and market reach. Meier’s brings technical strength, increased capacity, and deeper Mid-West geographic access to the broader brand equity and scale of Vintage Wine Estates. We look forward to our shared success and the expected solid growth that this merger creates.”