Luxury craft gin brand Renais has ramped up plans to expand in travel retail with a new partnership with Dublin-based FreeWorld Brands a key part of its strategy.
Cultivated in France and distilled in England, Renais is born from winemaking tradition and created with upcycled grapes. The gin is said to underline a passion for the people, produce and provenance of Burgundy in France.
The brand was founded in 2023 by siblings Alex and Emma Watson, the English actress well known for her role in the popular Harry Potter films and in Little Women. Their aim is to carve a new path in the world of craft gin through a combination of family and star power and industry acumen.
The Watson family has owned and operated the Domaine Watson vineyard in Chablis, the historic wine-producing town and region in northern central France, for more than 30 years.
Renais means ‘rebirth’ in French, the brand name a nod to winemaking heritage and production processes. The expression is described as smooth and honey-hued and is presented in a bottle designed to evoke luxury perfume brands, with subtle touches of gold. With a 40% ABV, the 70ml Renais gin has a RRP of £48 (US$62).
The Renais/FreeWorld Brands collaboration follows the gin’s successful domestic launches in the UK, Italy, Germany, France and Netherlands and in the USA with Republic National Distributing Company.
Renais Co-founder Alex Watson said: “The travel retail market is strategically hugely important for Renais. We are excited to be partnering with Sean McNaughten and the FreeWorld team, who bring the necessary expertise to take us into this most challenging of marketplaces. We look forward to accelerating the global growth we have achieved to date with our new partners.”
FreeWorld Brands CEO Sean McNaughten commented: “We are very excited by Renais gin and the role it can play internationally and especially in travel retail.
“The fact that Renais is distilled from grapes and has such an interesting provenance makes the brand perfect for the global channel. Having such engaging and committed founders is also brilliant for the storytelling that is so important for international brands today. Renais’ foundation in the French wine culture and winemaking leads to a quality spirit that deserves a place in the highly competitive gin market.” ✈
