Spain-based wine-and-spirits group Zamora has added Panamanian rum brand Abuelo to the stable of products it distributes in Iberia.
Zamora, which owns brands including Licor 43 liqueurs and Martin Miller’s gin, is also a distributor. It already handles Buen Amigo Tequila and Pommery Champagne.
The company’s distribution portfolio had included Matsulem rum but the contract ended last month. Abuelo sees Zamora return to the category.
The family-owned group is marketing Abuelo’s nine products in Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar.
Abuelo’s range of rums includes an añejo, a seven-year-old spirit and a 12-year-old option, which are aged in ex-Bourbon barrels.
Carlos Gallego, the director of Zamora’s business in Iberia, described Abuelo as “an excellent Panama rum that has Spanish roots”.
The family-owned company behind Abuelo is Varela Hermanos, which produces its rum in the Panamanian town of Pesé. The business is run by the third generation of the Varela family. “Being able to reach the entire Spanish territory through Zamora Company fills us with satisfaction,” Varela Hermanos president and CEO Luis José Varela Jr., said. “We started this project with great emotion for everything that Spain represents for us.”
In 2022, Zamora generated sales of €265m ($284.2m), up 20% on a year earlier and, the business said, a record level for the company. Net profit grew 26% to €20.8m.
“Despite the uncertain environment we continued to experience last year, our balance sheet is very positive for several reasons. Firstly, 75% of our turnover comes from the on-trade business and the end of the Covid restrictions benefited us. The good results can also be explained by the fact that we are a company with a very clear and aligned agenda,” CEO Javier Pijoan said in July when the results were released.
