Dive Brief:
- Terressentia Corp. is looking into a 35-acre Owensboro, Ky., distillery formerly used by Charles Medley as the site for a $20 million investment in a spin-off firm called TerrePure.
- The investment forms a part of the company's strategy to expand its presence to Kentucky, a move that should add 50 jobs to the area.
- The company plans to renovate existing warehouses and other buildings at the site and start producing bourbon in 12 to 18 months, following completion of the acquisition.
Dive Insight:
Terrepure Spirits CEO, Earl Hewlette said the company would have looked at adding a distillery in South Carolina to expand if one existed, but pointed to the fact that Kentucky is regarded as the home of the American bourbon industry and a likely candidate for the company's expansion. They need to expand to meet demand: "The demand has become so great, our suppliers can't supply us fast enough."
Last year, the gross revenue of Terressentia, a company started in 2007, was $4 million. Hewlette projects this year's revenue to top $12 million."We are continuing to add major national retail chains to our customer base," he said. Among them are Target, Total Wine and Meijer, a Michigan-based food chain in the Midwest. Others are in the works, Hewlette said. Here's further proof (no pun intended) that the liquor market in the U.S. remains quite robust.
The Daviess County Economic Development Advisory Board recently recommended a $200,000 incentive to attract Terressentia, an amount that seems reasonable, considering what it would gain from bringing a distillery that has been idle for 20 years back to work and 50 jobs to the area.