Lark partners with Spirits Platform for domestic distribution

Lark Distilling Co has announced the appointment of Spirits Platform as the new domestic distributor partner for both Lark whisky and Forty Spotted Gin. The news coincides with the distillery's June Quarter trading results which were consistent with expectations, with net sales revenue forecasted at approximately $3.3 million. 

About the new distributor partner, CEO Sash Sharma said Lark is “delighted to announce that we have appointed Spirits Platform as our domestic Distribution Partner. Spirits Platform are Australia's leading Independent Spirits Distributor, with an impressive and diversified portfolio covering a wide range of spirits and liqueurs. Importantly, they are the market leader in Ultra-Premium and above Single Malt Whisky in Australia and have a strong track record of building brands for long-term success in the Australian market."

The appointment of Spirits Platform is reflective of Lark’s key strategic priority outlined to the ASX “of underpinning and growing our domestic leadership position.” The new partnership with with Spirits Platform, the market leader in Ultra-Premium and above Single Malt Whisky (+$100) will provide Lark with access to market channels highly relevant to the Tasmanian whisky producer. 

Spirits Platform also has a sales force more than five times larger than Lark’s current team. 

“In addition to greater commercial coverage, I'm incredibly excited to see the benefits to Lark and Forty Spotted Gin of being part of a market leading portfolio and being supported by Spirits Platform's 'Spirits Academy' team of Brand Ambassadors to build trade and consumer advocacy in market,” said Sharma.

“We are joining Spirits Platform at an exciting time as they further upweight their team, including investment into Tasmania enabling Lark to remain strong in our home state while further strengthening our presence nationally."

Lark has joined the Spirits Platform portfolio at a time of significant internal growth for the distributor. CEO Ian Atherton said “we are scaling up our business to achieve our 5-year vision of doubling revenue. We are expanding our head count by 17% to 81 this year to align with these growth plans, providing the opportunity to increase our coverage and service our customers more effectively and efficiently."

Lark and Forty Spotted Gin products will be available through Spirits Platform from 1 August 2024. 

“While our current domestic sales business is sub-scale, Spirits Platform are Australia’s leading Independent Spirits Distributor, with an impressive, diversified portfolio covering a wide range of spirits and liqueurs, including The Macallan, Highland Park and Bruichladdich, providing critical overlap with Lark’s target customer base,” said Sharma.

“As the market leader in Ultra-Premium and above Single Malt Whisky (+$100) in Australia, they were our preferred choice of Distributor and are the ideal partner for Lark.”