Diageo-backed diversity driver Pronghorn has bought into Caribbean rum brand Ten To One.
The “capital investment”, specific details of which were not disclosed, sees US-based Pronghorn kick off its pledge to invest in 57 Black-owned spirits brands over the next ten years. Diageo’s North America unit partnered with the company, which takes its name from a land animal indigenous to the region, as its “anchor investor” in May last year.
Founded three years ago by former Starbucks senior VP Marc Farrell, Ten To One comprises a blend of rums from around the Caribbean. The brand, the name of which hails from the number of countries in the first West Indies Federation set up in 1958, was created to “shift the rum category to a more elevated and authentic reflection of Caribbean culture”.
Ten To One, whose two-strong portfolio is available in around 20 US states as well as online, is co-owned by US singer-songwriter Ciara.
Diageo has a similar partnership in the innovation space with Distill Ventures. The London-based company operates independently but has an exclusive acquisition arrangement with Diageo for the spirits brands it invests in.
Pronghorn, which started life in 2020, was co-founded by Lobos 1707 Tequila & mezcal CEO Dia Simms, Wheelhouse Labs president – and 16-year Diageo employee – Dan Sanborn and Lobos 1707’s chief brand officer, Erin Harris.
Diageo’s rum portfolio comprises Captain Morgan, which has been posting markedly slower growth rates than its spirits peers of late, and high-end Guatemalan brand Zacapa. The group also kicked off a joint venture in 2019 with Corporación Cuba Ron to distribute Santiago de Cuba globally, outside the US.
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