Who Owns Au Vodka?

Au Vodka was founded in 2015 by Charlie Morgan and Jackson Quinn, school friends from Swansea, Wales. The founders launched the brand with the goal of creating a premium vodka with a distinctive visual identity. The gold bottle design, which became the brand's signature, was chosen to stand out on shelves and social media, where the visual appearance of spirits bottles has become a key marketing tool for younger consumers.

The brand's name "Au" comes from the chemical symbol for gold, reinforcing the gold bottle identity. The vodka is distilled five times and filtered through gold, which the brand cites as a quality differentiator. The vodka is made from English grain and spring water from the South Downs.

In its early years, Au Vodka grew slowly. The brand focused on building distribution in the UK on-trade (bars and clubs) and through social media marketing. The founders leveraged social media platforms, particularly Instagram, to build brand awareness among younger consumers. The gold bottle design was well suited to social media, where visual content drives engagement.

The brand's growth accelerated dramatically in 2020 and 2021. Turnover grew from approximately £700,000 in 2020 to £38 million in 2021, a more than 50-fold increase. This growth coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which shifted alcohol consumption from on-trade (bars and clubs) to off-trade (retail and e-commerce). Au Vodka's strong social media presence and distinctive packaging positioned it to capture this shift.

The brand expanded its product line beyond the original Au Vodka Original to include a range of flavored vodkas: Black Grape, Green Watermelon, Miami Mango, Bubblegum, Blue Raspberry, Red Cherry, Pineapple, Fruit Punch, Coffee, and Sticky Toffee Milkshake. The flavored range broadened the brand's appeal and created new social media moments with each flavor launch.

In 2022, Au Vodka launched a ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail line, including flavors such as Juicy Peach. The RTD category was the fastest-growing segment of the UK alcohol market, and Au Vodka's RTD line quickly became the UK's number one RTD brand in the off-trade channel, with sales of approximately £61 million in 2025, up 36.9% year over year.

Also in 2022, Au Vodka launched in the United States, selling 50,000 bottles in its first week. The brand expanded U.S. distribution to online sales in 35 states and in-store sales in 8 states. The U.S. expansion was supported by the brand's social media following, which had surpassed 1 million total followers across platforms.

In 2026, Au Vodka opened a new headquarters in Swansea, described as a "Gold Mega HQ." The £3 million to £5 million, 30,000 to 60,000 square foot facility includes mini-golf, content studios, a podcast studio, a flavor lab, and a restaurant-grade kitchen. The headquarters reflects the brand's identity as a content-driven, social media-first spirits company.

On August 17, 2026, Sazerac Company signed a binding agreement to acquire Au Vodka for a reported valuation of approximately £500 million. The acquisition is expected to close within weeks, subject to customary completion conditions. The deal represents one of the largest UK spirits brand acquisitions in recent years and gives Sazerac a leading position in the UK RTD market.