- Imperial Beverage acquired Carmela Foods’ wine division effective June 2, 2025, adding 1,500+ wine SKUs and the wine team led by director Don Jasinski.
- Carmela is exiting wine to concentrate on its faster-growing food distribution business (up 15–20%) as wine demand and sales weaken.
- The deal broadens Imperial’s statewide portfolio and reach across wine and adjacent categories, but requires careful integration of routes, facilities, and customer/supplier relationships amid declining wine consumption.
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The acquisition of Carmela Foods’ wine division by Imperial Beverage marks a deliberate strategic shift for both companies: Carmela consolidates its operations around its high-growth food business, while Imperial leverages the opportunity to deepen its breadth in wine and adjacent beverage categories. Effective June 2, 2025, Imperial added more than 1,500 SKUs from Carmela’s wine portfolio and absorbed its wine team, including Wine Director Don Jasinski, signaling that the acquisition is as much about human capital and curated product sourcing as it is about expanding product lines.
This maneuver comes against the backdrop of declining wine consumption nationally and globally. According to independent industry reports, wine revenues in the U.S. fell 6.3% in 2024, and global consumption dropped by approximately 3.3% compared to the previous year. For Carmela, organic growth suppressed in its wine division contrasted sharply with 15–20% growth in its food segment, pushing the business toward a divestiture.
From Imperial’s vantage, the acquisition enhances its competitive positioning. The company, running four locations in Michigan—Kalamazoo, Livonia, Traverse City, Ishpeming—and employing 350 people, already maintains a strong statewide footprint. The deal helps Imperial diversify its offerings not only in wine, but in non-alcoholic and craft segments; it also deepens relationships with niche suppliers and specialty retailers who may value unique or international wine products.
Operationally, integrating Carmela’s wine division entails aligning delivery schedules with Imperial’s existing statewide routes, repurposing Carmela’s recently built 10,000 sq. ft. wine warehouse for backstock in its food operations, and ensuring continuity for wine suppliers and customers. Value rests in successful execution of logistics, preservation of quality and brand uniqueness, and retraining or onboarding of Carmela personnel into Imperial’s corporate structure.
Key risks include exposure to continued declines in consumer demand for wine, potential margin compression especially for imported large international wines, competitive responses by other distributors, and the challenge of maintaining the artisan or specialty image associated with Carmela’s wine portfolio under Imperial’s broader operations. Strategic return depends on offsetting these risks through cross-selling, leveraging Imperial’s scale, and maintaining supplier trust. Open questions that remain:
- What was the financial consideration paid? How was Carmela’s wine division valued relative to its revenue, margins, and inventory?
- What is the anticipated integration cost, and how might it affect Imperial’s short-term profitability?
- How will Imperial preserve the curatorial identity that made Carmela’s wine portfolio distinctive to its customers?
- What projections does Imperial have for wine growth, both within Michigan and nationally, given consumption downtrends?
- Could this deal presage further consolidation in Michigan’s distributor landscape or encourage other companies to shed underperforming portfolios?
Supporting Notes
- The acquisition took effect June 2, 2025, and includes Carmela’s wine portfolio of more than 1,500 wines as well as its team under Wine Director Don Jasinski.
- Carmela Foods acquired its wine division in 2014; its food business recently experienced 15–20% growth while wine sales slowed.
- Imperial Beverage is a family-owned Michigan wholesaler since 1933, owned by the Cekola family since 1984, with 350 employees and operations in Kalamazoo, Livonia, Traverse City and Ishpeming.
- Carmela’s wine portfolio spans international sources including Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, the UK, Austria, along with non-alcoholic and sparkling wine options.
- The wine warehouse Carmela opened in January (10,000 sq ft near its Fraser headquarters) will be repurposed as back-stock for its food business post-acquisition.
- Nationally, wine revenue fell 6.3% in 2024, and global wine consumption declined about 3.3% year over year; industry reports characterize 2024 as one of the “most challenging years” in memory.