Carlsberg Group
Carlsberg A/S is a Danish multinational brewer. Founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen, the company's headquarters is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since Jacobsen's death in 1887, the majority owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation. The company's flagship brand is Carlsberg, named after Jacobsen's son Carl Jacobsen. The company employs around 33,000 people, primarily in Europe and Asia.
Carlsberg is currently the seventh largest brewery in the world based on revenue.
History
Early history
Carlsberg was founded by J. C. Jacobsen, a philanthropist and admirer of science. The first brew was finished on 10 November 1847, and the export of Carlsberg beer began in 1868 with the export of one barrel to Edinburgh, Scotland. Some of the company's original logos include an elephant, after which some of its lagers are named, and the swastika, the use of which was discontinued in the 1930s because of its association with the Nazi party in neighboring Germany.Jacobsen's son, Carl Christian Hilmar Jacobsen, opened a brewery in 1882 named Ny Carlsberg; this forced J.C. Jacobsen to rename his brewery Gamle Carlsberg. Carl Jacobsen was an avid art collector. With his fortune, he amassed an art collection first housed privately, but since 1897 housed public in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in central Copenhagen.
The companies were merged and run under Carl's direction in 1906 and remained so until his death in 1914.
Jacobsen set up the Carlsberg Laboratory in 1875, which worked on scientific problems related to brewing. It featured a Department of Chemistry and a Department of Physiology. The species of yeast used to make pale lager, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, was isolated by Emil Christian Hansen at the laboratory in 1883 and bears its name; this was shared freely by Carlsberg. The Carlsberg Laboratory also developed the concept of pH and made advances in protein chemistry. In 1972, the Carlsberg Research Centre was established and the Carlsberg Laboratory is an independent unit of the Centre.
In 1876, J.C. Jacobsen established the Carlsberg Foundation, run by trustees from the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, which managed the Carlsberg Laboratory as well as supporting scientific research within the fields of natural sciences, mathematics, philosophy, the humanities and social sciences in Denmark. Because of a conflict with his son Carl, Jacobsen's brewery was left to the Foundation upon his death in 1887.
Overseas activities and recent history
The first overseas license for brewing was given to the Photos Photiades Breweries, and in 1966 Carlsberg beer was brewed for the first time outside Denmark at the Photiades breweries in Cyprus. The first brewery to be built outside Denmark was in Blantyre, Malawi in 1968.Carlsberg merged with Tuborg Breweries in 1970 forming the "De forenede Bryggerier", and merged with Tetley in 1992. Carlsberg became the sole owner of Carlsberg-Tetley in 1997.
In 2008, Carlsberg Group, together with Heineken, bought Scottish & Newcastle, the largest brewer in the UK, for £7.8bn.
In 2013, the company joined leading alcohol producers as part of a producers' commitments to reducing harmful drinking.
In November 2014, Carlsberg agreed to take over Greece's third largest brewery, the Olympic Brewery, adding to its operations in the country and effectively transforming the firm into the second biggest market player in Greece.
The old brewery in Copenhagen was once open for tours. In January 2020, the brewery was closed for a complete refurbishment. It reopened in a fully refurbished museum called Home of Carlsberg in December 2023.
In 2024, a High Court Judge approved a £3.3bn deal for Carlsberg to buy UK drinks maker Britvic. Carlsberg plans to create a single integrated drinks business called Carlsberg Britvic following the takeover. Britvic, external, based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, employs about 4,500 people and produces J20, Robinsons squash and Tango.
Regional operations
The Carlsberg Group divides their operations into three market areas: Northern and Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia.Europe
is the Polish subsidiary of the Carlsberg Group. Carlsberg acquired 100% control of the Okocim Group, which included the Okocim Brewery, in 2004. The subsidiary owns four brewing plants and employs a staff of 1,250. It is the third largest brewing company in Poland with a 14.4% market share. Brands include Harnaś, Kasztelan, Okocim, Piast, Somersby and Carlsberg. Žatecký Pivovar has been owned by Carlsberg since 2014. Previously, it was wholly owned by Kordoni Holding Limited based in Nicosia in Cyprus. The brewery is located in the Czech city of Žatec from which Saaz hops, a "noble" variety of hops which accounts for more than of total 2009 hop production in the Czech Republic comes from.Baltic Beverages Holding is owned by Carlsberg and primarily operates in the Baltic States and Ukraine. It owns Švyturys and Utenos Alus breweries in Lithuania and Saku Brewery in Estonia. Carlsberg acquired the Aldaris Brewery in Riga, Latvia, in 2008. The brewery was founded in 1865, and produces Aldaris brand beers.
Carlsberg Sweden is based in Stockholm, and owns the Falcon Brewery in Falkenberg, and the Ramlösa mineral water bottling facility in Helsingborg. Carnegie Porter, a 5.5% abv Baltic porter, along with the Pripps and Falcon brand lagers, are brewed in Falkenberg. Norway brands include: Arendals, Dahls, Frydenlund, Nordlands, Ringnes and Tou.
Other European brands include: Birrificio Angelo Poretti, Feldschlösschen, Holsten, Jacobsen, Karhu, Kronenbourg, Super Bock and Tetley.
In October 2020, the UK Competition and Markets Authority approved the merger of Carlsberg UK and the brewing business of Marston's plc. The new company is based in Wolverhampton and known as Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company, with Carlsberg taking a 60% share in the new company. In 2024, Marston's sold their 40% share in CMBC to Carlsberg for £206m in order to focus on running the pub business. In 2025, after acquiring Britvic, the company was renamed to Carlsberg Britvic, which includes Carlsberg UK, the former Marston's brewing business and Britvic.
Russia and CIS
The company is a significant operator in the brewing industry in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, owning its subsidiaries through Baltic Beverages Holding which initially was a joint venture between Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle in Russia. It had a majority interest in OAO Baltika Breweries, the largest brewery in the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe. In the spring of 2023, Carlsberg announced that it was leaving Russia and plans to sell its business before the end of spring. In late June, the company announced that it had closed the deal without naming a buyer. The deal is awaiting approval from the Russian authorities. In July 2023, the Russian government seized the shares of the Carlsberg-owned Baltika Breweries and placed the company under the control of the Russian Federal Agency for State Property Management.The Uzbek government claimed the subsidiary owed $4.6 million in taxes from unreported revenue. Lower courts also claimed that Carlsberg illegally produced 1.6 million litres of beer from 2008 to 2010. For these reasons, in March 2012, Carlsberg suspended production at its Uzbek plant and asked its employees to take an unpaid leave. In late 2012, the Uzbek Court declined Carlsberg's tax appeal. Production resumed in April 2013. The brewery produces 1.3 million litres of beer under three local brands Sarbast Original, Sarbast Extra, and Sarbast Special, plus the international brand Tuborg Green.
In the Azerbaijan, Carlsberg is producing beer brand with the name Khirdalan.
North America
In the US, the Carlsberg group brands are distributed by St. Killian Import Co., based in Everett, Massachusetts, importing Carlsberg beer directly from Denmark. Brands that are imported include Carlsberg Pilsner, Carlsberg Beer, Carlsberg Elephant, Kronenbourg 1664, Grimbergen, Tetley's English Ale, and Okocim.Carlsberg was brewed in Canada by Canadian Breweries/Carling O'Keefe beginning in 1972. After Carling O'Keefe was merged with Molsons, Carlsberg opened its own brewery.
In December 2022, it was announced Carlsberg had acquired the Ontario-based company, Waterloo Brewing.
Asia
East Asia
Carlsberg started to export beer to China in 1876. In the late 1990s, Carlsberg had two breweries in China – Huizhou and Shanghai. The company acquired Huizhou Brewery in Guangdong Province in 1995, which started to supply both the mainland Chinese and Hong Kong market. Carlsberg invested around US$30 million in its Shanghai brewery, and started production in 1998. In 2000, Carlsberg sold a majority stake in its Shanghai brewery to Tsingtao Brewery. Carlsberg formerly had a brewery in Tai Po, Hong Kong; it was established in 1981, but shut it down in 1999 due to high costs.In 2003, Carlsberg acquired the Kunming Brewery and the Dali Brewery in Yunnan province. At the time, the Dali Brewery was the largest beer brewery in Yunnan. In 2004, Carlsberg became a major shareholder in Lhasa Brewery in the Tibet Autonomous Region. At 3,700 metres above sea level, Lhasa Brewery is believed to be the highest altitude brewery in the Carlsberg Group.
In 2008, Carlsberg sold its remaining interest in the Shanghai brewery to Tsingtao Brewery.
In August 2011, Carlsberg announced a new joint venture with Chongqing Brewery and Chongqing Light Textile Holding. Chongqing Light Textile Holding is a major shareholder of Chongqing Brewery. The joint venture, to be called Chongqing Xinghui Investment Co., Ltd, would operate twelve breweries in China in Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Hunan. Chongqing Brewery would contribute five breweries and Chongqing Light Textile Holding would contribute seven breweries to the joint venture. Carlsberg would inject 160 million Danish crowns and have a 30% interest in the venture.
Carlsberg also owns Wusu Beer Group in Urumqi, Xinjiang in Northwest China.