Carlsberg is to set up a production plant in Kazakhstan as part of a new distribution deal in the country with soft-drinks giant PepsiCo.
The Denmark-based brewer, which already bottles PepsiCo products in countries including Norway and Sweden, has won the contract for Kazakhstan and neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.
The “strategic partnership” comes into effect on 1 January 2026. PepsiCo's previous distribution partner in both markets was RG Brands.
Carlsberg said it plans to invest roughly €100m ($110m) in Kazakhstan, where it held the number one position in the beer category in 2023 with a market share of 38%.
“This new agreement adds significant volume to our business in Kazakhstan, strengthening our presence in the market and further building our business in Kyrgyzstan,” Carlsberg CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said.
“We are happy to see our longstanding partnership with PepsiCo expand further into these two markets, underlining the long-term potential in the collaboration between PepsiCo and the Carlsberg Group.”
Carlsberg has bottling agreements with PepsiCo in Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Cambodia and Laos.
In July, UK soft-drinks producer Britvic, the bottler for PepsiCo in the UK, accepted a takeover bid from Carlsberg worth £3.3bn ($4.2bn).
Carlsberg secured an agreement from PepsiCo to waive a clause in its bottling contract with Britvic that would come into effect after the takeover.
At the time, Britvic’s non-executive chair, Ian Durant, said: “Crucially, to remain competitive at a time when the market is being shaped by the trend of increasing consolidation among bottling partners, Carlsberg’s agreement with PepsiCo provides the combined group with a strong platform for continued success.”
This week, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) called for comments on Carlsberg's proposed acquisition of Britvic.
In a statement, the CMA said it is assessing whether the brewer’s proposed takeover could “result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services”.
At the same time that Britvic accepted the deal, Carlsberg also announced it had agreed to acquire Marston’s 40% stake in their UK brewing joint venture, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC).
