Poland imported Carlsberg beer until the late 1990s, when Carlsberg acquired a shareholding in the Okocim brewery. Okocim began producing Carlsberg under licence in 1997.
In 2001, Carlsberg also acquired the Bosman, Kasztelan and Piast breweries and restructured the entire
Polish operation. Today, Carlsberg Polska is a 100% owned company within the Carlsberg Group and a solid number three player in the Polish beer market, which is one of the world’s top 10 by volume.
The Carlsberg brand was also re-launched in 2001 and became the fastest growing international brand in Poland, with a sales increase of 671% in just one year.
Carlsberg Polska’s portfolio includes three other national brands - Harnas, launched in 2003, Okocim, which is enjoying increasing export success and has been re-launched in 2009, and Karmi, a beer (in an alcoholic and non-alcoholic version) designed for women. It also has three regional brands – Piast, Kasztelan and Bosman as well as five kinds of wine called 'El Sol'. One of Kasztelan variant - Unpasteurized Beer was added to national distribution in 2010.
In 2006, Carlsberg established a new Accounting Service Centre in Poznan to centralise accounting tasks for Carlsberg companies.
KEY DATES:
1845: Okocim Brewery founded
1996: Carlsberg acquires 30+% shareholding in Okocim Brewery
1997: Carlsberg produced under licence by the Okocim Brewery
2001: Carlsberg becomes majority shareholder and founds the Carlsberg Okocim Group
2004: Group changes its name to Carlsberg Polska
2009: Carlsberg Polska re-launches Okocim brand
KEY FACTS:
Sites: 3
Employees: 1,200
Market Position: 3
Market Share: 14%
Annual beer consumption per person: 76.7 litres
Carlsberg Ownership: 100%
BRANDS:
Carlsberg, Okocim, Harnas, Karmi, Piast, Bosman, and Kasztelan
MANAGEMENT:
| CEO Jacek Pastuszka |
CFO Kim Rolf |
 |
 |
CONTACTS:
Carlsberg Polska
ul. Ilzecka 24
02-135 Warszawa
Poland
Tel: + 48 22 543 14 00
Fax: +48 22 543 14 60
E-mail: info@carlsberg.pl
Website: www.carlsbergpolska.pl
MEDIA CONTACTS
Melania Popiel
Communications Director
melania.popiel@carlsberg.pl
Tel: +48 22 543 14 06
DID YOU KNOW THAT ..?
- In 1997, scenes from the one of the biggest Polish films ever made were shot at the Okocim brewery. “With Fire and Sword” was based on the famous novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz
- Karmi, the beer designed for women, is a light product in every sense of the word. It contains just 50kcal/100g, which is about the same as natural yoghurt.
- Poland has one of the highest levels of VAT for beer - currently 22%
- JC Jacobsen, the founder of the Carlsberg Breweries in Denmark, visited Okocim in 1884.
Revised April 2010