Romania ready for Carlsberg

To Isaac Sheps, chairman of the United Romanian Breweries Bereprod (Tuborg Romania), the Romanian beer market became ready for the Carlsberg Beer, the flagship of Danish concern Carlsberg, in just one month. In an interview for Ziarul Financiar one month ago, Sheps was saying that the company he ran would produce Carlsberg here “when the Romanian market is ready for Carlsberg.

We’re here to stay,” making us feel we still had a long way to go before the first “really superpremium” beer was to be produced in Romania, as he liked to put it. Things were not as they seemed, though, as Carlsberg was actually ready for bottling, because Danish group Carlsberg (which includes Tuborg Romania) officially launched the new brand last Thursday, after the beer had been available in stores for several days.

Every international brewer operating in Romania used to produce the “licenced premium” brands here, and imported those in the superpremium category.

Spectacular increases in beer consumption in Romania and optimistic estimates about the trend of this index over the next few years made the Danish break the ice.

“Romanians are ready for this special brand, they know how to appreciate and understand a special product such as Carlsberg, even though it’s more expensive,” said Alex Myers, Carlsberg marketing and innovation manager.