BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. The new
Managing Director of Carlsberg Azerbaijan, Krasimir Lazarov, gave
an extensive interview about the company's operation in
Azerbaijan.


The Director highly appreciated the meeting of
Carlsberg Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen with the President of the
Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in Davos. He said that the
main agenda at this meeting was the work carried out in the country
towards 100% localization of raw and packaging materials for
production.


The head of the company also provided detailed
information about its priorities, goals for the next 5 years,
sustainability programs, partnerships, and investment
plans.


It should be noted that the production
capacity of Carlsberg Azerbaijan is 8 million decalitres per year.
The company employs about 250 people and provides more than 3,000
jobs in related areas (suppliers, retail, hospitality services).
The total volume of investments in the development of the plant is
about 82 million manats. The company's portfolio includes brands
such as "Xirdalan", "Carlsberg", "Tuborg", "Blanc 1664",
"Grimbergen", and "Afsana".


1. Hello, Krasimir. As a new managing director
for Carlsberg business in Azerbaijan, please tell us about yourself
& professional background.


I started my career in Carlsberg since 2018 and I have
started as a National Sales Manager Modern Trade in Carlsberg,
Bulgaria. Then I became a Sales Director and after that I had the
chance to have on top experience with together with sales, with
business development, being responsible for most of the commercial
agenda of the organization in Bulgaria. And starting from the
beginning of 2026, I have the pleasure and honor to be Managing
Director of Carlsberg, Azerbaijan.


2. What are your main priorities and strategic
goals as the new Managing Director of Carlsberg
Azerbaijan?


Look, first is the most important thing for me is to
understand more about the people, about the team, to get know them
better and to see how I can support them in their daily routine.
Second, of course, is to understand more about the business
environment here in Azerbaijan and then to know better the
consumer, the category and how the business is going on generally
into the country.


3. During a meeting of Chief Executive Officer
of Carlsberg Group Jacob Aarup-Andersen, with Ilham Aliyev,
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Davos, they discussed
Carlsberg’s locally sourced production and the barley malt facility
in Imishli. How does the company plan to further expand local
production and exports in Azerbaijan in the coming
years?







We are really proud of this meeting and with the great
relationships that we are having with the government and especially
with the President Ilham Aliyev. So we would like really to thank
him for the opening of the Promalt. The opening of Promalt is the
first in the South Caucasus malt house in general and this is
supporting even further the agenda of Carlsberg to localize fully
the production here because we are really proud with what we are
doing in Azerbaijan and we really believe that we can localize in
hundred percent all the raw and pack materials getting here. In
terms of our agenda, we are going to continue. The next steps are
coming with glass and with the bottles production which we are
expecting in the near future as well to be produced by local
producer and to be able to source from here. Also for us and for
the company it's very important that fully our brands, especially
“Xırdalan”, is going to be produced by the local pack and raw
materials.


4. How does Carlsberg envision expanding its
footprint in Azerbaijan over the next five years, including
potential new product categories, production capacity enhancements,
or deeper integration into regional distribution
networks?


We as a Group, first as a market leader, we have to be
close to our consumers and we are following all the trends that are
happening here locally in Azerbaijan and especially what is
happening worldwide. And definitely we are seeing that the zero
alcohol drinks are expanding their presence in the daily routines
of the people. So we as a leader stand as a strong leader here on
the market. We are expecting to continue this and we are very proud
to say that “Xırdalan 0.0” is the first brew produced in Azerbaijan
with a zero percent alcohol need. So definitely we are going to
stay close to our consumers. We are going to continue following
their needs and of course we are going to be ready all the time to
support and to produce something that is going to be better for
themselves. So definitely we will stay close to this and we are
going to continue expanding this beyond beer category.


5. In practical terms, how is Carlsberg
integrating its sustainability agenda into its operations in
Azerbaijan? What specific targets or innovations are you
implementing to achieve both environmental goals and economic
viability in these markets?


Thank you for this question because this is something
that is staying really on top of our agenda in Azerbaijan and in
the Carlsberg Group. Because we have our programs “Together Towards
ZERO and Beyond” where we are looking for the sustainability in a
long-term perspective. And we are really very proud with the
results that we achieved in Azerbaijan in the last five years where
we succeed to decrease the consumption of the water with 9%,
consumption of the heat with another 5% and CO2 emissions with 9%
which is a great achievement of the team and we are really proud of
it and we really appreciate that. And together with the Ministry of
Ecology and Resources we would like to continue our partnership
with the cleaning the seaside which is something that it's really
very very important and we would like to give the opportunity of
all the people of Azerbaijan to use their seaside as clean as
possible.


6. Are there any upcoming investments or
partnerships planned in Azerbaijan that could significantly reshape
Carlsberg’s operations or market presence in the next few
years?


Last year we signed a memorandum together with
Ministry of Economy for investment in the next five years with the
30 million AZNs which is showing that Carlsberg group is continual
investing in Azerbaijan because that was one of the very important
market for us here in the region. From the other side being one of
the biggest tax payers in the country going out of oil sector we
are paying another 39 million AZNs for 2025 which is showing that
we are keeping our promise and staying behind our words that we
would like to continue investing into the country.