Carlsberg to invest €100m in Kronenbourg brewery

By Rachel Arthur

- Last updated on GMT

Kronenbourg 1664. Pic:getty/monticello
Kronenbourg 1664. Pic:getty/monticello

Related tags Beer Carlsberg Carlsberg group France Brewing

Carlsberg will invest up to €100m ($117m) in its Kronenbourg brewery in Obernai, France; its largest brewery in Europe.

Situated near Strasbourg in the north east of the country, the brewery will use the investment to grow capacity and further modernise the facility, alongside capability improvements and advances within Environment, Health & Safety.

Carlsberg says the investment in the Obernai brewery follows several years of positive development in France alongside the international success of Kronenbourg 1664. Wheat variant 1664 Blanc has grown 55% in the first half of 2018, surpassing 100 million liters.

Kronenbourg boost

The investment was announced during French President Macron’s visit to the New Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen, which houses Denmark’s largest collection of French Impressionist works by artists such as Degas, Manet, Monet, van Gogh, Cézanne, Rodin and Gauguin. The French Presidential Couple met with the Danish Crown Prince Couple and Carlsberg CEO Cees 't Hart and chairman of the Carlsberg Foundation, Flemming Besenbacher. 

Kronenbourg, which dates from 1664, was acquired by Carlsberg in 2008. It is the leading French brewer with brands such as Kronenbourg, 1664, 1664 Blanc and alcohol free Tourtel Twist. It employs 1,200 people and generates more than 10,000 indirect jobs in related industries such as agriculture and retail.  

The brewery in Obernai sources local raw materials such as hops and barley, and is run on 100% renewable electricity. The brewery has reduced its carbon emissions by 50% since 2007, and generates parts of its own energy from an on-site biogas retrieval plant.

Cees ‘t Hart, Carlsberg CEO, said: “We are proud of our position as the leading French brewer and of the impressive growth of Kronenbourg 1664 inside as well as outside of France. In order to continue to grow, we need to invest, and today’s announcement is testament to our shared values and promising growth opportunities.”