Denmark’s Royal Unibrew rumoured to buy brewery in Italy

Denmark | According to industry rumour, Denmark’s multi-beverage company Royal Unibrew seeks to strengthen its position on the Italian market by localising its production through the acquisition of a brewery in San Giorgio di Nogaro (Udine) currently owned by Birra Castello.

Imported Danish beer is a small yet growing segment in the Italian beer market, rising from 425,000 hl in 2018 to 525,000 hl in 2022, according to data by Assobirra, an industry body.

Observers say that the purchase of a brewery in Italy would make a lot of sense for Royal Unibrew in the light of the importance of the Italian market for the company. The ‘Ceres Strong Ale’ (which is actually a strong lager) is an unmatched golden egg in its basket, and producing it locally would produce both environmental and economic benefits – much the same logic that was behind the acquisition of the Amsterdam Brewing Co. in Toronto recently.

Birra Castello might sell one of its two breweries

An opportunity seems to present itself. With an output of 1.2 million hl beer in 2022, the fifth-largest Italian beer firm Birra Castello, which owns two breweries in Northern Italy, is reportedly seeking a buyer for its brewery in San Giorgio di Nogaro (capacity: 700,000 hl).

The brewery, which was opened in 1992, has had a string of owners (Moretti>Labatt>Interbrew>Heineken>the beer distributor Penna) before it ended up with the privately-owned Birra Castello in 2006. Birra Castello itself is backed by Italian beer distributors.

Royal Unibrew has long set its sights on Italy. In 2017, the Danish group acquired from Gruppo Campari the carved-out beverage company Terme di Crodo (then 530,000 hl), with its iconic soft drink brand Freedea Lemonsoda, as well as a production facility in Crodo close to Lago Maggiore.

Since 2022, Royal Unibrew’s Italian distribution arm has been in an agreement with Molson Coors to exclusively sell and distribute Molson Coors’ brands, such as Coors, Staropramen, Miller Genuine Draft, Blue Moon and the brands under its local craft beer label Birradamare in Italy.