Carlsberg will become PepsiCo’s bottler in Denmark, Finland and the Baltics from 2029, replacing Royal Unibrew and consolidating its regional soft drinks role
COPENHAGEN: Carlsberg will expand its long-running partnership with PepsiCo across the Nordic and Baltic regions. The Danish brewer will become the soft drink giant’s bottler in Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania starting in January 2029.
This new agreement replaces Danish rival Royal Unibrew as the bottler in those markets. Carlsberg has already been PepsiCo’s bottler in Sweden and Norway for more than 25 years.
The deal will make Carlsberg PepsiCo’s exclusive bottler across the entire Nordic and Baltic region. Royal Unibrew announced earlier that its northern Europe partnership with PepsiCo would end after the parties failed to reach a new agreement.
The expiring licence covers Denmark, Finland and the Baltic states and accounts for about 13% of Royal Unibrew’s net revenue. News of the split sent Royal Unibrew’s shares down about 19%, putting them on track for their worst trading day in 17 years.
Carlsberg’s shares were largely unchanged following the announcement. Royal Unibrew was the worst performer on the pan-European STOXX 600 index.
Carlsberg confirmed its existing bottling agreements with rival Coca-Cola in Denmark and Finland will continue. Those contracts are set to run until their expiration on December 31, 2028.
