IN Brief:
- Carlsberg has agreed to acquire the existing PepsiCo bottlers in Georgia and Armenia from Revery.
- The group will take responsibility for producing, selling and distributing PepsiCo soft drinks in both markets.
- The Armenian transaction remains subject to government regulatory approval before completion.
Carlsberg Group has agreed to become PepsiCo’s bottling partner in Georgia and Armenia, extending a relationship that now covers a growing group of European and Asian beverage markets.
The brewer has signed agreements to acquire Iberia Refreshments in Georgia and JI Pepsi Cola Bottler Armenia from Revery, the current owner of both businesses. The companies already produce PepsiCo beverages in their respective markets, so Carlsberg is acquiring operating bottling businesses rather than building production capacity from scratch.
Following completion, Carlsberg will be responsible for production, sales and distribution of PepsiCo’s soft drink portfolio across Georgia and Armenia. The acquisition of the Armenian operation remains subject to regulatory approval from the Government of Armenia, while both countries will become Carlsberg operating markets once the full transaction has completed.
The move follows Carlsberg’s recent agreement to extend its PepsiCo relationship into Azerbaijan, creating a more connected South Caucasus cluster across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. Carlsberg already has an established business in Azerbaijan, which it expects to use as part of the regional platform supporting the wider arrangement.
Brewing and soft drink bottling can share parts of the same manufacturing and distribution network. Production plants, warehouses, vehicle fleets and customer relationships can support a broader range of products where operating requirements are compatible, increasing utilisation without merging the individual brands.
Nikos Kalaitzidakis, Carlsberg’s Executive Vice President for Central and Eastern Europe & India, said the agreements would create a platform for developing a wider beverage portfolio across the region. PepsiCo is likewise using the partnership to strengthen market access through Carlsberg’s existing operating capabilities.
Once the latest transactions and previously announced agreements take effect, Carlsberg says it will have PepsiCo bottling arrangements across 17 markets.
Those markets include the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos and Cambodia, alongside Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from 2029 and Azerbaijan from 2027. Georgia and Armenia will join after the contemplated acquisitions are completed.
Carlsberg has also been increasing beverage production capacity elsewhere in the region. Its recently opened Kazakhstan plant represents a $344 million investment and is designed to support both Carlsberg and PepsiCo products, showing how the partnership is already influencing factory investment as well as brand distribution.
Georgia and Armenia differ from the Kazakhstan project because the new agreements transfer existing bottlers into Carlsberg ownership. The brewer therefore gains local manufacturing assets, workforces and established distribution operations from completion, although those businesses will still have to be integrated into Carlsberg’s operating model and regional supply structure.
PepsiCo’s partnership approach allows local manufacturing and market execution to sit with an established operator while PepsiCo retains its global brand and beverage portfolio. Carlsberg gains additional volume and a broader range of products moving through its regional network, reducing its dependence on beer alone in markets where soft drinks form an important part of beverage demand.
Taking responsibility for soft drinks also brings different production and packaging requirements into a network built around brewing. Carbonated drinks, other non alcoholic beverages and beer can use some common logistics and distribution infrastructure while requiring different processing and filling systems inside the plant.
The commercial opportunity therefore depends on where those operations can genuinely be combined. Shared warehousing, procurement, fleet activity or customer delivery can improve asset utilisation, while production still has to preserve the process controls and packaging formats required by each beverage category.
Completion of the Armenian acquisition remains subject to regulatory clearance, so Carlsberg has not yet taken control of both operations. Once the conditions are satisfied, Georgia and Armenia will add two more manufacturing markets to a PepsiCo relationship that has expanded from individual national bottling agreements towards a broader regional production network.
