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.