Kamenitza ( bg, Каменица) is one of the top-selling Bulgarian beer companies, alongside Heineken and Astika (beer), Astika based in the city of Haskovo. It was established in 1881 and is currently owned by the multinational Molson Coors. The brewery has a wide variety of lager and dark beers. Its slogan is "Mazhete znayat zashto" which translates to "Men know why." Kamenitza had an 18% share of the Bulgarian beer market in 2005 according to data from ACNielsen. The company is a sponsor of the Bulgaria national football team. Kamenitza currently has six brands: Light (4.4% ABV), Dark (6% ABV), non-alcoholic beer, non-alcoholic, Wheat beer, wheat and Fresh (lemon- and grapefruit-flavoured, 2.1% ABV).Kamenitza brands
Kamenitza.bg. Retrieved Mar 2013.

History

In 1881 three Switzerland, Swiss entrepreneurs built a brewery in Plovdiv on a hill called Kamenitsa (neighbourhood), Kamenitza and used the name as their brand. The drink of choice for most Bulgarians at the time was lager, but Kamenitza broke new ground by producing the first dark beer for the market. By the 1890s they won awards at international exhibitions, including Brussels and Chicago. The communist regime nationalised Kamenitza: first, in 1947, as part of the state-owned ''Alcoholic Beverages'', then in 1952 as part of ''Vinprom''. The Belgium, Belgian multinational company InBev bought the Bulgarian breweries Kamenitza, Astika (Beer), Astika and Burgasko Pivo in 1995 and added Plevensko Pivo in 1997. During 1997 to 2005, InBev invested 86.3 million leva in Bulgaria, and in 2005 Kamenitza sold 800,000 hectoliters, making it the best-selling domestic beer. In mid October 2009, private equity fund CVC Capital Partners bought all of Anheuser–Busch InBev's holdings in Central Europe for €2.23 billion. They renamed the operations StarBev.Apatinska pivara prodata CVC-u, B92, October 15, 2009
/ref> Since the early 2010s, Kamenitza bottles have Bottle cap#Other types, pull-off caps.

Gallery

Image:kamenitza-can-new-logo.jpg, 500 ml Kamenitza can, 2000s logo File:Kamenitza logo.jpg, Kamenitza 2010s logo File:Kamenitza beers.1.JPG, Kamenitza brands, 2010s

References

External links

kamenitza.bg
– official website Beer in Bulgaria Economy of Plovdiv Companies established in 1881 Molson Coors brands Bulgarian brands 1881 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Organizations based in Plovdiv {{Bulgaria-stub