Germany: Drinks company Haus Cramer Group to produce the Efes Pilsener beer in Germany

German drinks company Haus Cramer Group has struck a deal to produce the Efes Pilsener beer brand, Yahoo! Finance reported.

HC Drinks Solutions, a division of Haus Cramer Group, confirmed a “strategic partnership” with Efes Deutschland on July 1.

HC Drinks Solutions, established in 2023 as Haus Cramer’s services arm, specialises in contract production, packaging, bottling and warehousing.

Efes Pilsener will be brewed at Haus Cramer’s facility in the town of Warstein, with production set to begin in “fall 2025”, adhering to the original recipe.

HC Drinks Solutions said the deal “significant benefits” for wholesalers by "optimising logistics" and offering a "one-stop" solution.

Efes Deutschland, part of Anadolu Efes since 2010, has been supplying German consumers with Efes beers for more than a decade. Just Drinks has asked Haus Cramer which company handled the brewing of Efes in Germany before this deal.

In the statement, Adriano Leo, managing director of HC Drinks Solutions, described Efes Pilsener as a “significant addition” to the company’s portfolio.

Daniel Barbulescu, market development director of Anadolu Efes, added: “This partnership strengthens our position in the German market, allowing us to continue producing Efes Pilsener to the highest standards. It offers long-term planning security and creates ideal conditions for our growth in Europe and beyond.”

In May last year, HC Drinks Solutions struck an agreement to produce Asahi Group Holdings’ Tyskie beer brand at the Warstein facility.

Last September, Haus Cramer announced the closure of its Thannhausen production site in Bavaria, affecting 18 employees.

Last month, authorities in Russia again declined Anadolu Efes’ proposal to buy Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) stake in their joint venture.

AB InBev and Anadolu Efes established AB InBev Efes in 2018. The JV combines both their Russian and Ukrainian businesses.

In December 2023, AB InBev, known for Leffe, confirmed it would sell its 50% stake in the Russian joint venture to Anadolu Efes.

However, Russian authorities blocked the transaction in August of the following year.

Two months later, AB InBev and Anadolu Efes finalised a new agreement for the sale of its share in the Russian operations of their joint venture.

In exchange, the Belgian brewer planned to acquire Anadolu Efes’s stake in the Ukrainian side of the partnership.

Moscow assumed control of the Russian segment of the joint venture in January.