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Carlsberg Group is expanding its long-standing partnership with PepsiCo, taking on production, sales and distribution of PepsiCo’s soft drinks portfolio in Azerbaijan from 1 January 2027.

Under the new agreement, Carlsberg will become PepsiCo’s bottling partner in the market, with the partnership expected to double the brewer’s business in Azerbaijan.

To support the agreement, Carlsberg will expand its Xirdalan brewery, enabling the site to produce PepsiCo’s beverage portfolio alongside the company’s existing local beer operations.

The move will further diversify Carlsberg’s presence in Azerbaijan, bringing PepsiCo’s soft drink brands into its established local beverage portfolio.

The agreement also expands Carlsberg’s bottling relationship with PepsiCo to 15 markets. These currently include the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos and Cambodia, with Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania set to join from 2029, alongside Azerbaijan from 2027.

Jacob Aarup-Andersen, CEO of Carlsberg Group, said: “We’re excited about the further expansion of our long-standing partnership with PepsiCo to Azerbaijan. With the new agreement, we’re adding PepsiCo’s iconic brands to our strong local beer portfolio in the country and significantly growing our business in that market, which will allow us to offer consumers more relevant and diverse choices across occasions.”

Eugene Willemsen, CEO of International Beverages at PepsiCo, said “We’re proud to expand our long-standing partnership with Carlsberg to Azerbaijan, an important step in strengthening our footprint across high-potential markets."

Willemsen continued: “Carlsberg brings deep local expertise and strong execution capabilities, and together we’re well positioned to accelerate growth, build our brands and deliver even more for consumers and customers across Azerbaijan.”

The agreement forms part of a wider expansion of the Carlsberg-PepsiCo partnership, which has grown to encompass multiple markets across Europe and Asia.