Beer in Slovenia

Slovenian beer culture is imbued with tradition. Until not long ago there were just two main brands of beer that utterly dominated the market, their influence so deep that they fused with local and regional identities. This is now changing, although not as fast as some would have hoped.

Slovenia's largest brewer Pivovarna Laško Union has sold its soft drink brands Sola and Zala to Nika Bev, a Croatian-owned company, to focus on its core business. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

Under the contract, Nika Bev, a Slovenian company that is owned by Stanić Beverages from Croatia, will continue to distribute the two brands on the Slovenian market.

Ljubljana – The Heineken-owned Slovenian brewery Pivovarna Laško Union has reported a 13.7% increase in revenue to EUR 165.6 million for 2021. Net profit rose by 13.8% over 2020 to EUR 18.9 million as beverage sales were up by 15% to a record 2.7 million hectolitres. The country’s biggest beer maker recorded 8.9% growth on the domestic market while growing by 24.1% abroad.

Ljubljana/Laško – Pivovarna Laško Union, Slovenia’s largest brewery, last year generated EUR 145.6 million in net sales revenue, up 6.9% year-on-year, with the company attributing the drop to the Covid-19 epidemic. Net profit decreased by 31.5% to EUR 16.7 million, shows the annual report published on Wednesday.

Ljubljana – Slovenia’s major beverage companies are no exception when it comes to the devastating impact of the pandemic on the industry worldwide. Some companies have recorded a major drop in sales in the second Covid-19 wave, particularly due to the hospitality sector lockdown.