BEATING THE HEAT: Breweries and ice-cream manufacturers are pinning their
hopes on consumers believing that ‘chilling’ by the pool works
better with beer or ice-cream in hand.
hopes on consumers believing that ‘chilling’ by the pool works
better with beer or ice-cream in hand.
PRELIMINARY forecasts are that beer sales in Bulgaria are to climb further this summer after sales recorded a six per cent increase in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.
Beer sales were 172.8 million litres in the first six months of the year, a figure that does not include the sales of the Ledenika and Varnensko Pivo breweries, which have not yet submitted sales reports. The two are owned by Bulbrew, the only fully Bulgarian-owned brewer on the domestic market.
This summer is seeing one of the most aggressively advertised beer sale seasons ever in Bulgaria. An example is the Ledenika promotion - drink 120 Ledenika beers, send the evidence required to prove you have done away with this quantity, and if you are lucky, you might win an S-class Mercedes.
Bulgaria produces exclusively light beers with malt extract content of nine to 13.5 per cent (which you can find written on the labels) and alcohol content ranging between 1.5 to 5.5 per cent. Beer is distributed through local outdoor markets, retail shops and food stores. The three largest breweries Zagorka, Astika and Kamenitsa own their own retail shops.
Most beers are sold in 0.5 or 0.33 litre bottles, the former being the most popular. Beer in cans retails at a higher price. Beer in plastic bottles of two litres is the new cheapest possible option. Beer fans say this is a unique Bulgarian invention. All major Bulgarian beer producers have now put two-litre plastic bottles of beer on the market.
Brewinvest, a joint venture between Greece's Hellenic Bottling Company and Dutch brewing group Heineken NV which controls Bulgaria's Ariana and Zagorka breweries, registered the largest share on the domestic beer market and topped the list of sales with 63.7 million litres. It was followed by the Bulgarian brands of Belgian beer company Interbrew - Kamenitza, Astika, Burgasko Pivo and Plevensko Pivo, with 52.4 million litres beer sales.
Like beer, ice-cream sales are boosted by high summer temperatures. Elsewhere in Europe, the heat wave which has scorched the western part of the continent has pushed beer and ice-cream sales to record levels, but temperatures in Bulgaria have been at levels normal for the country, meaning there has been no special stimulus to sales.
Ice-cream market leaders, Greek-owned and Varna-headquartered Delta, and Bulgarian-owned Darko, said this week it was too early to announce sales data.
Delta accounts for 45 per cent and Darko 35 per cent of ice-cream sales in Bulgaria.
The prices of different lines of ice-cream products range from 70 stotinki to two leva, while the difference in prices between the two ice-cream top sellers is just 20 to 30 stotinki. It appears, however, that over-heated clients make no difference and both sell well.
Another company successfully making its way on to the Bulgarian market is the family-owned Phoenix which currently sells only in Sofia. The motto of the company - "Different from Conveyer-made" - seems to be appealing to many in the city, judging by the queues in front of Phoenix outlets. The ice-cream maker offers 12 varieties, prepared according to patented recipes. All 12 types follow original patterns, an example being the "Vaticano," coloured in white and yellow - the colours of the Pontiff's coat of arms.
Beer sales were 172.8 million litres in the first six months of the year, a figure that does not include the sales of the Ledenika and Varnensko Pivo breweries, which have not yet submitted sales reports. The two are owned by Bulbrew, the only fully Bulgarian-owned brewer on the domestic market.
This summer is seeing one of the most aggressively advertised beer sale seasons ever in Bulgaria. An example is the Ledenika promotion - drink 120 Ledenika beers, send the evidence required to prove you have done away with this quantity, and if you are lucky, you might win an S-class Mercedes.
Bulgaria produces exclusively light beers with malt extract content of nine to 13.5 per cent (which you can find written on the labels) and alcohol content ranging between 1.5 to 5.5 per cent. Beer is distributed through local outdoor markets, retail shops and food stores. The three largest breweries Zagorka, Astika and Kamenitsa own their own retail shops.
Most beers are sold in 0.5 or 0.33 litre bottles, the former being the most popular. Beer in cans retails at a higher price. Beer in plastic bottles of two litres is the new cheapest possible option. Beer fans say this is a unique Bulgarian invention. All major Bulgarian beer producers have now put two-litre plastic bottles of beer on the market.
Brewinvest, a joint venture between Greece's Hellenic Bottling Company and Dutch brewing group Heineken NV which controls Bulgaria's Ariana and Zagorka breweries, registered the largest share on the domestic beer market and topped the list of sales with 63.7 million litres. It was followed by the Bulgarian brands of Belgian beer company Interbrew - Kamenitza, Astika, Burgasko Pivo and Plevensko Pivo, with 52.4 million litres beer sales.
Like beer, ice-cream sales are boosted by high summer temperatures. Elsewhere in Europe, the heat wave which has scorched the western part of the continent has pushed beer and ice-cream sales to record levels, but temperatures in Bulgaria have been at levels normal for the country, meaning there has been no special stimulus to sales.
Ice-cream market leaders, Greek-owned and Varna-headquartered Delta, and Bulgarian-owned Darko, said this week it was too early to announce sales data.
Delta accounts for 45 per cent and Darko 35 per cent of ice-cream sales in Bulgaria.
The prices of different lines of ice-cream products range from 70 stotinki to two leva, while the difference in prices between the two ice-cream top sellers is just 20 to 30 stotinki. It appears, however, that over-heated clients make no difference and both sell well.
Another company successfully making its way on to the Bulgarian market is the family-owned Phoenix which currently sells only in Sofia. The motto of the company - "Different from Conveyer-made" - seems to be appealing to many in the city, judging by the queues in front of Phoenix outlets. The ice-cream maker offers 12 varieties, prepared according to patented recipes. All 12 types follow original patterns, an example being the "Vaticano," coloured in white and yellow - the colours of the Pontiff's coat of arms.
