Kamenitza

Kamenitza (Bulgarian: Каменица) is one of the top-selling
Bulgarian beer companies, based in the city of Plovdiv.
Established in 1881 and as of 2006 owned by InBev,
the brewery has a wide variety of lager and dark beers.

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.In 1881
three Swiss entrepreneurs built a brewery in Plovdiv on a
hill called 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 Belgian multinational company InBev bought the Bulgarian
breweries Kamenitza, 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.