As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 6th of May, 2020, Carlsberg Croatia has recently joined the trend of more and more companies starting to produce disinfectants and protective agents in order to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Namely, the brewery in Koprivnica processed 4,000 litres of fruit wine that was supposed to become a refreshing Somersby cider into hand sanitiser, called it Clean hands (Čiste ruke) and gave it to Carlsberg Croatia’s employees to make them and their families even safer.
They donated the remaining amount to the local community, the City of Koprivnica, from which they directed the disinfectant where it is most needed. Tatjana Petričušić, Communications and Events Manager at Carlsberg, pointed out that difficult times require creative solutions:
“At the beginning of the pandemic in the brewery, we created the disinfectant in our own laboratory. However, as we don’t have such raw materials and equipment to produce a larger quantity ourselves, we found partners and in cooperation with them, we produced our own disinfectant,” explained Petričušić.
About 4,000 litres of fruit wine were processed into 70 percent alcohol through two distillation processes, and then disinfectant was produced, which was packaged in 1,200 half-litre bottles. This step, however, doesn’t mean that the company plans to start a new business because they say that it is simply not profitable to produce disinfectant from fruit wine.
As Helle M. Petersen, President of the Management Board of Carlsberg Croatia, recently confirmed for Poslovni Dnevnik that the popular Somersby cider brand range is produced in Koprivnica and is exported to about twenty countries around the world, from Singapore to the USA. In the category of cider drinks, Somersby is the market leader here in Croatia, where it is offered in four out of a total of ten variants.
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