ZAGORKA: BREWING HAPPINESS, RESPONSIBLY

ZAGORKA has a history of more than 120 years since the opening of its brewery in Stara Zagora. In 1994, it joined the HEINEKEN company. ZAGORKA is committed to developing its business sustainably and responsibly through its Sustainability Platform "Brew a Better World".

The company has a diverse portfolio of brands – Zagorka, Heineken®, Ariana, Birra Moretti, Amstel, Stolichno, Starobrno, and Apple Thief cider. ZAGORKA also offers alcohol-free drinks – Zagorka 0.0%, Heineken® 0.0, and Ariana Radler 0.0% various tastes.

Olga Lavrenova became ZAGORKA's Managing Director in 2021. She has been part of HEINEKEN since 2005 and has held top sales positions in both Russia and Bulgaria. Now, as Managing Director, her focus is on the realization of ZAGORKA's EverGreen strategy.

What are the mission and values of ZAGORKA?

Our mission, as part of the global HEINEKEN family, is to brew the joy of true togetherness to inspire a better world. Our values are incorporated in everything we do – care for people and planet, passion for consumers and customers, courage to dream and enjoyment of life. All this is set in our EverGreen strategy. It enhances our entire value chain and aims to impact not only our employees, but also our partners, consumers, and society. Therefore, what matters for us is people to have a good time and enjoy our beers and ciders together. A good example of our efforts to brew such moments for our consumers are the events that we organize. Our Piazza Moretti event has already turned downtown Sofia into Little Italy, so that the citizens and guests of the city can enjoy the little things in life and the true Italian spirit. Currently, Birra Moretti is on a tour in Bulgaria, scheduled to end in Varna with another Piazza Moretti event. The five-day BeerFest in Stara Zagora has become one of the most anticipated events in the region and this year will commence on 30 August, offering not only great music, but also presenting our brands with different entertaining activities.

Talking about internal environment – being a good employer, we constantly strive at promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and good work conditions. For this reason, we are a member of the Bulgarian Diversity Charter and through our HEI-Life platform we care for the well-being, physical and mental health of ZAGORKA employees. Also, we focus on the development of our people through short term assignments within HEINEKEN, promoting mentorship, many trainings that help personal and professional development, and an internship program.

Regarding external climate – as a responsible corporate citizen, we are focused on three key spheres, in which we can make a positive change – the environment, social sustainability and responsible consumption.

Can you share more on these?

At ZAGORKA, we believe that with every action we undertake we should contribute to brew a better world. Our achievements in that respect are summarized every year in our Sustainability Report that shows our holistic approach.

Scan the code to learn more about ZAGORKA's 2022 Sustainability Report

Our aim is towards achieving net zero emissions in production by 2030. ZAGORKA emitted 30% less CO2 compared to 2018. We use renewable energy from our solar park in the brewery, which has been operating at full capacity since last year.

Our #Zelenodeistvie (#GreenAction) environmental protection initiative behind Ariana brand helped clean over 1 ton of plastic waste and stocked two Bulgarian dams – Iskar near Sofia, and Gorni Dabnik near Pleven.

In the sphere of responsible consumption, ZAGORKA invested in campaigns focusing on increased awareness of road safety through the message "When You Drive, Never Drink" and in promoting our non-alco portfolio suitable for every occasion.

As for social sustainability, in 2022 ZAGORKA invested over BGN 100,000 in different initiatives. We also launched the special Zagorka Yubileino (Zagorka Jubilee) beer, which encouraged consumers to support the Zagorka Green Fund winning project – "Green Square" in Stara Zagora.

These are just the highlights, all initiatives realized in 2022 can be seen in our 8th Sustainability Report and we are happy that our efforts were recognized with first place awards in the competition "The Greenest Companies in Bulgaria".

We will continue to do a lot of investments this year and in the future in achieving net zero emissions, growth with communities and being an advocate for responsible consumption.

On industry level, the Union of Brewers in Bulgaria started the campaign "Return Me", which encourages consumers to return glass bottles. Furthermore, together with other industries, we commenced the discussion of setting a Deposit Returning System in Bulgaria.

What novelties do you offer on the beer market in 2023?

We operate on a dynamic market and must be flexible and innovative regarding our amazing beer brands. Just before the beginning of the summer we launched two new offers, Ariana Liatno (Ariana Summer), a low-alcohol lager beer specially created for refreshment in the hot summer days, and Ariana Radler 1.8% with mango and pineapple taste that adds to the diversity of the brand.

This year we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Heineken®. Our global campaign is focused on the good times our consumers have when enjoying the world's most international beer brand. It showcases that it does not matter the many ways Heineken® has been nicknamed, misspelled or whatever way our consumers like it served. The sparking of true connections over a beer is, in the end, what matters most.

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