Emin Agalarov’s structure will start production of energy drinks Berg

The structure of Emin Agalarov, the son of Crocus Group owner Aras Agalarov, plans to start production of Berg energy drinks produced in Azerbaijan this summer in the Moscow region. His partners in the project were the co-owners of the manufacturer of this product. Sales of energy drinks are growing at a double-digit pace, but investors will have to take into account the starting excise tax and the limited supply of aluminum cans.

Created by Emin Agalarov for the production of drinks, Uni Pak LLC filed an application for registration of the Berg trademark at the end of May, follows from Rospatent data. Under this brand, energy drinks are produced in Azerbaijan. A representative of Emin Agalarov told Kommersant that the businessman’s partners in Uni Pak were the co-owners of Berg Energy, which produces Berg drinks in Azerbaijan, and production in the Russian Federation is planned to be launched in the summer. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, in October 2022, Azerbaijani citizens Khayal Abbaszade, Fuad Aliyev and Nail Agayev received 25% of Uni Pak.

Uni Pak manages the Spaso-Borodino Waters plant in the Moscow region. In the summer of 2022, the company reached a capacity of 3 million cans per month and plans to increase the figure to 10 million cans. Uni Pak produces brands Tornado Energy, Fresh Bar and Ilyinsky Lemonades from the Global Functional Drinks portfolio. Emin Agalarov until May 2023 was the first vice president of the Crocus Group (Vegas shopping centers, Tvoi Dom hypermarkets). He recently announced that he would independently develop his projects. Crocus Group is owned by the businessman’s father Aras Agalarov.

One of the founders of Famous Amazing Brands (Vanilla Flight and Anarchy drinks) Anton Stelmakov notes that local production will allow Berg owners to save on logistics when entering the market. According to him, the category of energy drinks in Russia is growing and remains profitable, while most brands of conventional soda compete mainly on price. From April 2022 to April 2023, energy and sports drink sales grew 20.1% year-on-year in volume and 31.8% in value, according to NielsenIQ. Sales of carbonated drinks over the same period fell 5.9% in volume and increased 10.4% in value.

AB InBev Efes Marketing Director (started selling Volt energy drinks in May) Maria Dementyeva confirms that energy and sports drinks remain the fastest growing segment among non-alcoholic categories. According to her, while the market “is not as oversaturated with players as, for example, brewing”, but the number of producers, especially local ones, is growing. President of the Union of Producers of Juices, Water and Drinks (Soyuznapitki) Maxim Novikov agrees that if there is demand, the localization of production in is logical, given, among other things, a good raw material base of sugar and water. According to him, entering the market of non-alcoholic beverages can be a good investment on the horizon of four or five years, when the volume of consumption overcomes the crisis recession.

But, Mr. Novikov warns, players should not expect quick profits, first of all, because the excise tax on drinks with a sugar content of 7 rubles began to operate from July 1. per 1 liter Taking into account the imposition on top of VAT, the excise contribution will already be 8.4 rubles. per 1 liter is a high figure for relatively expensive energy drinks, the expert adds. According to Anton Stelmakov, the market is also constrained by the limited supply of aluminum cans, which may last until the launch of a plant in Ulyanovsk with a capacity of 1.5 billion cans per year, the construction of which was started by the American Ball. The Arnest group, which bought Ball’s assets in the Russian Federation, plans to commission the plant before the end of the year.

Anatoly Kostyrev