The Flensburger Brauerei Emil Petersen GmbH & Co. KG is still a young company compared to many southern German breweries – it was founded in 1888 by local Flensburg people. At the end of 2022, around 250 people were employed there, producing around 700,000 hectoliters of luxury beverages.
In addition to the well-known Pilsner, the range currently includes numerous other drinks such as gold, noble light, dark, malt beer, cellar beer, draft lemonade, shandy, as well as non-alcoholic beer and mixed drinks.
HGDF has held a share in the Flensburg brewery since 1994. During this time, the Flens had long been a cult beer in Germany and part of German popular culture (e.g. “Werner” cartoons). For years, however, beer consumption has been going down in Germany, and many beer producers are relying on low promotional prices.
Small breweries find it difficult to maintain this pricing policy and therefore have to remain innovative and maintain their brands. Flensburger has always been exemplary when it comes to this. The beer in the swing top bottle is a unique and strong brand. Countless fans in Germany love their Flens – for its taste, for the typical “plopp” of the handle and the Nordic humor in their advertising.
We not only like to drink our Pilsner, but have long since thought the Flensburger brand bigger.
I appreciate the entrepreneurial freedom and room for manoeuvre offered by HGDF.
Collaboration with HGDF offers freedom and support in a way that is probably unique in the brewery world.
Another way to compensate for the declining thirst for beer in Germany is through exports. People abroad also enjoy drinking the beer from the fjord. We export our Flens all the way to China – and there, too, people enjoy our fresh North German “plopp”.
Responsible use of resources has always been lived at the family brewery from Flensburg. Ingredients such as barley, hops, and water have to meet high quality standards and demand an intact nature – today and in the future. Regular investments in new plant technology and processes are therefore essential for sustainable value creation. The Flensburg brewery was awarded the Schleswig-Holstein Economy Environment Prize in 1991, 1999, and 2018.
