Alcohol, Baltic Export, Brands, Good for Business, Latvia, Markets and Companies

As LB board chairman Guntis Āboltiņš-Āboliņš points out, the richer in traditions and older a company is, the more responsibility is placed on the company management and employees: “Our task is not only to hold a high standard of quality in producing historic brands already know in the world such as Allažu ķimelis, Riga Black Balsam, and Stolichnaya, but also to develop as a modern producer. And that means looking for the most efficient solutions for producing smartly, at high capacity and in accordance with international demand.”

In April this year, 115 years will have passed since the Riga State Spirits Warehouse No.1 (now Latvijas balzams) started work to supply the state alcohol monopoly that had been implemented in the Vidzeme province. April 30, 1900 is regarded as the birthday of the company, when receipt if the first shipment of rectified spirits at the warehouse was documented.

According to historical archives, by November, 1903 there were 204 workers working at the company, of whom 175 were literate. Today, AS Latvijas balzams employs 600 employees at two manufacturing facilities, 160 A. Čaka Street and 7 A. Briāna Street in Riga.

·         The company currently makes more than 130 different beverages and is represented in almost all segments of the strong and light alcoholic beverages market.

·         Beverages produced by LB are available in more than 160 global markets.

·         The company is the tenth largest taxpayer in Latvia and the largest in the food industry.

·         Last year the company paid EUR 53.5 million in taxes to the state budget.

The new AS Latvijas balzams visual identity is compatible with the change of design of Latvijas balzams’ retail shops, which started last fall. The first to bear the new visual identity are two new design and concept LB stores in Riga’s Old Town, whose facades are decorated with the renewed logo.