Lion Brewery Ceylon Limited

Carlsberg Group in Sri Lanka

The Ceylon Brewery was the first brewery in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1881 by Sir Samuel Backer as a cottage industry, catering for the British colonial tea plantations in the hill country retreat of Nuwara Eliya. With its cool climate and natural spring water, Nuwara Eilya was the ideal location for a brewery. It acquired limited liability company status in 1911.

In 1993, the Ceylon Brewery became a subsidiary of Carson Cumberbatch & Co Ltd, a diversified group of Sri Lankan businesses. Considerable re-building was undertaken and the brewery was developed from a family company into the leader and creator of the national beer industry.

Today, the Lion Brewery Ceylon Limited is located just outside the capital Colombo. It is equipped with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that enable it to fulfil the increasing demand and export beer to new and current export markets, such as England, Japan and Australia.

Lion Brewery is the market leader with a share of 82%. All seven brands in its portfolio - Lion Lager, Carlsberg, Carlsberg Special Brew, Lion Stout, Strong Beer, Corona & Somersby - have a substantial market share.