Bulgarian Soft Drink Association

The Bulgarian Soft Drink Association (Bulgarian: Асоциация на производителите на безалкохолни напитки в България, АПБНБ; also known by its English abbreviation BSDA) is a non-governmental, non-profit industry association founded in 1995. It represents a large part of Bulgaria's innovative and dynamic soft drink industry, bringing together larger and smaller producers of carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices and nectars, ready-to-drink teas, sports and energy drinks, and bottled waters, as well as a number of packaging manufacturers and importers of raw materials for beverage production. The Association's main goal is to be the voice of the sector before society and to participate actively in the development and implementation of policies on a wide range of economic, technical, commercial and environmental issues. Its scope of activity includes measures for preferences and relief in the economic policy of its members regarding taxation, customs tariffs and foreign trade regimes; development and support of regional trade activities in the production and distribution of soft drinks; organization and dissemination of technical and economic information; organization of and participation in exhibitions, trade fairs and other forums in Bulgaria and abroad; specialized environmental protection activities aimed at reducing the negative impact of production on the environment and human health; coordination of members' approaches on domestic and international markets; and maintaining contacts with ministries, agencies, educational institutions and institutes to support members in education and professional qualification. Since 1996 the Association has been a member of UNESDA-CISDA, the European association of soft drink producers. It is also a member of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bulgarian Industrial Association, the Bulgarian Association of the Food and Drink Industry, and the Union of the Food Industry at the Federation of Scientific and Technical Unions in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian soft drink industry has a history of more than 55 years, beginning with the first natural mineral water bottling plants. In the 1960s, modern plants for licensed beverages such as Orangina, Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and Schweppes, as well as fruit and herbal concentrates, marked a new period for the sector. After 1990, reorganization and restructuring of old enterprises began, and many new larger and smaller plants and workshops for carbonated drinks, water bottling, natural fruit juices and soluble drinks were built. Today the Bulgarian market does not differ from the European one in the variety of drinks, packaging and formats. Bottled water consumption has developed with exceptional dynamism and is now the number one beverage on the Bulgarian market, not only among soft drinks but among all types of commercial liquids. Substantial changes have also occurred in the trade and advertising policies of companies, with a shift away from previous aggression toward stimulating reasonable consumption, and packaging now carries information on nutritional value, low or zero calories, guideline daily amounts of sugar, health and nutritional benefits, and calorie content per 100 ml or per actual volume.

The Bulgarian Soft Drink Association (Асоциация на производителите на безалкохолни напитки в България, АПБНБ) was founded in 1995 as a non-governmental organization. It is a non-profit association and a legal entity established to carry out activities in private benefit under the Law on Legal Entities with Non-Profit Purpose. Since 1996 it has been a member of UNESDA-CISDA, the European association of soft drink producers. It is also a member of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bulgarian Industrial Association, the Bulgarian Association of the Food and Drink Industry, and the Union of the Food Industry at the Federation of Scientific and Technical Unions in Bulgaria. The Association represents a large part of the soft drink industry in the country and internationally, uniting larger and smaller producers of soft drinks – carbonated and non-carbonated drinks, fruit juices and nectars, ready-to-drink teas, sports and energy drinks, bottled waters – as well as a number of manufacturers of packaging materials and importers of raw materials for beverage production. Its activities are related to supporting, protecting and promoting the rights and interests of enterprises engaged in the production and bottling of soft drinks, fruit juices, natural mineral, spring and table waters, and defending the interests and rights of Association members before the state, public and other bodies and institutions in the Republic of Bulgaria and abroad. As a nationally representative organization in the sector, it advocates cooperation between producers and a control system that works for the benefit of consumers and society. The subject of the Association's activity covers: taking measures for preferences and relief in the economic policy of members regarding taxation, customs tariffs, foreign trade regime, etc.; development and support of regional trade activities, namely production and distribution in the field of soft drinks; organization and dissemination of technical and economic information and data to support members in management and technical progress; organization of and participation in exhibitions, trade fairs and other forums in the country and abroad, supporting cooperation with companies producing raw materials, ingredients, equipment, packaging, etc.; carrying out specialized activities and taking measures for environmental protection, as well as those aimed at reducing the negative impact of production on the environment and human health; organization, coordination and harmonization of members' approaches and intentions for domestic and international market activities, providing information and analyses on markets and consumer demand; and establishing and maintaining contacts with ministries and agencies, educational institutions and institutes to support members' activities in the field of education and professional qualification of their workers and employees. The Bulgarian soft drink industry has a history of more than 55 years, beginning with the first plants for bottling natural mineral waters. The construction in the 1960s of modern plants for the production of licensed beverages – Orangina, Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Schweppes – and the production of fruit and herbal concentrates and drinks from them marked the beginning of a new period in the development of the sector. In the period after 1990, reorganization and restructuring of old enterprises began in the country. Many new larger and smaller enterprises and workshops were built for the production of carbonated drinks, for bottling waters, for the production of natural fruit juices and soluble drinks. Economic and political changes opened opportunities for the development of private initiative. With foreign and local capital, conditions were created for the production of an increasingly wide variety of drinks in accordance with European criteria and standards. Today the Bulgarian market does not differ from the European one in the variety of drinks, packaging and formats. The sector is enriched not only in material base but also technologically. Many European and world-famous companies producing raw materials, ingredients, machines or technological equipment are directly present in the sector. Today soft drinks are part of the healthy nutrition of Bulgarians and can be a factor in a balanced lifestyle. It is well known that for the normal existence of the human body about 2 liters of fluids must be consumed daily. In this regard, soft drinks can play an important role in taking in enough fluids. Nowadays the rich variety of raw materials with different functionality allows the creation of innovative products that achieve a targeted effect on some metabolic chains of the human body, with the aim of achieving good health or simply a good mood. The consumption of bottled water is developing with exceptional dynamism and it is already the number one beverage on the Bulgarian market, not only among soft drinks but also among all types of commercial liquid brands. Significant changes are also occurring in the trade and advertising policy of companies. The previous aggression is gone. The goal is to stimulate reasonable consumption. In line with legislation, packaging of drinks now contains information about the nutritional value of products, the low content or absence of calories in drinks, the guideline daily intake of sugar, the health and nutritional benefits of consuming the product, the calorie content in 100 ml and/or in the actual volume of the offered drink – for example in 250 ml.

• 1996

  Joined UNESDA-CISDA, the European association of soft drink producers.

• 1995

  Association founded as a non-governmental organization.

National industry association and representative voice of the Bulgarian soft drink sector before government, society and international bodies.

Product categories. Carbonated soft drinks · Non-carbonated soft drinks · Fruit juices and nectars · Ready-to-drink teas · Sports and energy drinks · Bottled waters (natural mineral, spring and table waters)

1. 1Асоциация на производителите на безалкохолни напитки в България – официален сайтbsda-bg.org
2. 2Bulgarian Soft Drink Association – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Асоциация на производителите на безалкохолни напитки в България – Уикипедияbg.wikipedia.org