150 years of Damm: from Alsace to the Mediterranean

BarcelonaFrom Alsace to the Mediterranean. Damm's history is that of a journey. The journey that, fleeing the Franco-Prussian War, was undertaken in 1871 by August Kuentzmann Damm, who moved to Barcelona with his wife Melanie. With him, he brought the brewing tradition of his native Alsace, but seeking a Mediterranean touch, which today is its defining characteristic. His efforts were the origin, in 1876, of what is today a group that invoices over 2 billion euros, earns 175 million, and produces 21 million hectoliters that come from sixteen factories and two malt houses. The company's business, which has maintained its headquarters in Barcelona since its inception, encompasses regional brands – beer is a very territorial business – such as Cervezas Victoria, from Malaga; Keler, from San Sebastian; and Turia, from Valencia, as well as waters like Veri, dairy products like Cacaolat, fast-food chains like Rodilla, or coffee shops like Jamaica.

Today, the Carceller family is its main shareholder, as they are also of Sacyr and Ebro Foods. Of the original Damm family, Ramon Agenjo, great-grandson of Joseph Damm, remains as a representative on the board of directors, as does Geny, the cousin of August Kuentzmann Damm, who continued the business with various alliances when the founder died a year after its founding. In 1907, Joseph Damm's heirs partnered with Cammany and Cia and La Bohemia, which had its factory on Rosselló street in Barcelona, where the corporate headquarters are today. Three years later, Sociedad Anónima Damm was incorporated. In 1916, one of its most successful products was born, Estrella Dorada (Estrella Damm since 1991), which gained popularity in the 1920s, when the factory on Rosselló street was the first to use industrial refrigeration in Spain.

After the impact of the Civil War and the post-war period, the company revived in the 1950s with the creation of the fifth and the launch on the market of the double malt beer Voll-Damm, the first high-alcohol content beer in Spain in 1953. It also landed in the United States and the company's close relationship with sport was born, with the creation in 1952 of the first football team formed by factory workers and two years later, CF Damm.

In the 1960s, the German Oetker and the Carceller family joined as shareholders, who in 1993 became the main partners. The Santa Coloma de Gramenet factory was also integrated in 1964 and four years later the popular Xibeca was born. The seventies were also for the commercialization of the first non-returnable glass bottle and the introduction of canned beer, which in 1993 became aluminum. Continuing with its commitment to sport, the company gained even more momentum with the sponsorship of the 1982 Football World Cup and the incorporation of the Prat de Llobregat factory in 1985. Four years later, Damm launched the first non-alcoholic beer on the market.

In the 1990s and with the sponsorship of the Barcelona Olympic Games of 1992, the company concentrated production at the Santa Coloma and Prat plants and reinforced its environmental commitment, in addition to incorporating other regional brands. Also, between the 1990s and 2000s, it diversified into the water business. And it introduced beers for celiacs (Daura) and gastronomic beers (Inedit), as well as the high-end beer AK Damm, in honor of the founder, to mark the company's 125th anniversary. Furthermore, the Damm Foundation was also established.

From 2010 onwards, the company concentrated production at the Prat factory and opened the doors of the old factory on Rosselló street as a center for social activity. In 2015, it abandoned the stock market for small caps, where it had been listed for years, due to lack of liquidity. In addition to adding the Rodilla chain, the Damm group bought Cacaolat and Letona, dairy products that it began to produce at the Santa Coloma factory. In 2024, it sold half of Cacaolat to Idilia Foods – a spin-off of the family group originating from the former Nutrexpa, owner of brands such as Colacao or Nocilla – and retained the other 50%.

And, once its image linked to the Mediterranean was fully consolidated, in 2008 the company continued its journey and made its first international leap with the Santarém factory in Portugal, the first in which it began to produce abroad. And last year it inaugurated the Eagle Brewery plant in Bedford, the United Kingdom, which it bought in 2022.