Sectorial Brochure Agri-Food Sector of Armenia/BA | Page 10

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SUCCESS STORY / ARARAT
An international company that cherishes 130 years of unique brandy making
tradition
Yerevan Brandy Company and its brand name Ararat were acquired by Pernod Ricard in
1998. Today, world-famous Ararat Brandy is supplied to more than 30 countries and is a
registered trademark in more than 65 countries.
Brandy making tradition in Armenia go back to the year of 1887 when a wealthy
merchant began distilling brandy at the winery he had founded ten years earlier inside
the former fortress of Yerevan. It was then acquired by a well-known Russian vodka and
liquor producer (1898). Initial recognition came with the Paris International Exhibition
where Armenian brandy received the Grand Prix. The oldest brandy still featured today
in the company's museum dates back to 1902.
In 1944, by the end of World War II, Armenian brandy appeared to be so strategic that the
soviet leaders reorganized it and built a new plant solely for brandy making. In 1998,
Yerevan Brandy Company and its main brand Ararat were acquired by Pernod Ricard
after competitive bidding. This was a new beginning. Realizing the growing potential of
the Armenian market and pursuing its principle of separating production from sales,
the Group set up a distribution subsidiary in Armenia, focusing mainly on marketing
and distribution of the world-renowned Pernod Ricard brands, such as Absolut, Chivas,
Jameson and others across the country.
While Pernod Ricard invested in marketing and in the modernization of the Armenian
plant, which consists of 3 branches located in di erent regions of Armenia with the
main one in Yerevan, it did not change a thing in the brandy making itself. In 1999, YBC
initiated a new rigid production standard for being called “Armenian cognac.” Today
ARARAT is not just keeping to tradition and reviving the noble brandies of the past, such
as ARARAT Dvin and ARARAT Yerevan, but also keeps introducing brand new ARARAT
blends.
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