Brarudi S.A., also known by its French name Brasseries et Limonaderies du Burundi, is the largest brewer and soft beverage company in the Republic of Burundi.^[1]

The history of Brarudi goes back to 1955^[2] when the management of the breweries of the Belgian Congo, then under the management of Brasseries de Leopoldville (now Bralima Brewery), decided to build a brewery in the Eastern region to server Ruanda-Urundi and Eastern Congo. The city of Usumbura (now Bujumbura), on the northern shores of Lake Tanganyika, was selected to house the new brewery whose name was Brasserie du Rwanda-Urundi.^[3] The brewery became operational December 23, 1955 and began producing Primus Beer.

In November 1957, Bralima started the construction work for a second brewery to be located in Gisenyi on the northern shores of Lake Kivu under the name Brasseries et Limonaderies du Rwanda.^[3]

Upon independence, Bralima was incorporated in Congo Léopoldville, Brarudi in Burundi and Bralirwa in Rwanda.^[4]

In 1966, Brarudi diversified into the production of soft drinks. This was through the brewer's partnership with The Coca-Cola Company making it a bottler for Coca-Cola products. A soft beverages plant was opened in Gitega for this purpose.^[3]

In 1975, the Government of Burundi acquired 40% control of Brarudi while Banque Bruxelles Lambert (BBL) retained its 60% shareholding.^[3] BBL exited Brarudi in 1982 through a selling its 60% stake to Heineken, a Dutch brewing conglomerate. This made Brarudi a subsidiary of Heineken.^[3]

The shares of stock of the company are privately held. The ownership of the company stock is as depicted in the table below:^[5]

The brands manufactured by Brarudi include:^[6]