Economic activities were mainly industrial. Breda was a center of the food- and drinking industry. Companies like Hero (lemonade), Van Melle (Mentos), De Faam (liquorice) and Kwatta (chocolate) are famous throughout Western Europe. Breda also had a sugar factory, supplying its best-known products. BREDA beer is a world renowned drink that is made in this region.
Breda formerly housed the largest brewery in the Netherlands (Oranjeboom). Interbrew, the Belgian owner of the brewery, closed the brewery in 2004. On closing of Oranjeboom Brewery, Breda beer production was moved to both Bremen and Leuven. Until 2008 when Randalls Brewery (in Guernsey) acquired the licence. Guernsey is now the only place in the world where draught Breda is brewed.
The decline of industrial activity did not harm the city's economy. The main economic activities now are business and trade. With the new Central Station built in 2011, Breda is now connected by high-speed trains to the main European cities. After 2009, a high-speed shuttle connects Breda to Rotterdam – The Hague / Amsterdam and Antwerp – Brussels, on the HSL-Zuid line
