Category: Beverages

CCBA’s Ghanaian unit Voltic Limited names Flora Jika as new Managing Director

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GHANA – Voltic Ghana, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) has appointed Flora Jika, as its new Managing Director. According to the parent company, Flora will take up the leadership position at the end of December 2021. Taking over the helm of the soft-beverage manufacturing and distributing entity, she succeeds Simon Everest who’ll be retiring in December after 20 years with The Coca-Cola Company family. Flora joins Voltic Ghana from Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) where she is the current Logistics Director. She hails from a mining engineering background,…

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East Africa Breweries Limited targets to transition to use of clean energy by 2030 under US$199m plan

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KENYA – East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), subsidiary of British alcohol manufacturer Diageo, has revealed plans of investing Ksh 22 billion (US$199m) to facilitate its transition to use of green energy by 2030. According to reports by Business Daily, the manufacturer and distributor of Tusker, Chrome, Jonnie walker brands mulls to entirely shift from use of electricity from the national grid, Kenya Power and generate its own power from solar. EABL targets to generate at least 9.3 megawatts at its Ruaraka plant and 2.4-megawatt from solar power in Kisumu. Also,…

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Diageo to build R&D centre in Shanghai to strengthen innovations for Chinese market

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CHINA – British multinational alcoholic beverages giant Diageo has announced plans to build a  new research and development (R&D) center in Shanghai, China, as it aims to create new products for the Chinese market based on local consumer insights and trends.  According to Diageo, the new site will primarily support the China market and is expected to strengthen Diageo’s ability to innovate and develop products that fit Chinese consumer tastes.  “Today’s announcement is another key step in our transformational journey to invest and deliver growth in a fast-moving and highly…

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Pernod Ricard to buy online spirits retailer The Whisky Exchange as Sella Digital scoops up heritage gin brand J&W Nicholson

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UK – French alcoholic beverages company Pernod Ricard is set to expand its e-commerce capabilities with the acquisition of online spirits retailer The Whisky Exchange.  The Whisky Exchange was founded in 1999 by Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh and delivers a range of approximately 10,000 whiskies and spirits, making it one of the largest online spirits retailers in the UK.  Best known for its website, the company also has three retail shops in London and is also “active in private sales and online auctions of rare spirits,” said Pernod Ricard.  Pernod…

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CCEP invests US$33m to expand sustainable packaging capacity of UK manufacturing site

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UK – Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), one of the largest anchor bottlers of beverage giant Coca-Cola, has invested £28m (US$33m) into its manufacturing site in Sidcup, United Kingdom to fund the installation of a new canning line.  The new high-speed canning line is capable of producing 2,000 cans per minute, elevating the site’s production capabilities and supporting the production of sustainable packaging for a number of CCEP’s brands.   According to a statement from the UK-based bottling giant, the new canning line is set to open in June 2022, creating…

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Kenya Breweries Limited kick starts second phase of US$3m Raising the Bar initiative

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KENYA – Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), subsidiary of East African Breweries Limited has kicked off the second phase of a program that seeks to revive the hospitality sector through the provision of Covid-19 safety equipment, merchandise, and training. The initiative dubbed the Raising the Bar recovery program seeks to benefit nearly 850 bars and eateries across the country by end of November 2021 and subsequently improve their operations in the wake of the pandemic. During the first phase, 169 outlets around the Nairobi Metropolitan area have benefitted from the program,…

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IPO bound craft beer company Brewdog raises record US$42m in online equity crowdfunding round

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UK – Brewdog, the world’s most prominent craft beer company, has raised £30.2m (about US$42m) in an online-only equity crowdfunding round dubbed “Equity For Punks Tomorrow”.  According to the maker of Punk IPA beer, the funding was raised from a crowd of 73,802 investors which it refers to as “Equity Punks”.   The latest investment round (which BrewDog says is the final round) brings the number of investors in BrewDog to over 200,000 Equity Punks in total.  “Thanks to everyone involved in the project for making it such a world-record breaking success! Every single penny invested goes…

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Coca-Cola’s Odwalla brand finds new owner a year after discontinuation

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USA – The Coca-Cola Company has offloaded the rights to Odwalla brand to Full Sail IP Partners, a Warburg Pincus-backed investment firm that acquires brands. According to reports by Reuters, the deal does not include production and delivery of the juice and smoothie offering. The move, according to Full Sail IP Partners, a joint venture between Warburg Pincus and brand licensing consultant LMCA, is aimed to revive the juice and smoothie label that the soft drinks giant discontinued last year. The company plans to popularize Odwalla, which was founded in…

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Nile Breweries, Jumia champion smart drinking behavior: hydrating, eating while indulging in alcohol

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UGANDA – Uganda’s leading beer manufacturer and subsidiary of AB InBev, Nile Breweries Limited (NBL, has partnered with delivery service provider Jumia to commemorate the Global Smart Drinking Week (GSDW). The GSDW 2021 aimed to curb the harmful use of alcohol will run from September 13–17 and aligns with the first week of the United Nations General Assembly. According to the brewer, it will celebrate GSDW 2021, along its sister breweries around the world, championing the many specific behaviours and social norms that encompass smart drinking and aim to make…

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AB InBev’s unit in Lesotho partners with technology giant Siemens to automate brewery

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LESOTHO – Maluti Mountain Brewery, AB InBev’s subsidiary in Lesotho has partnered with Siemens South Africa, a technology powerhouse to automate brewing systems in a bid to improve flexibility and customization in reducing beer loss. As part of the technological upgrade, Siemens has migrated the brewery from an old automation system to a central control and monitoring station which will combine the Brewhouse and Cellars. Using Siemen’s Braumat system, the software has fostered virtualization capability, recipe control and management, trend and alarm management, batch reporting and controlled access. This will…

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