NIGERIA – Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), the bottler of Coca-Cola has announced it will continue to invest in more ‘environmentally friendly’ packaging solutions especially glass bottle to tackle plastic pollution.

The company has also pledged to provide customers with healthier drinks at the wake of a shift in tastes and preferences towards healthier and safe products in the soft drinks market.

The Vanguard Nigeria has quoted Communications Director, NBC, Sade Morgan saying the company is working on a number of reforms following complaints on sugar intake, calling for product reformulations to align with consumer health concerns.

Competition, critical for growth

Health perspectives and innovations are some of the prospects guiding the carbonated soft drinks space, with fierce competition among players for supremacy in the market place.

The company is laying the groundwork for a larger slice of the market share eyed by the likes of PepsiCo, La Casera and SevenUp Company which produces SevenUp and Mirinda.

“Competition is very critical for growth, it challenges the leader it makes us to become more loyal, ensuring the quality of our products are not compromised.

At the same time, though cost of operation continues to rise, we will continue to invest in our glass inventory, even as more competitors come in,” said Sade Morgan.

It announced that it was expanding its product offerings to include flavoured and condensed milk, ice tea and bottled water through a US$600m investing spanning to 2020.

In 2016, it expanded its product portfolio by acquiring a 40% stake in Nigeria’s dairy and beverages producer Chi Limited.

On women empowerment, the company introduced the Five by Twenty initiative in 2010, designed to enable economic empowerment of 5 million women by 2020.