The competition in Nigeria’s beer and non-alcoholic beverage market will soon become stiffer, following a planned re-entry of Golden Guinea Breweries Plc and re-introduction of its brand of drinks.
Golden Guinea Breweries plc, located in Afara Layout, Umuahia, Abia State, is engaged in the brewing, bottling and marketing of Golden Guinea lager beer, Eagle Stout, as well as the production and marketing of Bergdorf premium lager beer and Bergdorf Malta, under a franchise from Holsten Brauerei AG of Hamburg, Germany.
The core investors who are now considering an August 2016 relaunch of the products into the Nigerian market, took over the company with a strategy objective of trippling production, providing satisfaction to consumers, and pushing product sales.
As consumer goods companies are impacted by the macro-headwinds and a marked slow-down in consumer discretionary spend, analysts see Golden Guinea Breweries plc strategy around pricing impacting on other brewing giants’ market share.
Golden Guinea Breweries plc, established by Michael Okpara, premier of the defunct Eastern Region, was shut down in 2003 following a fire outbreak.
Already, the installation of modern equipment in the company is almost completed. The multi-billion naira new production line of Golden Guinea Breweries plc has capacity for producing about 48,000 bottles per hour; a far cry from the old production capacity of about 24,000.
There are also indications that the equipment is of the latest technology and doubles the capacity of both Ama Breweries in Enugu and SAB Miller at Onitsha.
This feat was achieved through the untiring efforts of the core investors in the brewery, with tremendous support from the Abia State Government of the past administration of Theodore Orji, to the current administration of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
“We will be distributing our drinks across Nigeria. We must ensure our drinks are in Lagos and other states in the West, North, and Southern Nigeria, while also consolidating our premier position in the East”, a source close to the core investors in Golden Guinea Breweries plc told BusinessDay on the sideline of his visit to Lagos weekend.
In addition to the efforts aimed at delivering an array of Golden Guinea Breweries plc brands to the market, the new investors are cognisant of the positive impacts of the products quality, pricing and rebranding.
At the peak of its operation more than a decade ago, the company employed about 5,000 workers and when it commences operations, the staff strength is expected to double.
Sam Hart, senior special assistant to the Abia State Governor on public communications, in his recent tweet to friends on developments at Golden Guinea plc said: “If you know Umuahia, you will understand that Golden Guinea is not just a company, it is the pride of the people of Umuahia, nay Abia State.
“It has been closed down for about 13 years now but in a very short while, it will resume production. The good news: Installation is complete. The brewers are coming from Germany and by the second week of May 2016, ‘Oyoyo mmi’ (an Igbo name the beer brand is known for) will roll out of the production line”,
Hart further tweeted, “From distribution networks to support services, the new lease of life around Aba road, trailer parks and truck loading bays, suppliers, contractors, engineers, plumbers, accountants, even food sellers, the good times are back. The management has assured that about 70% of the staff will be locally sourced. Imagine the number of jobs about to be created.
“The good thing is that this is a private enterprise. No government magic. Competence will be the deciding factor. If you’re qualified, you will get the job. From May 2016, Golden Guinea and Bergedorf Lager Beer, Eagle Stout and Bergedorf Malta will be back on the streets.”
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
