Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB) has reiterated its commitment to growing the economy through the implementation of sustainable capital investments and adherence to the backward integration policy in its production and distribution activities.
Sade Morgan Corporate Affairs Director, NB said this at a media parley in commemoration of the brewer’s 75th anniversary, noting that the company has prioritized import substitution and accretion for foreign reserve with N78 billion worth of investment in small holder farming of sorghum and cassava over the last five years.
“We have done about 56 per cent in local material sourcing but our packaging material is at practically 100 percent. A major challenge faced is the availability of local ingredients that goes into making most of our products,” she said.
Morgan said NB will continue to pioneer through backward integration as it did with sorghum by making adequate investments to locally grow those ingredients, while they remain consistent in providing high-quality products for their consumers.
Speaking on export and capacity expansion, Morgan said that efforts are ongoing to expand capacities in both activities much of which will be seen in the coming years, as she revealed that $114 million capital investments and expansion projects are scheduled for 2021/2022 in its Ama brewery in Enugu.
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“We are already exporting but not to the degree we want we are now actually putting together a specific export plan having identified a market in West Africa particularly where there are so many opportunities,” she said
She added that Nigeria is also a huge market hence there is a need to ensure adequate supply to local demand which is why the brewer continues to expand its production and distribution capacity.
In his remarks, Kolawole Jamodu, Chairman, NB Plc, reiterated the company’s commitment to developing Nigeria, which is why all its programs and initiative are carried out with the hope of helping and partnering with the authorities to reduce unemployment in the country
“We have now developed technology locally with our Nigerian farmers to grow sorghum and we have developed our technology in manufacturing to the extent that most of our products are made without anything affecting its taste,” he said.
To mark its 75th anniversary , NB is embarking on a series of events and programs which include consumer activation, sponsorships, celebrity activities from November and beyond, media campaigns, TV interviews, press advertisements, social media campaigns, the commemorative 75th-anniversary label on Star beer bottle, launch of new NB website among others.
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