By WINSLEY MASESE
Keroche Breweries has rebranded its Summit malt beer, in what is largely seen as a strategy to face off with the market leader, East African Breweries Limited (EABL).
The brand was introduced in 2009 and the new bottle has changed colour from brown to green, the same colour as Tusker Malt Lager, which is produced by EABL.
However, Managing Director Tabitha Karanja said the move was necessitated by calls from the brand’s customers.
During the unveiling of the new look brand, Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua, underscored the role of innovation in production as a key ingredient for companies to develop a competitive advantage over others.
“We need to invest in value addition and give rise to industries, our next phase of development,” he stated.
Though the governor called for fair competition, he subtly echoed Karanja’s call in the ‘buy Kenyan build Kenya’ tag.
“Buy what is ours to build what belongs to us,” Kinuthia said, reminding Kenyans that the textile industry suffered serious setbacks as Kenyans opted for used clothes (mitumba).
Karanja said the new product is a measure of the maturity the economy has registered since independence.
“Since independence, it is now time for us to be confident and innovative to compete in the market,” she said.
The Keroche Chief Executive Officer said the re-launch was part of the firm’s campaign to increase its market share in the nascent malt beer market.
“We want to make sure we expand the market and make it even bigger be- cause people should be made to understand that this is the best malt in the region,” said Karanja.
Tusker Malt was first introduced into the Kenyan market in 1996, hence enjoying unrivalled market share until the entry of Summit Malt.
In 2010, EABL had to re-launch the brand, in what analysts contended was a strategy to sustain its market share after the entrance of Summit Malt.
Tabitha also announced plans to grow the brewer’s production capacity by tenfold to 100 million litres annually following the launch of a Sh2.5 billion expansion plan last year
Africa is seen as one of the high growth potential markets for alcohol consumption due to the sustained expansion of the continent’s economies and a young population seen as major booster to future demand.
According to a research released by Deutsch Bank Market Research last year, Kenya is Africa’s third largest alcohol consumer after Nigeria and South Africa.
The research, which is based on international beer maker Diageo’s sales on the continent, put Kenya’s alcohol market share at 17 per cent of the continent’s total behind Nigeria with 36 per cent and South Africa with 18 per cent.
The Kenya Revenue Authority estimates that excise duty on beer contributes to more than half of the total excise duty collection.
In the last 10 years, the beer market in East Africa has recorded tremendous growth. This is predicted to go even higher with the prospects of better economic growth, higher population, changing urban trends and stiff competition among brewers. Global brewers see the region as a high potential frontier to grow their volumes and are lining up their brands.
Kenya is the largest beer market in the region, with 4.9 million hectolitres of beer consumed last year against 4.1 million and 3.4 million in Tanzania and Uganda, respectively, the report says.
Beer consumption in Kenya has increased over a five-year period to 11.9 litres per capita last year.
The analysts expect Kenya’s beer market to show the least growth during the 2011-2016 period and projects beer PCC to increase to 14.2 litres.
Kenya’s premium beer market has attracted interest, with players such as SABMiller and Heineken angling for a slice of the pie.
EABL has attempted to ward off competition by introducing premium products, such as Snapp and Tusker Lite, and relaunching Pilsner Ice.
Other players in the market include Ozbecco Ltd, brewers of Sierra beers, and Viva Product Line Ltd, distributors of Corona.
