SABMiller aims to lure Africans to branded beer

SABMILLER continues to finetune its strategy to lure consumers from informal market beers to its branded portfolio in Africa.

Consumers mostly buy from the informal market rather than branded beers, but SABMiller hopes to win market share by not increasing prices and by providing affordable brands such as Chibuku Super and Impala (the world’s first commercial cassava beer in Mozambique).

Other brands are Hero in Nigeria, Balimi in Tanzania and Club lager in Ghana.

The group has been bulking up on acquisitions since it shifted its primary listing to London in 1999.

Now the second-largest brewer in the world, it is focusing on the continent where it was founded. The intention is to increase revenue by more than 10% in Africa in the next three to five years.

SABMiller is one of South Africa’s most successful corporate exports. Founded in Johannesburg in 1895, the group was the first industrial company to list on the JSE, in 1897.

In a statement this week, SABMiller MD Africa Mark Bowman said the company was well placed to expand its beer market in Africa.

“Africans drink nine litres of beer per head per year, compared with a global average of 4.5. So, as Africa develops and levels of disposable income increase, we expect the rate of beer consumption to grow significantly. Additionally, we anticipate strong GDP growth in Africa which supports our optimism,” said Bowman.

Its dominant position will also help. SABMiller is the largest beer seller by volume in 30 of the 38 African markets in which it operates.