New brewery to offer some competition
A JOINT venture between Hari Punja & Sons Pte Ltd and Taula Beverages Co Ltd of Samoa will see the establishment of a brand new facility on a sixacre property in Suva housing a brewery, state-of-the-art logistical facilities and an office building.
Hari Punja & Sons Pte Ltd chairman Hari Punja yesterday announced their joint venture with the Samoan company to set up the new brewery in Fiji to service the Fijian market and simultaneously supply other Pacific Island countries.
A statement from the company said they intended to brew a variety of beers suitable to meet customer preferences.
According to the statement the company anticipates competition with existing brands but is confident their proven experience, team and modern infrastructure will be the right formula to overcome these challenges.
Mr Punja said in the future the company also intended to explore carbonated soft drinks in glass and canned formats as had been successfully done in Samoa.
He said the partners were excited with the new endeavour and aimed to start serving the Fijian market in the very near future, adding that they looked forward to the potential the new year brings once the pandemic subsides and tourism returns to the Pacific Islands.
According to the statement Taula Beverages Co Ltd of Samoa manufactures the famous “Taula” brand of beers and in a short span of eight years they now dominate the Samoan market with more than 70 per cent market share.
It said the popularity of their beer ended the forty-year monopoly of “Vailima”, a brand owned by a subsidiary of Fiji's Paradise Beverages Ltd.
Taula Beverages Co Ltd managing director Taimalie Charlie Westerlund, the simple reason the brewery gained momentum stemmed from the decision to commit to the German Purity
Law (i.e. Reinheitsgebot).
Meanwhile Mr Punja said the brewery would employ a highly qualified team with European training as well as the latest in German technology to produce top quality products in accordance with the industry's strict manufacturing standards.
He said under the management of the joint venture partners, each with years of experience through their own respective businesses, the new company was confident of success.