Coca-Cola commits to stock for Appletiser
Minister promised merged entity will stick to Tribunal agreements
COCA-COLA Beverages SA (CCBSA) made a commitment to procure 80% of apples, pears and grapes used for Appletiser products locally. This commitment was made to the Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel by CCBSA, when he visited the Appletiser plant in Grabouw, Elgin, yesterday.
Patel said: “We see this as an opportunity. There is a door that is potentially opened and we have to use this door to generate more employment opportunities.”
Patel said CCBSA agreed to take the Appletiser brand to the rest of the world.
Appletiser SA is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCBSA following the merger last year of the non-alcoholic ready-todrink bottling operations of the Coca-Cola Company, SABMiller and Gutsche Family Investments to form CCBSA.
Appletiser produces 59% of all Tiser products for domestic and global distribution at the Elgin plant.
The plant is set to double annual production by October as a result of its integration into the CCBSA supply chain grid.
Patel was introduced to Appletiser SA’s new black empowerment partners following the sale of a 21.5% stake in May.
CCBSA sold 17.5% of its shareholding in Appletiser SA to black-owned investment company African Pioneer Group and 4% to a new entrant black empowerment partner, Sipho Excellent Madlala, a 20-year veteran of the company.
The sale of the equity stakes was sealed after a rigorous process of evaluation and selection, facilitated by Standard Bank and met the merger conditions agreed to with the Competition Tribunal in relation to the creation of CCBSA last year.
CCBSA managing director Velaphi Ratshefola said the company was confident that Appletiser SA had the capacity to increase production output considerably to serve the domestic market.
He said the company would be used as a base for export to the rest of the continent and elsewhere in the world.
Appletiser has commitment in terms of the merger agreement to maintain procurement of at least 80% of apples, pears, grapes and similar fruit used for juice concentrate used in Tiser products domestically.
Since the time of the merger in May last year, Appletiser’s contractual obligations in terms of local procurement of grapes used for juice concentrate for Grapetiser has increased significantly from 11% to 43% and will continue to increase in the next few years, as agreed with the Competition Tribunal.
Patel outlined the “six pack” conditions in terms of the agreement yesterday, which include:
• Appletiser must continue to be produced at the Elgin plant.
• To provide opportunities to people from the community.
• To continue sourcing all products used in the production from local suppliers. • To get more farmers involved. • To increase more farms for procurement.
• To expand Appletiser to more markets.