Kenyan brewer eyes Botswana market
Mbongeni Mguni | Monday August 15, 2022 06:00
Should the company’s plans come to fruition, Bandari ya Pombe will be the country’s third alcohol producer after Kgalagadi Breweries Limited and Okavango Craft Brewery.
Another microbrewer, Big Sip, is under liquidation after closing shop last year due to prolonged and repeated suspensions of alcohol sales as a result of the pandemic.
Bandari ya Pombe director, King'Ori Wambaki told BusinessWeek the company was presently making arrangements to have its products approved by local authorities, before beginning exports into the country.
Bandari ya Pombe’s main brands are Bw. Chazea, a five-time distilled version of a traditional Kenyan beverage known as Chang’aa, as well as Muratelia, a sparkling wine flavoured with pineapple and mango. Outside of Kenya, the company is distributing the products in the United Kingdom where they have proved popular.
“The delivery times in the UK are up to five days, however, from market research in Kenya we have found people tend to buy drinks from venues rather than online and we believe this would be a similar case in Botswana,” Wambaki said.
“Thus we will be going through distributors to stock them in venues. “We will still have the online option available to customers and estimate delivery to take a maximum of five days.”
The director said besides distribution into Botswana, an investment of up to £60,000 (P915,000) would be made into establishing a microbrewery in the country to produce the brands. Bandari ya Pombe hopes to also clinch production deals for any traditional brews in the local market.
“The influence to expand into Botswana is a pan-African move and also there appear to be no producers of wine and spirits so we think we'll be providing a great service in producing Kenyan and local (traditional) Botswana beverages to the market,” Wambaki said. “Bw. Chazea is available in Europe, the UK, and Kenya, however, we want to emphasise our African reach.”
He said the company did not expect stiff competition from local traditional brews which, while widely prepared and consumed, are not produced on a commercial basis. Chang’aa is comparable in origin to traditional brews such as khadi but Wambaki explained that, unlike the potent traditional beverage, Bw. Chazea is made in a distillery “where quality measures are certified and practised and it is dosed with passion fruit for a zesty sensation”.
Bw. Chazea would thus compete with the few locally produced gins available in the market.
“The competitive advantage it will have is through taste, design, and price,” Wambaki said. “The taste will come from it being five times distilled and infused with passion fruit as well as the design coming from the unique shape of the bottle and design of the label. “Another competitive advantage will be the price being that we will aim to be priced below the top brands in Botswana especially when we are producing in Botswana. “Lastly, with it being Kenyan it will spark curiosity with the Botswana consumer.”
The local winery and distillery are due to be set up by April next year.