Slider
Innscor launches brewery to produce Nyathi beer
BY TONDERAI MARUKE
After spending US$70 million on new investments last year, Innscor is spending a further US$56 million for the coming year on new projects.
One of these projects may make Delta Corporation sit up.
It is already the country’s largest and most successful food producer, with profitable interests from poultry to maize meal and beverages.
Now Innscor is looking to add another unit – beer. Company executives told an analysts’ briefing recently that Innscor expects to launch a brewery, Buffalo Brewing Company, early in 2023. It will launch a beer brand, called Nyathi.
The first bottles of Nyathi beer have already rolled off the new line at ProBottlers in Harare. The Buffalo brewery will be in Stapleford, near Harare, where the company has repurposed a factory shell.
Can Innscor take on Delta, which has the Zimbabwe beer market in a chokehold? Delta controls 86% of the traditional beer market and 95% of lager sales.
In the year to March 2022, Delta sold 372 million litres of traditional beer, the highest amount in five years. So strong is the demand that Delta is investing in extra capacity.
“Chibuku Super is constrained by the limited production capacity. A new Chibuku Super plant is being installed at Harare brewery for commissioning in early 2023,” according to Delta.
Delta has also introduced a new Chibuku variant, Chibuku Scud Plus, which has a longer shelf-life, and jazzed things up with a banana-flavoured Chibuku Super.
In terms of lagers, in 2021, Delta sold 190 million litres, the most since 2019. It has launched new beer brands, such as Sable, and loyalty to its brands remains strong.
A new competitor in the clear beer business would have to work overtime to break this stranglehold.
Rumours of a potential future partnership with Heineken abound, which would be a twist given that Heineken recently bought Distell, which owns Afdis, a Delta associate.
Delta has already shown how aggressive it can be in fending off competition. It has fought off competition in the fizzy drinks market from Varun, which makes Pepsi, and Innscor itself, which produces the Fizzi brands.
Key for Innscor is the strategy that has made it a success for years; using its value chains and expansive distribution networks. Pricing and product quality will also be essential for market penetration.
To take on Delta in the traditional brew business, Innscor may have to step up its investments in cropping to increase sorghum supplies, possibly through its farming unit PHI Commodities, which has three farms and is expanding.
Delta gets its supplies of barley and sorghum by contracting thousands of local farmers. In 2021, it bought 40,000 tonnes of barley from 47 contracted farmers.
Delta also took in 13,500 tonnes of sorghum, grown by 10,000 communal farmers and 50 commercial farmers.
Innscor’s entry into the beer market will interest investors as it will diversify its products even further, according to stockbrokers IH Securities.
“US$56mn in additional investment into capacity has been planned for FY23 with the announced launch of the Sorghum beer line from Buffalo Brewing company going into deepening product offering,” IH says.
Analyst Yona Banda adds that Innscor’s entry into the brewery business will bring some competition into the market.
He says: “The Buffalo Brewing Company stands out as an interesting proposition, given the absence of competition in the local commercial beer market”. – newZwire
BY BAYANDA NKATHA
Stakeholders from Nkayi District have gathered in Bulawayo for the inaugural Nkayi Diaspora Investment Indaba, which kicked off this Thursday morning at the Zimbabwe Art Gallery.
The event has drawn various stakeholders, including heads of government departments, traditional leaders, Diaspora-based business people, humanitarian organizations such as Amalima Loko and others.
The district is seeking to court investors for various projects and service delivery, with the aim of addressing the area’s marginalization and development challenges.
Nkayi is one of the districts that has lagged behind in terms of development, with its two major connecting roads – Bulawayo-Nkayi and Kwekwe-Nkayi-Lupane – deteriorating to an extent that driving has become a nightmare.
However, the district has huge potential, boasting vast natural resources, including rich agricultural soils, water, the upcoming Ziminya Dam, sand abstraction, timber, beekeeping, and more.
Its proximity to Gokwe, Lupane, Binga, and Kwekwe makes Nkayi a strategic market district.
BY BAYANDA NKATHA
The 2024 Mine Entra conference has officially kicked off in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa expected to officiate the event.
The conference is being held under the theme “Unearthing Success: The Mining Value Chains, Innovation, and Industrialisation Nexus” and is expected to be a significant event in the mining industry.
President Mnangagwa arrived in Bulawayo on Wednesday afternoon, after attending the burial of national hero Colonel (Retired) Tshinga Dube at the Heroes Acre in Harare.
Mines and Mining Development Minister, Winston Chitando, will lead the proceedings, with the President expected to address the conference.
The Chamber of Mines is also expected to provide a comprehensive update on the state of the mining sector.
The industry is optimistic about the future, with mineral revenue, employment levels, and capacity utilization projected to increase in 2025.
The Mining Industry Prospects for 2025 report shows that mining executives are confident about the sector’s prospects.
“Mineral revenue is expected to increase by approximately two percent in 2024 and by around 10 percent to approximately US$6 billion in 2025 from about US$5.5 billion in 2024 on the back of improved output and some anticipated commodity price recovery in 2025.”reads the report.
Average capacity utilization for the mining industry is expected to improve, driven by key sectors such as gold, ferrochrome, and PGMs.
Employment is also expected to rise, with mining industry formal employment expected to increase in 2025.
The mining sector has also recorded a decrease in fatalities since the beginning of the year, with a significant reduction in deaths compared to last year.
However, the survey results show that there is still a need for safety and health at mining operations.
-
National3 years agoIn perched rural Matabeleland North, renewable energy is vital
-
National2 years agoCommission of inquiry findings fail to be tabled as Victoria Falls councillors fight
-
Tourism and Environment3 years agoStrive Masiyiwa’s daughter opens luxury Victoria Falls lodge
-
National3 years agoVictoria Falls’ pilot dies in helicopter crash
-
National2 years agoHwange coal miner fires workers over salary dispute
-
National3 years agoVictoria Falls bartender gored to death by elephant
-
National2 years agoVictoria Falls town clerk digs in, says won’t be forced to resign
-
OPED2 years ago“A selfless and brave warrior’: Remembering Noel Eric ‘Mbokodo’ York