SABMiller plans to roll out cassava beer in Nigeria

Having successfully launched cassava beer in March 2014, called ‘Eagle’ in Ghana, SABMiller is planning to come up with a similar brand tailored to Nigerian taste, with a view to increasing the array of choices for low-income consumers, a source has told Real Sector Watch.

“We have a cassava beer product called Impala in Mozambique and we recently launched Eagle in Ghana. We plan to collaborate with Nigerian farmers in due time to come up with a product that will utilise locally grown cassava,’’ said the source, who pleaded anonymity.

During the launch of the cassava brand called Impala in Mozambique 20 months ago, Mark Bowman, managing director, SABMiller Africa, had hinted that part of his firm’s strategy across Africa was to make high quality beer that would be affordable for low-income consumers, while simultaneously creating opportunities for small-holder farmers in their markets.

“This is a virtuous circle: small-holder cassava farmers have a guaranteed market for their crop, which is then used to make consistently high quality, affordable beer for consumers; and the government realises increased revenues as people trade up into formal, taxable alcohol consumption,” said the African managing director of the multinational brewing and beverage firm.

Prior to Impala’s launch in Mozambique, cassava had never been used to brew beer on a commercial scale because of the logistical challenge of collecting the roots from small-holder farmers that are widely dispersed, along with its rapid deterioration immediately after harvesting.

Nigeria is world’s largest producer of cassava. With the trend, the product is expected to be in higher demand across the Nigerian market as other brewers could follow SABMiller’s example, analysts say. They add that if this materialises, brewers would soon begin to think of establishing cassava plantations.

Industry analysts further say this is another a strategy aimed at playing in the value or low-cost brand.

SABMiller operates in Nigeria through International Breweries (Ijesha), Pabod Breweries (Port Harcourt), Intafact Beverages Limited (Onitsha), and Voltic Nigeria Limited (Lagos).