Bidcoro Africa BFM 81

BIDCORO AFRICA

REFRESHING PROSPECTS

BIDCORO AFRICA

Mad Burmester, CEO, BIDCORO Africa.

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BIDCORO AFRICA

BIDCORO AFRICA IS ON A MISSION TO EXPAND THE RANGE OF ITS GREATTASTING FRUIT PRODUCTS FOR CONSUMERS IN EAST AFRICA AND BEYOND.

REFRESHING PROSPECTS PROJECT MANAGED BY: JOHN HOLLIMAN

BIDCORO Africa, the fruit drink manufacturer based in Nairobi, has taken the Covid-19 crisis as an opportunity to explore new business markets. The company has not only launched a new product line at times when most companies are reducing their costs and business activities but has also intensified efforts to win new export markets.

T

he business was established only three years ago as a partnership of two major companies, both leading players in their respective markets: BIDCO Africa – the largest and fastest-growing manufacturer of consumer products in East Africa, with its far-reaching sales and distribution network – and Danish CO-RO, a company with a century-long tradition, and one of the world’s leading providers of fruitbased soft drinks, selling innovative products to more than 80 countries.

The resulting company, BIDCORO Africa Ltd, was set up to develop and deliver products specifically to

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suit the needs of the East African consumer through the internationally recognised brand names of Suntop and Sunquick.

“We have brought together the best of two worlds - a leading European player focused on juice concentrates covering several continents, and a strong company with a footprint in many East African countries,” says CEO Mad Burmester.

The company established its Nairobi factory in 2017 with Suntop, the tasty and trusted fruit drink as the core product, and over the three years of its existence has increased staff numbers ten-fold to its current 300. Over 70% of revenues are generated in export markets including Qatar, Mauritius, Kuwait as well as Denmark, with West African countries slowly but steadily joining the list.

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Filling machinery, trusted by BIDCORO

ISO certified UK manufacturer Exceptional filling accuracy of +/- 0.15%

Suitable for liquid viscosities up to 500,000 cPs

Find out more about our full range of filling and capping machinery: www.Masterfil.com +44 (0)1444 472300 info@Masterfil.com

ADELPHI MASTERFIL BIDCORO & ADELPHI MASTERFIL; A VERY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP Since meeting Co-Ro A/S at Interpack in 2017, Adelphi Masterfil are proud to have supplied ‘System F-600’ filling lines to fill Sunquick fruit drink concentrate to two of their joint venture companies – including BIDCORO in Kenya.

Valuable production benefits of the System F-600 include superior ±0.15% filling accuracy and rise-while-fill nozzle movement; critical to avoid aerating the drink, which lengthens its shelf life and ensures that Sunquick always reaches customers in perfect condition.

Adelphi Masterfil’s unique piston head adaptations and enhanced cleaning function for the piston seals combine to manage the stickiness of Sunquick’s natural fruit sugars, and its high SG. Nozzle movements and filling speeds are electronically servo-controlled, meaning that a precise custom filling ‘recipe’ can be saved, to optimise the fill for each different Sunquick flavour.

Adelphi Masterfil enjoy working hand-in-glove with BIDCORO, and teams from both companies have visited each others’ sites, to ensure a smooth collaboration.

This collaboration also included Adelphi Masterfil integrating a complete turnkey line – including bottle washer, filler, capper and labeller – for BIDCORO, and undertaking detailed project management. The Mastercap Capping Machine (also manufactured

by Adelphi Masterfil) included additional custom features such as a nitrogen gas purge before capping and UV ‘cap in chute’ exposure, to guarantee a hygienic finish; vital in the food and beverage industry.

As well as the production benefits facilitated by Adelphi Masterfil’s machinery, the success of this special relationship can also be attributed to the core values which Adelphi Masterfil and BIDCORO share; both companies continually strive towards the highest standards in quality, sustainability and social responsibility. Adelphi Masterfil look forward to continuing to support BIDCORO’s manufacturing of their world-leading consumer products. www.masterfill.com

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BIDCORO’s Last Mile Initiative Tuk Tuks for ease of our products’ distribution in the market.

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BIDCORO AFRICA

NEW PRODUCTION LINE

The business was developing rapidly until 2020 when the new virus changed the game, says Mr Burmester. “Kenya has been significantly affected by Covid-19 with dire consequences for the company. Suntop, with its smooth texture, a high percentage in vitamin C, and the absence of preservatives, artificial colourings and artificial sweeteners is an ideal children’s drink, and the handy 125- and 250-ml packaging made it the preferred refreshment at schools. As the schools closed, we lost our key sales channel.”

In an unprecedented situation, BIDCORO demonstrated its resilience by swiftly changing its market focus. “On the one hand, we have boosted our export activities, and on the other speeded up the commissioning of a new line for a different type of drink, Sunquick juice concentrate, targeting adult home consumers, a drink in fact precisely matching the new situation when people were encouraged to stay at home.”

As a result of the Covid-19 travel restrictions, the new line worth US$2.5 million in investment was completed under strict safety measures using only the local workforce, an achievement the company is duly proud of.

Sunquick line launch.

“WE WANT TO WORK CLOSELY WITH POTENTIAL SUPPLIERS HERE IN KENYA AND EAST AFRICA TO SECURE THE THREE KEY INGREDIENTS OF A GROWING BUSINESS - STABLE SUPPLY, HIGH QUALITY AND COMPETITIVE PRICING.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

“The credit goes to our highly skilled and dedicated local staff, who made the impossible possible by showing dedication, a high level of professional skills and the willingness to go the extra mile,” says Mr Burmester, reflecting that commissioning a new line in the middle of a coronavirus crisis, when most businesses are reducing their costs, is remarkable, and a mark of confidence in the local market and its future development.

“We have received great support from all our international suppliers as well as the CoRo technical team in Denmark,” he adds.

“Under normal circumstances, we would have flown a lot of experts in to supervise the installation and commissioning but all that has been managed by means of webinars and online interactions. Perhaps Covid-19 has accelerated the change of the business environment and showed us how things will be done in the future.”

Inauguration of the new line in July was a special milestone for the BIDCORO Africa team, celebrated with an official opening ceremony attended

by Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development, the Hon. Betty C. Maina and the Danish Ambassador to Kenya, Mette Knudsen.

INGREDIENTS OF SUCCESS

With the new addition, BIDCORO’s 12,000 m2 facility houses three production lines and is ready for another potential extension, as the company looks into expanding into other categories and boosting exports.

Mr Burmester affirms that a focus on stable, reliable supplies of consistent quality is a must to succeed as an exporter. “The challenge of working with major brands like ours is that tradition and market expectations are a commitment. Stable high quality is crucial, and can never

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BIDCORO AFRICA

be compromised. We want to work closely with potential suppliers here in Kenya and East Africa to secure the three key ingredients of a growing business - stable supply, high quality and competitive pricing.”

He adds a fourth ingredient that is gaining increasing importance in global markets - sustainability. In line with the efforts to reduce the amount of plastic waste around the world, BIDCORO is going to change some of its plastic straws to paper ones as the first step towards a reduced environmental footprint.

“We are working towards finding alternatives that we can switch to while striving to make a positive change but the fact remains that a plastic bottle is still one of the best containers for food and drink. This is an area where we are working closely with the packaging industry to find innovative solutions.”

“THE LESSON THAT WE LEARNED FROM THE PANDEMIC - AND IT HAS NOT BEEN THE LAST ONE IS THAT FLEXIBILITY IS KEY.” EXPANDED OFFERING

Despite the Covid-19 setback, the business is set to grow, he affirms. “2020 has been a difficult year but our overall financial performance has not been affected dramatically, and we are set to hit our targets.”

“The lesson that we learned from the pandemic - and it has not been the last one - is that flexibility is key. The business will need to be flexible to stay competitive.

Another outcome that will last is the focus on staff safety, always and under all circumstances. I believe we have handled the situation very well and are proud to say that we have not laid off a single person during the crisis.”

Our Products SunTop and SunQuick.

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BIDCORO AFRICA

BIDCORO Staff Members during the President’s Visit to BIDCORO Industrial Park.

“THE PRODUCT IS ALREADY BIG IN EUROPE AND ASIA AND I’M SURE IT WILL BE A SUCCESS HERE ALSO.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

Mr Burmester, a Danish national with decades of experience in working with businesses in Asia and Africa, has no doubt about BIDCORO’s further progress. The company plans to launch another product in December to please the tastes of locals - Suntop ice lollies, made with real fruit juice with no preservatives, no artificial flavours and no artificial sweeteners. They can be

transported unfrozen and stored at room temperature, which means more cost-effective and more environmentally-friendly logistics.

“The product is already big in Europe and Asia and I’m sure it will be a success here also,” he says, adding that after a period of consolidation next year, BIDCORO Africa is set to embark on further business expansion.

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