BEST OF KENYA - Volume 3

Page 104

Keroche Breweries Limited Truly Kenyan maker in Kenya with an overall market share of about 20 per cent. The brewer recently rebranded one of its flagship brands, Summit Malt, in what was interpreted as a strategy to face-off with current market leaders, East African Breweries Limited. According to Tabitha Karanja, CEO, Keroche Breweries has thrived to wipe of the common perception that ‘a beer is just a beer.’ “We confer to international standards and we produce naturally brewed beer that does not reduce or cripple our labor force. We are all about a healthy, drinking and working nation.” Supported by a rapidly expanding middle-class that enables individuals with considerable amounts of disposable income to spend on alcohol, Kenya’s alcoholic beverage industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the years. The growth of various sectors of the country’s economy too, such as wholesale and retail and the service industry, which has been unrelenting in the promotion of local sporting and entertainment events, has led to an explosion in the numbers of social drinkers.

Core Values • • • • •

High quality standards Customer value Professionalism Respect and Equality

Quality Statement & Hygiene Policy •

environment due to our activities. Rationalize the use of Natural resources such as water and energy. Incorporate new environmental friendly 21st century state of art technologies in line of production.

The exponential growth of Keroche Breweries Industries Limited – from a

manufacturer that started out with making fortified wines meant for the lower end of the market to what it currently is, is one of resilience and determination. The brewer, whose constant transformation over the years and aggressive run has shaken the country’s beer market, currently stakes a claim as the second largest beer

And as a result, during the course of 2012, key international companies sought to penetrate the Kenyan market in order to tap into the growing alcoholic beverage industry market. Heineken, Diageo, Distell, SABMiller all either opened bases locally or rolled out new key brands. However, Keroche Breweries Limited – the most notable local producer around, is yet to fall prey to this ‘multinational encroachment.’

“The more we are, the better the competition,” says Mrs Karanja. Local brewers need to wake up and take risks, she advises, as it would be great to see other locals in such positions. In her position as arguably the only woman who runs a brewer in Africa, Ventures Africa Magazine rated Tabitha as the second woman to watch in 2013. A prediction that for the most part, rings true. Keroche Breweries plans to expand its production line to 10 folds next year with an eye to increase the production from 60,000 bottles per day to 600,000 bottles per day. With a current growth rate of 5 per cent, the brewer has a target of hitting and cementing the 20 per cent stake in market share. Mrs Karanja has also been rated among 13 other iconic women in Africa and the state accorded her an honorary award – Moran of the Burning Spear, for being able to break the monotony in Kenya’s alcohol industry. In a field conventionally dominated by powerful a powerful multinational - and men, she was able to break the hold after nearly 80 years to become the country’s first homegrown beer manufacturer. It was a difficult road, she says. She had been dealing in the fortified wines industry for ten years before a sudden hike in tax on wine products made her reconsider. And in 2008, in a ceremony officiated by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Keroche Breweries announced the launch of its first beers, the Summit Lager and Malt. It was a major step as it represented a

Ms Tabitha Karanja, MBS, Chief Executive Officer

massive shift in the government’s attitude towards Kenyan-owned manufacturing companies. For that, Karanja has continually praised the now defunct coalition government, which supported local initiatives like Keroche Breweries. Keroche Breweries Limited traces its beginning back in 1997 as a small family business, when a market survey by founders Mr & Mrs Karanja revealed a gap in the liquor market. The gap later turned out to be a ‘jealously guarded’ market by a multinational. According to the research, there had been a unique trend that for well over 80 years, the lower end of the market had been overlooked. And so, it was decided that this rather large market would be the target. And the rest, was history.

+254 050 50325 www.kerochebreweries.com

To ensure production of High Quality and Healthy alcoholic products based on customer preference in line with all set legal framework, enhancing consistence to guarantee compliance with prescribed safety standards To facilitate a hygienic atmosphere in food production for outmost safe products safe for human consumption

• Environmental Policy •

Minimize any detrimental impact to the

Best of Kenya

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Best of Kenya

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