Lager beer production seen up 11%

DELTA Beverages says its lager beer portfolio is performing ahead of prior year, with a target to produce more than two million hectolitres this year, up 11% compared to prior year.

Last year, the company produced about 1,8 million hectolitres of the brew.

"Currently, we are performing ahead of prior year. We are hoping to exceed two million hectolitres of lager beers this year. You would have seen last year we crossed the 1,8 million hectolitre mark, so we are tracking well towards that target," Delta Beverages marketing manager (lager), Kundayi Mawema said in an interview during a tour of Delta Lagers plant in Harare.

Mawema said the Sable brand was growing and performing ahead of projections.

"Our brand and our pack in the market is very healthy. You will see a good representation of all our brands. You will also see the addition of a new brand, Sable Lager into the portfolio. This was launched in April so it's a new brand. So, additions like that to our portfolio will actually grow the total larger category," she said.

Sable Lager was an addition to already well-known lager brands   that include Castle, Black Label and Zambezi.

"So, the more we increase and expand our brand portfolio as well as our pack portfolio, we will then be able to meet our targets," Mawema said.

Delta, she said, will continue investing in glass to ensure consistent availability of the bottles to the customers.

She said the beverages manufacturer rebranded its beer tanks for some of its leading beer brands just to reinforce the message that its brands were still going strong.

"We are just growing as a business and we continue to invest into our brands. This is just to reinforce that we remain committed to building brilliant brands, not just for our customers but for our traders. We are here to stay and we will continue to invest in the business and we continue to grow and do new exciting things for the public," Mawema pointed out.

According to the trading update for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, the lager beer volumes grew by 19% compared to prior year.

The volume recovery was underpinned by improved supply of brands and packs which has benefited from the injection of returnable glass.

The group's revenue grew by 55% for the quarter in inflation adjusted terms compared to a  growth of 283% in historical cost terms. This reflected the volume growth and the replacement cost-based pricing.

The sorghum beer volumes in Zimbabwe grew by 14% for the quarter compared to prior year, driven by the Chibuku Super product, while the sparkling beverages volume grew by 32% and continues to recover market share.

For associates, volumes at African Distillers Limited (Afdis) grew by 18% for the quarter while Schweppes recorded a volume growth of 9% for the quarter, which was constrained by a shortage of fruit juices for the flagship Mazoe Orange Crush.