Zimbabwe: Innscor Africa Holdings to invest in beer manufacturing plant under its Buffalo Brewing brand

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Innscor Africa Holdings is spending US$56 million for the coming year on new projects which include a beer manufacturing plant under its Buffalo Brewing Company (Buffalo), the Pindula News reported on November 12.

This comes after Innscor spent US$70 million on new investments last year, according to newZWire.

More funds are expected to be injected into the alcohol unit in the near future, NewsDay reported quoting Buffalo managing director Richard Mann.

The development is set to challenge Delta Beverages’ decades-long monopoly in the beverage sector on the Zimbabwean market.

Richard Mann told NewsDay that they were planning to break into the sorghum beer market with the Nyathi sorghum beer brand. Mann said:

“We are not yet in the market, but we expect to have our product in the market in December. The alcohol category is very broad. Sorghum and clear beer is common in the southern African region. Clear beer is not a segment of the category. There are some great clear beer brands out there that we would need to compete with.”

Innscor has been in the beverages game since 2013 when its Probottlers was launched with the Bally House Crush and cordial range.

A carbonated soft drink range was introduced under the Fizzi brand and more recently, the premium offering of mixers, the St Clairs range; including Indian Tonic and Soda water. Ginger Ale and Lemonade were added to the product range.

Mann said the company had invested in a plant that had the ability to supply a large portion of the Zimbabwean market in its first phase, and would employ 120 people at production capacity.

Mann said Nyathi was the brand name for the traditional beer made from maize, sorghum malt, water and yeast.

12 November, 2022