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Tag: beer

  • Beer industry seeks drop of tax stamp plan

    Beer industry seeks drop of tax stamp plan

    The beer industry has requested the Federal Government to jettison the introduction of tax stamp because of its negative consequences for the economy.

    It announced support for the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN)’s call for the government to rescind the proposal to introduce tax stamps

    The industry called on the Federal Government to sustain existing home-grown digital systems that deliver full visibility of excise operations.

    Executive Director, Beer Sectoral Group of MAN, Abiola Laseinde said the tax stamps (digital identifiers also referred to as tack and trace systems) will be counterproductive.

    She warned that the system presents operational challenges and financial risks that could undermine the fragile recovery of the manufacturing industry and the Nigerian economy.

    She added in a statement that “the tax stamps system is largely inefficient, causing production slowdowns, distribution delays, product stock-outs, and high compliance costs.”

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    She explained that the industry is concerned that this proposal is coming at a time when operators are already “grappling with rising excise rates, foreign exchange volatility, and high inflation—making the additional burden of implementing tax stamps a serious threat to business sustainability”.

    “Tax stamps are often positioned as a solution to illicit trade, would have no benefit to beer as there is zero illicit in the sector. The brewing process is complex, the product is bulky, and resale value is low—making counterfeiting unprofitable. It is also pertinent to note that the beer industry already maintains strict compliance, with digital counters, on-site Customs officers, and auditable records in place.”

    The Federal Government has already invested in digital systems that deliver full visibility of excise operations. Most recently, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) successfully launched and piloted the B’Odogwu automated Excise Reporting System (ERS), a modern platform that digitizes excise administration. ERS replaces manual registers with an automated process that:

    – Tracks production volumes and excise computation in real time

    – Enhances compliance monitoring through full transparency

    – Creates an auditable digital trail that reduces leakages and inefficiency

    Giving alternatives to the government, the beer industry, Laseinde said: “Accordingly, we urge the government to consider the following actions in the national interest:

    .Rescind the proposed rollout of tax stamps to avert disruption to production, jobs, and revenues.

    .Consolidate and strengthen existing systems like Customs’ ERS and FIRS e-Invoicing, which are effective, transparent, and locally driven.

  • Abuja residents descend on beer from fallen truck

    Abuja residents descend on beer from fallen truck

    There was panic on Thursday around the popular Berger roundabout in Abuja when a truck loaded with beer was involved in an accident.

    Shortly after the accident, some residents around the area and passersby were seen drinking the beer that fell off the truck.

    The incident happened around 4 pm on Mabushi and Berger expressways.

    The truck veered off the road as the driver lost control.

    The incident also attracted the attention of some Abuja “Big Boys” with exotic cars and SUVs as they hurriedly pulled over and joined in the “wining”.

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    The scene was almost turned into a carnival as dispatch riders, Bolt and Uber drivers temporarily suspended their trips to partake in it.

    Many residents were seen going home with crates of beer while others brought buckets and filled them up.

    Some of them claimed the management has been ordered by the company  to allow people drink the contents to avoid waste.

    Some road safety officers were on standby to tow the truck away.

    No life was lost in the incident.

  • Beer, cigarettes prices to go up as excise duty hike kicks off

    The new excise duty for alcoholic beverages and tobacco approved by President Muhammadu Buhari takes effect from today.

    It will affect the price of beer, spirits and tobacco

    In March, Minister of Finance Mrs Kemi Adeosun, said the president granted a grace period of 90 days to manufacturers of the products.

    The new excise duty rates will spread over three years between now and 2020 so as to moderate the impact on prices of the products.

    The minister said the upward review of the excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco would raise the government’s revenue as well as reduce the health hazards associated with tobacco-related diseases and alcohol abuse.

    Adeosun said the new duty rate on tobacco is a combination of the existing ad-valorem base rate and specific rate while the ad-valorem rate was replaced with a specific rate for alcoholic beverages.

    Under the new rates for tobacco, in addition to the 20 per cent ad-valorem rate, each stick of cigarette will attract one naira specific rate per stick; that is N20 per pack of 20 sticks in 2018.

    In 2019, tobacco will attract two naira specific rate per stick or N40 per pack of 20 sticks and by 2020, tobacco will begin to attract N2.90 kobo specific rate per stick or N58 per pack of 20 sticks.

    The cumulative specific excise duty rate for tobacco is 23.2 per cent of the price of the most sold brand.

    In Algeria, the excise duty rate is 38.14 per cent it is 36.52 per cent in South Africa and 30 per cent in The Gambia.

    Mrs Adeosun said the new specific excise duty rate for alcoholic beverages cut across beer and stout, wines and spirits for the three years 2018 to 2020.

    Under the new regime, beer and stout will attract 0.30k per centilitre (Cl) in 2018 and 0.35k per Cl each in 2019 and 2020.

    Wines will attract N1.25k per Cl in 2018 and N1.50k per Cl each in 2019 and 2020, while N1.50k per Cl was approved for spirits in 2018, N1.75k per Cl in 2019 and N2 per Cl in 2020.

    Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC) Babatunde Irukera described the decision as consistent with prevailing global practices.

    He said he was convinced government’s approach would foster consumer confidence, provide regulatory clarity and prioritise safety, to reinforce the mandate of the council.

    Deputy Executive Director, Environmental Rights Action of Earth Nigeria Akinbode Oluwafemi, described the decision to increase excise duty on tobacco as praise-worthy.

    “We applaud the federal government for making tobacco products priced beyond the reach of our kids and the poor who are unfortunately targeted by the tobacco industry through their cheap but lethal products.

    “Considering the looming tobacco menace in Nigeria, it is necessary to take stringent measures to halt the deliberate marketing of tobacco products to kids,” Oluwafemi said.

    But Manufacturers Association of Nigeria President Dr Frank Jacobs, expressed fear that the proposed hike might lead to closure of factories and loss of jobs.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the ECOWAS Council of Ministers at its 62nd and 79th Ordinary Sessions in Abuja in May 2009 and December 2017 issued directives on the harmonisation of the ECOWAS Member States’ Legislations on Excise Duties.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its 2017 mission report advised Nigeria to raise the excise duty on a stick cigarette to N5, which is five times the approved amount.

    “The low tax level prevails even though Nigeria is the highest alcohol drinking country in Africa and leads the top 10 largest beer drinking countries,” the Fund said.

    The new rates also fall short of the more aggressive recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Article 6 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which suggests 70 per cent excise on tobacco products.

  • First Nigeria beer festival begins Sept 25

    All is set for the  maiden edition of the Nigeria Beer Festival from September 25 to October 1.

    The event will see Nigeria enrol in the league of hosts of Beer Festivals around the world, and boost the country’s tourism opportunities.

    The week-long event, which will be crowned with an Independence Day mega concert, draws from the success of the world-acclaimed Oktoberfest (Beer Festival) in Munich.

    Oktoberfest attracts more than 50,000 tourists to Germany every year, while other countries in Europe and the Americas have caught the bug.

    At a briefing on the festival in Lagos, General Manager of On and One Events Limited, organisers of the event, Mr. Akinola Oluwaleimu, said the festival would be held at the Lagos Atlantic City, to give it a carnival atmosphere from Day 1 to the very last second.

    He noted that the festival would promote responsible drinking among drinking-age consumers (which is 18 years and above). “It will be a gathering of the largest community of beer consumers from across the country and beyond,” Oluwaleimu said.

    He assured that the festival will be a carnival week of entertainment, sales and marketing, with economic value for the brands and the economy at large.

    Oluwaleimu added that it will provide a fitting ambience to showcase fashion and lifestyle, as well as culture in a carnival atmosphere with various beer brands and other alcoholic drinks in Nigeria, connecting with their existing and potential consumers.

    He also assured that the organisers have partnered reputable and qualified architects from Europe to design modular stands to fit into any shape or style desired by exhibitors.

    Also, Deputy Director, Creative Arts, Mr. Babatunde Annan, explained that Lagos State was collaborating with beer brewers in the country and their counterparts across the globe to stimulate the state’s economic and tourism potential.

    Annan, who represented the Permanent  Secretary,  Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Ashimi Adewale, said there would be maximum excitement during the week-long fiesta that will climax with the Independence Day Mega Concert to commemorate Nigeria’s independence.

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is expected to close the festival during the Independence Day Mega Concert that will parade an array of A-list Nigerian artistes, and feature eye-popping fireworks display.

  • Lagos to host first Nigeria Beer Festival

    To stimulate its economic and tourism potentials, the Lagos State government is set to host the maiden edition of the “Nigeria Beer Festival” from September 25 to October 1, 2017.

    The Lagos State government is collaborating with beer brewers in the country and their counterparts across the globe to create maximum excitement during the week-long fiesta that will climax with the Independence Day Mega Concert to commemorate Nigeria’s independence.

    The   festival, which will promote responsible drinking among drinking-age (which is 18 years and above) consumers at all its touch points, will be held at the Lagos Atlantic City to give it a carnival atmosphere from day one to the very last second. It will be a gathering of the largest community of beer consumers from across the country and beyond.

    The organisers of the Nigeria Beer Festival, On and One Event (001) Limited, said that the Lagos State government, which is passionate about tourism, will provide massive institutional support, particularly security, transport and related logistics.

    The event, according to the organisers, will see Nigeria enrol into the league of Beer Festivals around the world, and boost the country’s tourism opportunities.

    Akinola Oluwaleimu, General Manager of 001, revealed that the world-acclaimed Oktoberfest (Beer Festival) in Munich attracts more than 50,000 tourists to Germany every year, while other countries in Europe and the Americas have caught the bug.

    “Nigeria Beer Festival will be a carnival week of entertainment, sales and marketing and a gathering of the largest community of beer consumers from across the country and beyond with economic value for the brands and the economy at large,” Oluwaleimu assured.

    The Nigeria Beer Festival will provide a fitting ambience to showcase fashion and lifestyle, as well as culture in a carnival atmosphere with various beer brands and other alcoholic drinks in Nigeria connecting with their existing and potential consumers.

    This culture touch point is in line with the view of social scientists that that beer is among the symbolic vehicles for identifying, describing, constructing and manipulating cultural values and interpersonal relationships. They classify different alcoholic beverages in terms of their social and cultural meanings.

    Historians submit that Beer has always been popular – since times of ancient Babylon and Greece, Mesopotamia and Egypt and is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the fifth millennium BC.

    Anthropologists and archaeologists also believe that it was a taste for beer, not bread that started the cultivation of barley in around 9000BC, known as the agricultural revolution. Beer didn’t just change the world; historians insist it saved it!

    Meanwhile, partners of the forthcoming Nigeria Beer Festival are also assured of world-standard facilities as the organisers of the Nigeria Beer Festival have partnered with reputable and qualified architects from Europe to design modular stands to fit into any shape or style desired by exhibitors.

    Oluwaleimu said that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is expected to close the festival during the Independence Day Mega Concert that will parade an array of A-list Nigerian artistes, which will feature eye-popping fireworks display.

  • Report: Nigeria leads in beer consumption

    Report: Nigeria leads in beer consumption

    Africa is by far the fastest growing region for beer consumption, market research group Global Data (formerly Canadean) has said.

    The group said it found over five per cent annual growth of beer consumption in Africa, compared with three per cent for Asia and less than one per cent for Western Europe.

    “There is untapped potential,” Global Data Analyst Andrew Curran said, noting that although, Ivory Coast is outside the top 10 beer consuming countries in Africa, it is showing more or less matching growth rates to the top 10.

    With 12.28 liters per year, Nigeria leads the top 10 biggest beer drinking countries in Africa, by virtue of her population, which technically results in higher volume and liters consumed per year.

    Beer makes up just 16 per cent of alcohol consumption in Nigeria, while other drinks make up 84 per cent due to the high popularity of home-brewed beverages.

    Nigeria is being followed on the top 10 beer consuming countries in Africa by Uganda, which consumes 11.93 litres per year; Botswana is third, with 7.96 litres per year, leaving Kenya in the fourth position, with 9.72 litres per year.

    While Namibia and Burundi consume 9.62 litres per year and 9.47 litres per year, respectively, South Africa and Gabon consume 9.46 litres per year and 9.32 litres per year, respectively.

    Rwanda consumes 9.10 litres of beer per year, while Tanzania consumes 7.7 litres of beer per year.

    However, Global Data’s research identified Ivory Coast as one of the continent’s most dynamic economies, with annual growth of over eight per cent, and her beer market is also expected to expand.

    “The Ivory Coast is outside the top 10 beer consuming countries in Africa, but it is showing more or less matching growth rates to the top 10,” the report said, adding that Ivory Coast has also gained importance since the recent merger between rivals SAB Miller and InBev.

    According to Curran, SAB Miller and InBev have consolidated their dominance in South Africa and forced Heineken to focus on the francophone West.

    He believes that success in the Ivory Coast could lead to further gains in the region, such as in Burkina Faso and Benin,

    Global Data’s report of Ivory Coast’s push to the top 10 biggest beer drinking countries in Africa came on the heels of Dutch multinational Heineken’s investment of $160 million in the West African country’s beer market.

    Heineken recently launched a new brewery named Brassivoire in association with distribution specialists CFAO on the outskirts of the Ivorian economic capital Abidjan.

    The $160 million state-of-the-art facility has capacity to produce 160 million liters of beer a year. The brewery will produce Heineken Ivoire beer, the result of extensive research into local tastes.

    Brassivoire has around 200 highly-skilled local employees, who have received over 3000 hours of training between them, according to General Manager Alexander Koch.

    The Dutch beer giant Heineken, which is the world’s second largest brewer, is targeting the Ivory Coast, and has said that its Ivoire brand has been well received and intends to scale up production.

    The vast majority of beer consumers in Ivory Coast are provided by French company Castel Groupe, which owns popular brands including Solibra, Flag and Castel. Castel Groupe previously held near monopoly on Ivorian beer market.

    However, with the inauguration of a new $160 million state-of-the-art plant, Heineken has made an ambitious play for the fast-growing Ivorian beer market.

    “It (Ivory Coast) has a young population, a high rate of urbanization – almost 50 per cent already – a dynamic economy and there is only one player so far,” says Heineken CEO Jean-Francois Van Boxmeer.

    What this means is that the battle for the soul of Ivory Coast’s beer market may have commenced. Already, Heineken believes its new Ivoire beer can eat into Castel’s market share, with its relatively low price and a product designed for local consumers.

    “We researched for years,” Koch said, adding, “We developed the bottle, the name, the color code, even the recipe together with the Ivorian consumer.”

    He said the new beer has performed well so far, and production will soon increase. “The Ivoire brand has had an incredibly good reception from the Ivorian consumer,” Koch stated, adding, “We are currently running at full capacity and will bring forward some of our investments to meet demand.”

  • Sustaining market growth with beer festival

    Sustaining market growth with beer festival

    In terms of sales, the beer market is one of the biggest in the world. With plans to sustain the growth, despite market volatility, the industry is set to witness the first global beer festival next year, which could impact on other sectors of the economy, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

    Next year, it will be about beer marketing. In a market still inundated by volatility, brewers have been able to get out of recession by recording positive growth like the telecoms sector, which is insulated from the hues and cries of the economic crisis.

    However, to retain the trend and act as a buffer to the economic downturn, the industry is set to witness Africa’s biggest beer festival, where brewers will forget about competition, demarketing, and that make them stiff competitors and collaborate to make a success of the event.

    Setting the greviances behind them is necessary, especially when no one knows what next year holds in stock. For some, the outgoing year was bad -little ads, low sales and the difficulty to match competing brands as a result of macro and micro-economic harsh realities.

    According to a report by United States (US) marketing intelligence, A Medium, consumption pattern of beer consumers changed during the year with many switching to affordable alternatives, leaving premium brands in the lurch.

    While the gainers of the new trend are the low-value beer brands, the premium brands bled from the economic squeeze. The major factors that drove the change in beer consumption are rising cost of living and consumers’ decrease in purchasing power  driven by the economic recession which  had an industry-wide impact on the beer market.

    The latest financial results from the two major brewers in the country indicated a general lull in the brewery industry. Guinness Nigeria Q3 2015/2016 financial results showed a 33 per cent decline in Profit Before Tax (PBT) from N29.5 billion in the previous period to N19.8 billion. Similarly, Nigerian Breweries Q2 2016 result showed a 36 per cent decline in its profit before tax (PBT) to N10.5 billion, an indication that the company would miss its N56.8 billion PBT forecast for 2016.

    With a tight budget and limited logistics, the smaller brewers were forced to play at regional markets to survive. For instance, Old Consolidated and International Breweries, played in the Southwest and Champion Breweries in the Southsouth, before they were acquired by the industry’s big boys.

    However, the entrance of the South African brewer, Sabmiller in 2012 with its value-for-money beer offerings; Hero Lager and Castle Milk Stout, changed the topography of the market and upstaged the competition.

    While NB responded to the Sabmiller challenge and in so doing repositioned to maintain its leading position in the lager beer market with the acquisition of small-time brewers, Guinness has been slow in reacting to the change, a development market watchers blamed for its declining fortunes in recent years. Bar and hotel owners confirmed the lull in sales of premium beers.

    As a result, there are concerted plans by some key players in the industry to align the market with global trend. One way to get out of the recession, which is likely to continue next year, is a plan to stage Nigeria’s first beer festival in Lagos.

    Despite that the beer market is the biggest in Africa, it shocked global players that it has not held any global beer festival. Investigation has shown that Beer Festivals around the world have grown to become major tourism events, with countries, such as Germany attracting well over 50,000 tourists to its yearly “oktoberfest” beer festival. Other  countries are Czech Republic, Canada, Durham, Columbia, Britain and Belgium, among others.

    “The Nigeria Beer Festival will be a week-long carnival-like funfair, combining entertainment, sales and marketing, with the idea to gather the largest community of beer consumers from across the country and beyond, resulting in economic value for the brands and the economy.

    “Each of the participating brands has the opportunity to own particular days during the week to entertain the teeming visitors at the festival.Various beer brands will be available for tasting and purchasing in a carnival-like atmosphere,” one of the organisers who pleaded anonymity told The Nation.

    While the aim of the festival is to build brand engagement for beer brands, it is also expected to boost other sectors, such as entertainment, food, tourism and the fashion industry.

    An industry analyst, Dr. Ken Olakunle, who manages BrandSpeak Africa, the festival is projected to pump over N100 billion within a week into the economy as other global brands not present in market, are also expected to use the festival as a window for entry into the  market.

    During the festival, a select top artistes will perform daily. Fashion show, music concerts, fireworks’display, carnival, lifestyle, barbeque, asun, and beer will beautify the atmosphere at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, the proposed venue. Notably, the festival will serve as an umbrella for other sectors to display their products and services which will attract business networking.

    To achieve first-class standards, the festival organisers with reputable and qualified architects in Poland and Spain, have designed a modula stand to fit into any shape or style desired by exhibitors.

    But why a beer festival? The organisers said Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, a growing middle class and a large number of  consumers continue to emerge. Again, Nigeria is the second largest alcohol market in Africa, with an expected total of 15.2m hectolitres per year.

    “So, drinking alcohol is a social activity in Nigeria, as 80 per cent of the country’s alcohol sales are on-trade. Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in the country, making up the larger percentage of all alcohol sales. Therefore, this event will be an organised platform to showcase and market the various beer brands and other alcoholic drinks in Nigeria with reference to business, lifestyle, culture, tradition and social economic benefits in a carnival-like atmosphere. The organisers also make bold to say that this festival is for adults who are advised to drink reasonably, saying further that beer festival will not admit persons below 18 years,” said Olakunle.

    A Lagos-based Public Relations (PR) Consultant, Mrs. Hastrup Cole-Denrinmade, said a festival has fast grown to become major tourism event across the globe with countries, such as Germany attracting well over 50,000 tourists, adding its being hosted in Lagos means that over 50,000 tourists are expected to come to Nigeria to boost the economy yearning for growth.

    “To my knowledge, the beer festival will partner the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism to drive this noble idea. It will hold in Lagos, the headquarters of all the major beer brands, and touted as the entertainment hub of Nigeria and by extention, Africa,” she said.

    Meanwhile, a new report by Canadean Market Report, expects more Africans to enter the beer market from the home brew sector, while commercial beer and premium brands forge ahead in the exploding African beer market.

    According to the report, the African beer market is the fastest growing global beer market with a yearly average growth rate of five percent between 2013 and next year. This means the African beer market growth will beat that of Asia and Latin America, projected to witness a growth rate of four percent and three percent. South Africa is the biggest market in Africa, with an expected total volume of 30,921th hectolitre (hl) in 2014, followed by Nigeria with 15,200th hl and Angola with 12,790th hl.

    Account Director, Canadean Market Report, Kevin Baker, said: “Africa has seen inflation fall, foreign debt shrink and GDP rise in the last few years. Moreover, population growth – once feared as a major contributor to poverty – is now perceived as an asset, with the working age population set to outgrow that of China and India.”

     

    Beer Growth Rates

    Canadean survey found that more African consumers will change their home brewed drinks for commercially brewed ones over the coming years.

    “At the moment, homemade alcohol products still dominate theAfrican market, but they pose a significant health risk. This is an incentive for consumers to move away from ‘home brews’and instead turn to commercial beer,” says Baker.

     

    Protecting under-age from the beer festival

    According to Cole-Denrinmade, the festival will not allow an under-age. “In fact, there are mechanisms that will be used to check this and the event will also be used to preach responsible drinking among adults,” she said.

     

    How beer can contribute to economy

    The beer industry is a large segment of the food and beverages sub-sector. It constitutes the non-oil sector where Nigeria is leveraging on to drive her economic diversification programme.

    Having evolved from bottling to a diversified industry involved in the production of canned drinks and the use of tetra pack, the sector accounted for 35.9 per cent of the growth in the industrial sector, which grew in 2014 by 6.41 per cent as against 0.87 per cent in 2013.

    NB PLC has the largest coverage, with about eight breweries located across the country and estimated yearly capacity of 13.5 million hectoliters (mn hl).

    Guinness operates four breweries with a total yearly capacity of 7.5mn hl by 2014. SABM has built up its capacity (by acquisition) to about 1.8mn hl, which includes Pabod Breweries in Port Harcourt, International Breweries in Ilesa and Onitsha.

    Experts say the beer sector is very well positioned to galvanise the economy through industrialisation. Brewery companies, whose principal activities include the production, packaging and sales of alcoholic and malt beverages, employ close to one million people.

    They also have about 50,000 distribution outlets in the country made up of wholesalers, hotels and clubs. For instance, NBs’operations alone support indirectly 586,000 jobs, which represent 0.64 per cent of the total work force, of which 54,000 are within its Sorghum Value Chain.

    The company’s operations also have a value added impact of N243 billion on the economy, which represents 0.65 per cent of the nation’s GDP. The beer industry is also a significant driver of tax revenues. In 2011 alone, N87 billion was paid as taxes by NB. This represented 4.02 per cent of the country’s non-oil revenue.

     

  • What’s in a beer?

    All I see around me are beer drinkers who wobble around on their feet carrying evidences of robust health in their large bellies. These, I understand, are called beer bellies. Now, I tell myself, these bellies must be bursting from pure health

    This week, reader, we are going to take our minds off our many national and international problems. I definitely do not want to remind you about the odour oozing from the lower house of the national assembly regarding allegations of budget padding. No, I don’t think you need any reminder either of how the dollar is climbing steadily on the ladder of success in Nigeria while the Naira is crashing, just as, of course, is the worth of my salary. These days, I find that earning more does not necessarily translate to more wealth for me.

    This week, I say, we going for something much more exhilarating. We are pushing aside everything related to politics and economy because, man, this is one depressing family! We are going to talk about beer, today being beer day and all! So please, I beg you, don’t change the page. Just sit tight and read on. Let us both agree to be pleasantly distracted this week.

    Let me start by making it very clear and loud that I do not drink beer and I am not necessarily proud of this fact. Like someone said, I am a hypocrite, but I am not proud of it. In other words, I envy those who drink it, socially of course. Certainly, I am not talking about those who make beer their lives. To such a one, I have only one piece of advice: Get yourself a life!

    So, here, I am addressing those who have lives but take THE BEER just to keep their social images and their friends. To start with, I had no idea that up to a staggering three (3) billion bottles of beer are drunk on these Nigerian shores every year. Imagine, such a large party has been going on behind my back and I had no knowledge of it! Come on, people, you think that is fair?! I am not invited to that party; and I have been left to pick up the bottles in this YEAR OF THE BEER!

     Let’s see how. That number, I am told, amounts to N600b of sales for the beer manufacturing companies. And those companies did not even stretch out a bottle to me and did they even think to share the profits with me. The question that the writer of that text message asked himself was who drank it, considering this is a nation of religionists. But that is not my problem. I have no cares about who drank or who did not drink what. My own questions are two: under what rock was I living when all these cheers were being distributed; and what does the average social drinker see in beer? In short, what’s in a beer?

         The reason I do not drink beer is simple. I cannot abide the smell. However, from the figures quoted, I can certainly believe that the smell is not many people’s problem. Either that or their gazes are too trained on the cheer coming out of the cup for them to mind the smell. Whichever one it is, one thing is clear. This is officially a nation of beer drinkers, churches or mosques notwithstanding.

    I giggle when I hear many people say that they do not take alcohol. They cannot stand alcohol. They are too pure to even smell alcohol. But, I assure you that is not my own problem. I think purity abandoned me a long time ago. That’s how I got the laughter to share with you, dear reader. Like someone said of a priest, he’s redeemed by his vices. Anyway, to those who say they do not take alcohol, I say welcome to the fold of The Purists. They can generally be found on the balcony of Life, looking down on the rest of us, for they do not take so much as cough mixtures.

    Anyway, I will not try to answer that million dollar question about who dunnit posed by the writer of the text I referred to earlier. You can never know who drinks N600b worth of beer each year, mostly because you cannot see anyone do it. Many of the drinkers wait for the cover of dusk to do it. You see, they need all the peace and quiet for it.

    My own second question is easily disposed of. I have been living in that seventies rock. It’s a place where you hear, see and know nothing else because the national corruption and economy have blocked your senses until you know nothing else. Now, let’s go to my first question.

           As I was writing this, reader, an unbelievable message came in that listed all the things husbands have to do and be in order to keep their wives happy. The list includes more than sixty items. To make a man happy, on the other hand, there was a list of only three items: his TV, his phone and his beer. Hmmn!

           This reminds me of the story of a man who was brought before a judge for being drunk. Oh, I’ve told you before? Good, you’ll hear it again. Well, asked the judge, why were you drunk? The man replied that he had been contracted by a woman to build a new henhouse from the materials of an old one but not to tear down the old one until he had finished the new. After listening to this, the judge was said to have dismissed the charges in sympathy. From that I got the idea that beer is supposed to contain some kind of stupid intelligence. I don’t think though that the man built the new henhouse. Now, I wonder why.

    I really don’t know what it is in beer that makes it attract so many devotees to itself. I tell you, it’s almost another religion. Listen, some preacher somewhere announced that his chair had been taken away by someone. He then pleaded that they should please return it to him. That chair, said he, is what he sits on at the end of the day when he wants to take his beer. This was to impress upon his listeners what the chair meant to him.

    I read in a report sometime back that beer is supposed to have some properties that prolong life. Seriously!; I thought that study had been contracted by someone deep in his cups. All I see around me are beer drinkers who waddle around on their feet carrying evidences of robust health in their rotund bellies. These, I understand, are called beer bellies. Now, I tell myself, these bellies must be bursting from pure health.

    I have often looked with a kind of longing envy at men tired out from the day’s struggles, all sweaty and gloomy, faces longer than the rainbow drawn from one end of the sky to another. However, when the said faces light on a chilled can of beer even more sweaty than they are, they get transformed to one beatific look that resembles the type many of us have reserved for the second coming. I believe I hear their hearts racing and see the mouths drooling as the swoosh of can opening brings out the foamy substance. I am thinking: only in beer is there such worship of stupidity; such unholy communion!

    So, I guess we’ll never know what’s in a beer, but I know it’s something the men, and a few women too, have pulled to their corner, leaving the rest of us wondering. Might it just contain a tad of intelligence, cheer, stupidity, escape, or the touching of tomorrow’s hope? I guess we’ll never know. There’s too much swoosh going on around us, 3b. Now, let’s go face that dollar exchange problem again.

  • Breaking beer marketing barriers

    Breaking beer marketing barriers

    To retain a positive outlook despite the recession that has continued to hit most sectors of the economy since the Q1 of last year, the beer industry is striving to break all marketing barriers premised on social and cultural nuances, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

    For three years, the beer sectoral group of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has continued to sustain a campaign against some marketing barriers to beer consumption through a summit.

    The purpose of the campaign, according to the Managing Director of the Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, “has been to highlight and share contemporary knowledge on the wonderful product called beer” and break social-cultural, religious, gender barrier against consumption of beer.

    At this year’s Beer Summit, the third edition held at the Eko Hotel, Lagos, recently, there were still concerns on the abuse of beer despite the growth the brands have continued to enjoy against the backdrop of the seeming economic recession that has hit other Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs).

    For industry analysts, the beer sector is one of the healthiest under the FMCGs segment.

    According to the Managing Director of The Nielson Company West Africa, a global research firm, Mr Lampe Omoyele, beer is among few exceptions that recorded growth in consumption in 2015, with +6.1 percent value growth in the year despite economic downturn. However, 2016, described as year of ‘Perfect Storm’ by Omoyele, was not favourable to all the sectors, yet the alcoholic beverage and telcos sectors remain the least affected  with decline status standing at -8.9 and -6.2 per cent.

    With these, the leading beer maker, Nigerian Breweries, is leaving no stone unturned with its beer summit to preach responsible drinking, correct myths and wrong perception about beer consumption.

    However, Nigerian Breweries has been leading the onslaught against some of the underlying barriers against marketing, using influencers and professionals from academics, food and nutrition science, social and media circuit to underscore the role of beer in sustaining socio-cultural cohesion of people across ages.

    According to one of Nigeria’s first indigenous advertising practitioners and veteran copy writer, Mr. Ted Mukoro, like all enjoyable and exciting things made by nature– alcohol, sex, sports, dancing – beer can be irresponsibly abused or over-used. “Nothing enjoyable is bad until put to the wrong use,” he said. On that note, he maintained that beer is certainly the least alcoholic of all alcoholic drinks, and also the healthiest and most nutritious.

    A Professor of Applied Microbiology and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Bartholomew Okolo, in his paper on the Social and Cultural Roles of Beer in Society, explained that in all societies, beer plays an important role not only in major life-cycle events, such as birth and death, but also in minor everyday transitions. According to him, in studies conducted in various parts of the world, beer drinking venues have been identified as the most important venues for promoting interactions and friendships between people from diverse backgrounds.

    “The Nigerian beer parlour is an example of such an institution where you could find a lawyer having a beer next to a plumber, or a doctor having a beer next to a tailor. You could also find a professor having a beer next to a banker. In such circumstances, people can offer all sorts of support and even professional advice at no cost. It is possible to explore such settings for other benefits including security and commerce, for example in the creation of cooperatives societies,” he said.

    Okolo added that alcoholic drinks are a symbolic vehicle for identifying, describing, constructing and manipulating cultural values and interpersonal relationships. In all cultures, he remarked, different alcoholic beverages are classified in terms of their social meaning. Every drink therefore connotes a symbolic meaning and conveys a message.

    Also, former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, who chaired the occasion, noted that research shows that beer contains xanthohumol that inhibit cancer-causing enzymes. “I  have always wondered about the French. You see their diet consist of rich, highly fatty foods, wine and those cigarettes. Yet, their rate of heart disease is significantly less than the rest of the world. This has been credited to red wine and the antioxidants it contains, which helps prevent heart attacks. Interestingly, beer has just as many antioxidants as red wine,” he said.

    Duke also added that beer is a lot safer than the local bottled water. “If you find yourself at someplace where you are advised not to drink the local water, the local beer is always a safer bet. It is a lot safer than the local bottled water. So just follow the rules of beer drinking and you will be fine,” he advised.

    According to him, beer is not just a social lubricant, but a cultural spice that brings the right taste out of all celebrations.

    On the other hand, there is still concern on consumption of beer among women demography, a TV Presenter, Miss Stephanie Coker said, “As a young woman, I’m very conscious of my stomach and waste size. Many women do share this concern and consciousness. I found it so intriguing that a group of Nigerian women, ranging from 22 to 55 in age could have discussions about fashion, travel and entertainment over a bottle of beer but still very shy about their association with beer because of unproven negative attributes and age long myth that it is not cool for ladies to be seen enjoying beer. Maybe this is a Nigerian thing because it is not the case with those who invented protocol in Britain and other civilised climes.”

    However, she explained the healthy side of beer and the ingredients: “What is beer made of? Beer is made up Hops, Barley, yeast and water. Of all the four major ingredients, water constitutes over 90 per cent. Although I just enjoy my cold beer because of the smoothness of Heineken for instance, I have recently found out that Beer does have a lot of health benefits. Thankfully, benefits inherent in beer I have been educated, can only be enjoyed when we consumed moderately. My excitement therefore is that I usually take three cans or two of the medium bottles a day. It therefore means that I have been benefiting from the nutritional values of beer and I think I am doing great health wise.”

     

    Competitive landscape

    According to Euro monitor report, Nigerian Breweries Plc maintained its dominant position in beer in Nigeria in 2015 with a 65 per cent total volume share. This very strong position was attributed to the company’s ownership of the country’s four leading beer brands, Star, Gulder, Goldberg and 33 Export, all of which are local brands that have managed to establish strong brand loyalty. According the report, 33 Export was added to its portfolio in 2014 when the company acquired Consolidated Breweries Plc, which was also owned by its parent company, Heineken NV, enabling it to further increase its volume share. The company also holds a good spread of other strong brands, notably, Maltina, Heineken, and Fayrouz.

  • Donald Duke, others storm beer symposium

    Donald Duke, others storm beer symposium

    The Chairman of the 3rd Nigerian Beer Symposium, and former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, has said that beer plays a significant role in the sustenance of good health and cultural cohesion.

    Duke who made the assertion at the event which held in Lagos last Thursday noted that not only is beer low in carbohydrates, it is as all-natural as orange juice and milk.

    “Beer has no need for preservatives because of the alcohol and hops, both of which are natural preservatives. The only processing beer undergoes is the same as with bread-it is cooked and fermented, filtered and packaged,” he said.

    The former governor maintained that it is most astounding that beer has no fat or cholesterol and when taken in moderation, beer can tilt high- density lipoprotein levels (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol rations in the right direction. “HDL are the good cholesterols that protect your veins while LDL is the bad kind that builds up in your veins. Beer actually flushes the system and can boost the HDL by up to 4 percent with just a single beer a day,” the former governor remarked.

    Duke also added that beer is a lot safer than the local bottled water.  “If you find yourself someplace where you are advised not to drink the local water, the local beer is always a safer bet. It is a lot safer than the local bottled water. So just follow the rules of beer drinking and you will be fine,” he advised.

    Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. NicolaasVervelde also stressed that the objective of the Nigerian Beer Symposium has been to highlight and share contemporary knowledge on the wonderful product called beer. Despite the very strong ties between beer and culture, Vervelde emphasized that the wrong use or abuse of beer can indeed have undesirable consequences.