Officially, Coca-Cola Beverages Limited (CCBL), has acquired popular soft drink brand, Castel Malawi, translating to a takeover of the production and marketing of soft drinks in Malawi.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Group commenced operations in Malawi, manufacturing soft drinks such as Sobo Squash, Coca-cola and Fanta which used to be locally made by Castel Malawi.
The official announcement of the acquisition of Southern Bottlers Limited from Castel Malawi was made yesterday at a press briefing in Blantyre.
According to Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Group General Manager Seutloadi Thaanyane, the company’s main goal is to settle and satisfy the local demand for soft drinks before diversifying the portfolio.
Thaanyane added that the company will use its expertise from 14 countries where it operates to advance growth on the local market.
“We have started working on improving our production capacity and we will do anything possible to make sure that there is sufficient stock on the market especially this summer,” he said.
He however kept a tight lid on the amount pumped into the business following the deal.
Thaanyane added that they have incorporated all employees who were working at Sobo and apart from those employees they have created further job opportunities and they now have 354 employees.
Late last year, Castel Malawi announced that it will focus on alcoholic beverages and the soft drinks business will be taken by Coca-cola Beverages Africa.
Meanwhile, the company has said no job has been lost due to its acquisition of Southern Bottlers from Castel Malawi, and it has created 354 job opportunities, instead.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Group was formed in July 2016 after the successful combination of the southern and east Africa bottling operations of the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages businesses.
