New brand to up beer market competition
Ushers pose with a dummy bottle of Skol beer in Kampala on Tuesday. The beer is made by Skol Breweries Ltd, Rwanda. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA
What you need to know:
New entrants want to even construct a plant in the country to serve customers better
KAMPALA
A Rwandan manufactured beer, Skol, has hit the local market with the makers assuring the market that they are prepared to go an extra length to succeed, including establishing a plant here to manufacture the alcoholic brand.
“We are aware about the market and the competition. But our research shows that the market here is ready for a premium product like the one we are offering,” Skol director Bienfait Bitenyo told the Daily Monitor in an interview early in the week.
He continued: “We intend to win this market. For the last three years, we have managed to acquire 15 per cent of the Rwandan market share, that is a tale tell sign that we can turn heads with the allure and strength our products, price and the quality of service.”
Within two years, the company’s general manager, Mr Philip Mibenge, said a factory producing the brand could be established here including contracting raw materials, among them barley from the local farmers in Uganda.
According to Mr Bitenyo, slots for those willing to be distributors for the brand are available as the company continues to pursue its direct and experimental model of marketing, mainly in Kampala before reaching out to other parts of the country.
Skol already has footprint across the world, and in Africa it is popular in Francophone countries.
It also enjoys a significant market share in Ethiopia and Rwanda with the next target being the Kenyan and Tanzanian markets.
Speaking at the launch of the Rwandan manufactured beer, the Rwandan Ambassador to Uganda, Maj Gen Frank Mugambye, said the introduction of the alcoholic beverage in the Ugandan market is the way to go for the region’s countries for it enhances the much needed integration.
“We need to integrate our market because it is not only good for the East African Community but it is also important for the liberalised economy,” Gen Mugambye, said during the launch early in the week.
He continued: “We must promote trade and investment amongst ourselves (regional trade) so as to close the trade imbalance gaps that we are struggling with—that is the only way to go.”
