Keroche seeks larger market share with Sh5bn brew plant

Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed (left) tours Keroche Breweries with the company’s chief executive, Mrs Tabitha Karanja and Nakuru Deputy Governor Joseph Ruto during the official commissioning of a Sh5 billion brewery plant on March 31, 2015. PHOTO | MACHARIA MWANGI |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Beer maker now able to bottle 600,000 of drinks every day from new line.
• New equipment will enable brewer churn out 10 times more products with eye on regional consumers.

By MACHARIA MWANGI
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Keroche Breweries is eyeing more than a 20 per cent share of the beer market with the commissioning of a Sh5 billion brewing plant on Tuesday.

Speaking during the official launch presided over by Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohammed, Keroche Chief Executive Tabitha Karanja said with a tenfold increase in production, the beer maker was optimistic of getting a bigger chunk of the market share.

“With a production capacity of 600,000 bottles a day, we are good to go and the market looks promising,” said Mrs Karanja.

With eyes trained on the East African market, she said the 1 million hectolitre brew house would guarantee consistency in production. “We have positioned ourselves strategically to expand the local market share and also to venture into the East African market,” she said.

The plant can produce 30 different brands of beer.

Mrs Karanja said the firm would list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in the next five years.

“We want Kenyans to own shares at the beer-making firm which is a fully Kenyan-owned company,” she said.

The Keroche boss said more than 100 skilled people would secure employment at the new plant, with thousands others making money from an expanded distribution chain.

Mr Mohamed said more than 80 alcohol manufacturing companies had been shut down in the past one year for failing to meet the required standards in liquor.

He said his ministry was working closely with stakeholders in the beer and spirits industry to ensure that players adhere to standards while carrying out production.

“The Kenya Bureau of Standards has come up with guidelines that ought to be followed by those investing in the alcohol manufacturing business,” said Mr Mohamed.