- Title: Craft brewer targets Nigerian palates and big brands
- Date: 20th July 2017
- Summary: ABUJA, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SEATED AT A DRINKING JOINT DRINKING BEER AND CHATTING MAN SEATED DRINKING BEER FROM A GLASS SOME BEER BOTTLES ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BANKER, NOEL NUMBE, SAYING: "People love when the bottle is very attractive, the labels on it are very good, so when people see that they would .....can I see this? I do that all the time. Can I see this? And I see the whole packaging the bottle, everything is beautiful, I want to see this... then I taste it and it tastes nice and I get to know that it's produced... I'm sure of the production or the process of production and I get to like the taste, I think I would put my regular brand aside." VARIOUS OF BATURE BEER BOTTLES IN CRATES VARIOUS OF WORKERS POURING WATER INTO BOILER VARIOUS OF WORKERS OPERATING MACHINE AND MONITORING TEMPERATURE LEVELS CO-FOUNDER, BATURE BREWERY, KEVIN CONROY OPENING A BAG OF HOPS BAG OF HOPS TWO CUPS OF GRAINS CONROY MEASURING BREW SAMPLE VARIOUS OF BREW SAMPLE IN CUPS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CO-FOUNDER, BATURE BREWERY, KEVIN CONROY, SAYING: "After a few months of just brewing consistently at home and making what we thought was ever better beers, we started giving them to our friends and the reception was so good, we thought that we were on to something really special here, of course there is a growing demand in America and Europe for craft beers and craft and that gives us the inspiration that the market can grow here but actually being on the ground and having Nigerians taste our beer and say wow... this is really great we just decided to go for it and try to build this first brewery here in Nigeria." VARIOUS OR BATURE WORKER CAPPING BOTTLES (SOUNDBITE) (English) CO-FOUNDER, BATURE BREWERY, KEVIN CONROY, SAYING: "We did a Suya spiced beer so if anyone knows Nigeria they know that Suya is one of the staple diets of spicy meats, so we use that spice and put it into our beer. Another example is we use coffee from Taraba state to do a coffee stout, so add in that bit of story, it’s not just a great tasting beer but it is made with as much local ingredients as possible and the market is taking to it so we believe we can sell this." VARIOUS OF PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT, ORTWER IYO, SEATED WATCHING TV AND SIPPING BATURE BEER (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT, ORTWER IYO, SAYING: "For me the less people patronise it the more attraction. We Nigerians love class... we identify with class. People buy expensive wines everywhere, there are cheaper brands but people prefer.... Nigerians love bigger brands, more expensive... that's what makes you stand out in this country we are like that, you can't change us so I don't see a problem with the price, we can comfortably buy it, we are Nigerians." VARIOUS OF BEER BOTTLES IN FRIDGES
- Embargoed: 3rd August 2017 10:58
- Keywords: beer craft bature heineken guinness drinks business microbrewery
- Location: ABUJA, NIGERIA
- City: ABUJA, NIGERIA
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0016QIUW5Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: At a rugged local pub in a suburb of Nigeria's capital, Abuja 41-year-old banker Noel Numbe throws back a beer with friends to wind down the day.
His favourite is Star Radler, a citrus flavoured German cider.
But after hearing about a new, local craft beer called Bature, Numbe says he just might be swayed.
"People love when the bottle is very attractive, the labels on it are very good, so when people see that they would .....can I see this? I do that all the time. Can I see this? And I see the whole packaging the bottle, everything is beautiful, I want to see this... then I taste it and it tastes nice and I get to know that it's produced... I'm sure of the production or the process of production and I get to like the taste, I think I would put my regular brand aside," he said.
Bature, pronounced ba-tor-ray and meaning "white person" or "European" in the Hausa language mainly spoken in northern Nigeria - started production from its Abuja brewery in June and plans to produce 40,000 to 50,000 litres in the next 12 months.
The microbrewery, tucked behind a burger joint in the city has a local staff of four and is run by its three expatriate founders who wanted to turn a passion for home brewing into commercial success.
Kevin Conroy, a Scot, came to Nigeria like his two co-founding colleagues to work in international development. Tired of the local brews they found bland, the three brewed their own beer and soon found others liked it too.
"After a few months of just brewing consistently at home and making what we thought was ever better beers, we started giving them to our friends and the reception was so good, we thought that we were on to something really special here, of course there is a growing demand in America and Europe for craft beers and craft and that gives us the inspiration that the market can grow here but actually being on the ground and having Nigerians taste our beer and say wow... this is really great we just decided to go for it and try to build this first brewery here in Nigeria," he said.
Bature is seeking to gain a foothold - albeit a small one - in Africa's second biggest beer market, which is dominated by Heineken and Diageo.
Nigerians drink 16 million hectolitres of beer a year. That is half as much as South Africans - the continent's biggest beer market - but Nigeria has a population that is more than three times the size so there could be room for growth.
From pale ale with tangs of passion fruit and mango to dark Pepe Porter which offers a spicy beer to match the popularity for peppery food in the West African nation, Bature is catching on.
"We did a Suya spiced beer so if anyone knows Nigeria they know that Suya is one of the staple diets of spicy meats, so we use that spice and put it into our beer. Another example is we use coffee from Taraba state to do a coffee stout, so add in that bit of story, it's not just a great tasting beer but it is made with as much local ingredients as possible and the market is taking to it so we believe we can sell this."
Bature's 330 ml bottles of beer can cost up to 2,000 naira ($6.37) in a bar, although the founders say a bottle costs 500 naira direct from the brewery.
That compares with Heineken, the market's dominant player with a 69 percent share, whose 600 ml bottles can sell for 800 to 1,200 naira each in bars, while Nigeria's Star beer goes for 600 to 700 naira for 600 ml.
But its premium price reflects confidence in a class of more affluent drinkers in Nigeria, even when the oil-producing nation's economy has been hammered by weak crude prices.
"For me the less people patronise it the more attraction. We Nigerians love class... we identify with class. People buy expensive wines everywhere, there are cheaper brands but people prefer.... Nigerians love bigger brands, more expensive... that's what makes you stand out in this country we are like that, you can't change us so I don't see a problem with the price, we can comfortably buy it, we are Nigerians," said property consultant, Ortwer Iyo.
Bature now aims to raise 15,000 pounds ($19,500) via the Indiegogo crowdfunding site for a new equipment and a tap room where the public can try Bature brews on site.
Nigeria is a major global market for Diageo's Guinness brand, the dark, extra stout whose local version comes with a hefty alcohol content of 7.5 percent. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None