Kgalagadi Breweries Limited, the official distributors of world’s famous carbonated soft drinks ‘Coca-Cola’ could record significant increase in its sales of soft drinks following a campaign known only as ‘share a coke’.
Insiders at KBL pointed out to Sunday Standard recently that the idea is to get consumers to buy personalized bottles and cans not just for themselves but also for friends and family.
Available figures shows that the “Share a Coke” campaign has been such a hit that for at least a few months, it reversed a decade long decline in U.S. Coke consumption. The company has already reported a rise of more than 2 percent after the world’s most-famous beverage brand began labelling Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero with names of individuals, from Aaron to Sarah to Zach.
In Botswana, KBL has settled for popular local names such as Tebogo, Thato, Tsholo and One. The labels also included warm-and-fuzzy terms like “Friends,” “BFF,” and “Family” were launched in Botswana at the beginning of summer this year.
The campaign comes at a time when KBL is struggling to sell its soft drinks following stiff competition from other distributors of similar products.
The company’s latest financials, which report for the period that ended 30 September, 2014 shows that the company’s soft Drink market share, while remaining fl at, has delivered volume growth of 9 percent compared to prior year on the back of a growth in the overall Soft Drink market.
The company says the threat from the growth of competitor 2L PET B-brands and Key Account house brands remains the greatest inhibitor of further growth.
Meanwhile the financials shows that KBL’s non-carbonated soft drinks and water have disappointed in its performance over the reporting period. Overall Clear Beer and Non Alcoholic Beverage category have increased by 4.7 percent and declined to 1.7 percent, respectively, compared to prior year.
The figures show that the company’s total volumes for the period ended 8.2 percent above prior year. The growth is said to have been driven mainly by a 10.5 percent growth on traditional beer volumes gained through market penetration.
“The challenges posed to KBL as a result of the Traditional Beer Regulations have continued. The company continues its efforts to engage with Government and local authorities to formalize and establish its distribution network and comply with the regulations,” Group Managing Director Johan De Kok said.
