BRASSERIES DU CONGO RESULT
OF A FRUITFUL MARRIAGE
On the river which carries
the biggest flow of water in
the world stands the big
gest brewery of Brasseries
du Congo. Several years ago
the Congolese brewing
industry itself moved into a
fast-flowing current when
the decision was taken to
implement a major merger.
The merger between
Brasserie de Brazzaville and
the Kronenbourg breweries
in Brazzaville and Pointe
Noire was essential from a
Heineken viewpoint.
First, a brief step back in time. In the
mid-1980s the Heineken brewery in
Congo, the former French colony, was
a flourishing operation. Per capita
consumption had increased to 45 li
tres and growth figures of twenty
per cent per annum were a realistic
possibility. There was optimism on
all sides about the future of the beer
market and so Heineken decided to
make substantial investments in
expanding the capacity.
Unfortunately, it all turned out
somewhat differently. The country
ended up in a deep economic depres
sion and per capita consumption
dropped sharply to 20 litres. Gerard
Bour, General Manager of Brasseries
du Congo, describes the importance
of a strong economy for the brewery:
"You could say that in many African
countries beer consumption is the
thermometer of the economy. If
people face financially hard times,
they spend less on beer."
Brasserie de Brazzaville found
itself in problems because of the eco
nomic slump. A beer war was fought
against the breweries of
Kronenbourg. That battle was
between Primus, the Heineken beer,
and Ngok, Kronenbourg's standard
beer. Gerard Bour, who at that time
was brewery manager of the Kronen
bourg brewery, still recalls the keen
competition. "The city was complete
ly awash with advertising materials
and the competition was enormous."
After many years of fighting, it was
found that two brewery groups in
the small country was too much of a
good thing and it was decided to
merge them.
SOFT DRINKS
Because of the over-capacity, all the
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