Carib Brewery is exploring the option of entering the Ghanian market.
Adrian Sabga, managing director of international and business development at Carib, spoke about the possibility at the commissioning of production Line 7, which took place at the brewery in Champs Fleurs on Tuesday.
He said the company had sent one of its managers to the West African country to assess the possibility of doing business in Ghana.
Describing the talks as very fruitful, Sabga said, "Unfortunately the amount of time it takes to ship from Trinidad to Ghana is quite lengthy, so we are looking at local manufacturing opportunities right now. We are in conversation with quite a few partners over there to explore the opportunity of not only Carib but some of our innovative brands like Rockstone and Caribe," Sabga said.
Regarding a possible timeline of Carib entering the Ghanian market, Sabga said within the next six to nine months, the company "should have a way forward."
"If it is local manufacturing, that takes a significantly longer time to get off the ground. So, we go through an extremely rigorous process of ensuring and writing any local manufacturer and that takes nine months in of itself."
On whether there is the possibility of Carib establishing a production plant in Ghana, Sabga said this is not on the cards.
However, he noted, "We would obviously move to utilise partners' capacity and capabilities on the ground and if we're met with significant volume and a huge opportunity it is definitely something we would look to invest in the future."
He said the group is currently onboarding its minority interest partner in the Bahamas, referring to the acquisition of a stake in the Bahamian Brewery & Beverage Company
Ltd, an Bahamian-owned brewery and non-alcoholic beverage producer. That company is a fully integrated brewery that produces nine brands and distributes several global beer brands throughout the Bahamas.
"They are launching Stag, locally manufactured in the Bahamas next month, and that took us almost seven months to get the liquid right for that market," Sabga added.
Sabga also added that the Carib Brewery is aiming to become a net foreign exchange generator, as he noted the excitement concerning the recent partnership with Globus to enter the Indian market.
He said this would be helped by Line 7 by not only increasing efficiency but also by reducing wastage and allowing for the company's previous bottling lines to focus mainly on the export market.
"It has the highest level of technology in brewing that's available to date. So we boast that this line is the best available now in the market and you won't be able to find a line of this capability and capacity in any of the other international markets," Sabga added.