NBC is a member of the Coca-Cola HBC, one of the world's largest bottlers of products for the Coca-Cola Company. It operates 13 plants throughout Nigeria, serving as many as 160 million people. The Ikeja plant, in Lagos, is responsible for the production of all formats of the Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, Cappy, Five Alive and Eva brands. It has been running since 1978.
"The quality and safety of our beverages are our highest priority, which is why packaging is so vital. At the same time as protecting the liquid, we want our bottles to stay attractive across the supply chain and on the supermarket shelf and offer a good consumer experience thereafter," said Costin Barbu, engineering director at Coca Cola HBC. "Therefore, we work with partners such as Sidel to drive innovation and identify new ways to improve packaging that creates value for us and our consumers."
"Coca-Cola has been present in Nigeria for years, over which time it has built a strong distribution network and developed aggressive marketing techniques, which positioned it to lead shares in carbonated and bottled water. Rising disposable income and population growth will continue to underpin the positive development of the entire market, while new launches, marketing activities and improvements in distribution will bolster demand in individual categories," said Olivier Fraisse, regional commercial director in Africa, Sidel. "Nigeria is one of our biggest markets in the Greater Middle East and Africa Zone and we are delighted to be selected as a solution supplier for this strategic project in Ikeja plant."
The outlook for the soft drinks market is encouraging in Nigeria and looks set to continue to grow, with all major categories showing the potential for robust growth in both total volume and current value sales.
Apart from the Nigerian project, Sidel has won two other contracts from the Coca-Cola HBC in Russia (Moscow) and Belarus (Minsk). For more information, go to www.sidel.com.
