Pepsi bottler Crown Beverages taps Paddy Muramiirah to lead entry into Kenya 

KENYA – Mauritious-based Crown Beverages has tapped Paddy Muramiirah, a Ugandan executive famous for leading a transformative 7 years at Crown Beverages in Uganda, to lead its charge into the Kenyan market, CEO East African Magazine has reported. 

The announcement comes shortly after the Competition Authority of Kenya gave the greenlight for the Mauritius based company to acquire Kenya Bottling Company (KBC) which owns SBC Kenya, the local independent bottler for PepsiCo.  

Prior to the KBC deal, Crown Beverages did not have a local presence in Kenya hence they decision by CAK to grant it unconditional approval to acquire the Kenyan entity. 

It is however affiliated with Crown Beverages Limited, a Ugandan bottler that produces and markets Pepsi brands including Mountain Dew, Mirinda Fruity, Mirinda Orange, Mirinda Pineapple, Mirinda Green Apple, Evervess Tonic and Nivana flavoured waters. 

In Uganda, the company claims to have 57 key distributors, 100 depots, and an outlet universe of around 100,000 outlets. 

According to various sources, Crown Beverages has a significant presence in Uganda with its market share estimated between 33% (Statista) and 70% (Pepsi-Cola website).  

Paddy Muramiirah joined Crown Beverages in 2005 and went on to become one of the most successful CEOs the company has ever had since its privatization in 1993.  

According to CEO East Africa Magazine, during Muramirah’s tenure, the company nearly tripled turnover- a feat that won the bottler more market share and several PepsiCo performance awards, according to CEO East Africa magazine. 

Another publication CEO Magazine noted that since Paddy took over the reins in 2016, the company has seen revenues grow by 52%, sales volume by 48% and profitability by more than 200%.  

The shareholders even enjoyed 90% return on share last year, the publication which featured Paddy in 2019 noted.  
 
Given that Pepsi has a 1.5% market share in Kenya, Crown Beverages will need Muramiirah’s prowess and experience to carve out a significant share in a Kenyan market that is disproportionately dominated by Coca-Cola.

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