South African packaged goods company Tiger Brands has set itself an ambitious target of doubling the consumption of its beverages in the domestic market and being a preferred beverage manufacturer for all key consumer need states, occasions and budgets.

To this end, the company has been investing heavily into its existing production lines at the Roodekop beverage manufacturing facility, in Germiston, including full automation and other processing upgrades on certain lines.

Tiger Brands will, at group level, also roll out solar power at 35 of its manufacturing sites across South Africa by 2030, with the aim of supplying 65% of the company’s electricity requirements. 

The company has also installed an automatic voltage stabiliser at the Roodekop facility to mitigate against sudden power outages during loadshedding.

This facility has since 2001 been producing millions of litres a month of South Africa’s signature beverage brands in pre-mix and ready-to-drink formats, including Oros, Energade, Hall’s, Brookes’ and Rose’s cordial.

Tiger Brands’ beverages division has entered new markets including the carbonated mixer market through its Rose’s carbonated mixer products, which was launched in October this year, and the energy drinks market with its new Boost product, which was also launched in October.

For the health-conscious consumer, Tiger Brands has started produced a “zero” Energade, with no added sugar, as of September.

Tiger Brands beverages MD Ismail Nanabhay says the company’s consistent investment into its factory and product offerings since the 2017 financial year is paying off, with the beverages division having recorded a 7.4% compound annual growth rate between 2017 and 2021.

Next, the company plans to invest R23-million on expanding its raw materials storage warehouse and implementing the solar installations announced by the Tiger Brands group in August this year.

Nanabhay told journalists during a media tour of the group’s beverages facility on November 17 that the meal occasions, snack occasions, social and on-the-go occasions, as well as health and wellness markets, pose great opportunities for expanding the company’s offerings.