•City People Reveals The Inside Story Of The New Market WAR!
La Casera is not a new brand in the pep bottled drink market in Nigeria. It has been in the country since about the year 2000 and when it landed, it gave the market leaders, Coca-Cola and Pepsi a big scare with its apple drink. Since there, La Casera has become a household name in Nigeria. In February 2020, the brand launched three new products, Orange, Tropical and Ginger in addition to the existing Bitter Lemonto reposition itself for a market share having faced stiff competition from fellow new entrant, Bigi drinks a Nigerian brand owned by the Rite Foods.
HUGE CONSUMER RECORD
In March 2020, the Head of Market Development, German Engineering Federation, Mrs Martina Claus, said Nigeria ranked fourth globally in the volume of soft drink sales recorded in 2016.
Claus spoke at the third International Trade Exhibition on Agrofood, Plastics, Printing and Packaging in Lagos. She said that the statistics on soft drinks sales were sourced from the Euro monitor International, a global market intelligence publisher.
The market developer said the statistics showed that 38.68 million litres of soft drinks were sold in Nigeria in 2016. “This puts Nigeria behind only the United States (114.75), China (88.18) and Mexico (45.30) in the top markets’ ranking. Also, 1.98 million litres of alcohol was sold in Nigeria in 2016, while the total volume of milk products sold was 147 tons. Nigeria’sfast-growing population brings with it a continuing demand for soft drinks, especially as the climate is quite hot.”
LA CASERA ONCE TOPPED THE CHART
In 2018 when everyone thoughtLaCaserawas out of business, the Managing Director of the LaCaseraCompany Plc, RolandEbelt gave an assessment of the performance of its company, saying “Lacasera is between two big players in the market, Coca Cola and Pepsi”. According to him, “They have by far the biggest market share, at number one and number two. Coca Cola has 50 per cent, Pepsi has 40 and then you have some smaller players. We are number three but we are a small player. We have about four per cent of the market, same as Bigi Cola”.
“Between the four of us, we have 98 per cent of the market and the small regional and local players have the two per cent.
On plans to boost market share this year, Ebelt averred that “We want to reach 10 per cent of the market. Right now we are four and that is a big burden. We need a 150 per cent improvement. We are not going to get there in one year because this is a journey that we are embarking on over the next two to three years”.
SELLING POINTS
The introduction of PET packaged drinks by La Casera challenged the two previous giants (Coca-Cola and Pepsi) who also reacted with the launch of their own PET bottle drinks into the market in 2004. 16 years down the line, many of consumers who spoke with Brands & Products believe that La Casera Apple gave Coca-Cola and Pepsi a good run for their money with the introduction of PET bottles.
THE BIGI APPLE WAR
The introduction of another direct competitor into the market seems to have taken La Casera unawares. Bigi Apple drink proved that it has all it takes to challenge the dominance of La Casera in the apple drink segment. To gain market share, the company adopted a combination of product quality, relentless consumer engagement, and aggressive advertising.
Bigi Apple, from the stables of Rite Foods Ltd, started production in 2007 as part of the Ess-Ay Holdings Group.
THE BOLD GINGER MAGIC
The newly introduced Bold Ginger is Nigeria’s first ginger carbonated soft drink, it contains real ginger extract for an extra spicy taste and peppery bite. The nutritional content on the bottle reveals that Bold Ginger contains more energy with 239kj/57Kcal, unlike Pepsi which contains 40.4Kcal and 169.1KJwhile Coca Cola contains180kj/42Kcal. Going by this nutritional fact, Bold Ginger appears to be ahead of other carbonated soft drink brands.
THE SIZE AND PRICE WARS
Bigi Apple garnered patronage from consumers, owing to the fact that the product comes in a bigger 600ml (60cl) PET plastic bottle and costs N100. Owing to this, La Casera’s Pet bottle was changed from 50cl to 60cl, at the same cost of N100 which many describe as pocket-friendly. However, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have remained 50cl at N100. Meanwhile, Ginger Bold came with a killer. It is in a 60cl Pet bottle at the same price, N100. Ginger Bold also contains 13.8g of carbohydrate while Pepsi contains10.7g and Coca-Cola has 10.6g.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC BOOSTER
While many brands are crying foul due to a reduction in sales because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged every economy of the world, the story is not the same for Ginger Bold. Many health experts have revealed that Ginger is a good healthy herb that is used as an immune booster as many people are running away from being infected with COVID-19. Ginger Bold according to research by BRANDS & PRODUCTS has become an alternative drink because many believe that it contains Ginger.
