The Consumer Must Win at all Times – Gambrah

SABMiller recently bought into Pabod breweries in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and has started introducing different brands of consumer products such as Castle Milk Stout, to Nigerian consumers. In this interview, Samori Gambrah, the company’s head of marketing, reveals that they are not in the market to compete but to meet consumer needs. He spoke with Ralph Tathagata.

What gives you the conviction that you can push Castle Milk Stout to the average Nigerian stout consumer?

I think the first thing to talk about is the uniqueness of Castle Milk Stout (CMS). It is much smoother because of the lactose benefit that we add into it. And it is very rich, dark and creamy. In terms of our campaign and how we want to address the market, it’s quite simple. The consumer is our number one focus. We are neither here for competition nor anyone else but the consumer.

To win the consumer, we must engage him in an experience. So our loyal trade partners are our distributors. I think if we do that, we will start to address the consumer at the point of purchase. If we are there when he (consumer) wants to make a purchase to give him a compelling reason we will win.

How would you convince a consumer who has been loyal to other stout brands for, say, the last 10 to 15 years to suddenly switch allegiance to CMS?

You know this is not the first time the question is being raised. CMS has been very successful in most African countries. Our footprints in Ghana will be the best case and that is a market where there is Guinness stout and CMS as well. CMS did not go to the Ghana beer market to take every Guinness consumer. What CMS is simply saying is that there are many types of stout consumers. So the question should be ‘how do we take and address the ones that we need to address?’ We believe that there is a great pool of consumers out there longing to take what we have to offer. We are not looking at overcoming the market overnight.

When did CMS officially come into the Nigeria market?

We introduced CMS in January, 2009 in Port Harcourt , Rivers State .

How has it been in Port Harcourt ?

Castle is achieving greatness gradually. We bought into Pabod breweries in Port Harcourt . Although Pabod had some challenges in the past but it has now bounced back. There was Grand lager beer and Grand malt on its stable and now we have CMS.

I won’t lie to you by saying that it has been the easiest venture in our lives. I think we have learned more about the Nigerian market as a result of studying in a smaller city. I also think we have grown in that learning process. Every month we have operated in Port Harcourt with Grand lager, we have increased sales.

But the question is, how do we take the next step? That is where Castle beer comes in. SABMiller is in 65 different countries and in every single continent of the world. There are a lot of brands we can bring into this market. We are a strong beer company. I think it’s about time.

Are you saying SABMiller is going to introduce more beer brands into Nigeria ?

Yes, there are a lot of consumers who have not made a decision as to what they want to drink and why they want to drink it.

But we learn Grand lager is not doing very well in the South South and South East?

Grand lager is doing very well. I think so long as we get the marketing angle right we will continue to grow.

There is this belief that if you are not in the Lagos market you are merely playing on the fringes. If Grand lager is doing well, why has the Lagos consumer not felt its presence?

Grand is a very regional beer. If you look at where it started from and where it is today, you will agree that it has a very large ambition. All we need is to build a credible base and then we can move on from there. But don’t forget that we now have other brands like CMS which we have just introduced to the Lagos market. So I should say we are in the most legitimate points of the Nigerian market.

Castel beer is now in the Nigerian market. We learned that Castel Group, the makers of Castel beer had an agreement not to operate in the same market with SABMiller. How do you reconcile your market presence?

Castel Group and SABMiller have a long standing relationship. Seriously, their (Castel Group’s) strongest footprint is really in the francophone countries in Africa . Ours is more in the Anglophone as well as Southern Africa . If you look at the amount of operations that we jointly run, they are about 35countries in Africa . But let me properly address the Nigerian issue. It is ‘first come, first serve.’ In such a big market you cannot say only one company should operate. Right now, I think our relationship is very solid.

They (Castel) have launched some brands like Castel and Kronenbourg lager beers and I think that’s great.

Are you saying that this is not a market threat to Grand lager?

I think the brands I just mentioned are well established in the South West or even the Lagos market if you don’t mind. They are operating from International breweries, Ilesha .

Just look at what we are doing with Grand lager in the South South/South East; we are in Port Harcourt, Warri, Owerri, Aba and we are now pushing into Onitsha and Enugu markets. I think there is nothing wrong with our market coexistence. No one company can properly attack the Nigeria market.

Don’t you think CMS has some striking similarities with FES (can) in terms of appearance?

We are not interested in such competitions. Our focus is strictly on the consumer. I think from all indications, CMS is uniquely different.

Can you tell us some of your marketing and branding tactics in building loyalty for CMS?

We’ve got a lot for the Lagos and Nigerian market. We are not going to employ the same strategies you are very familiar with. We’ve got things that consumers have never seen before. We are going to be different and we are going to be the best. We have the intention of building a strong base for the consumers that will enable us dialogue with them one-to-one. No one else can do that. Consumers should just wait and see.

You seem to have reneged on your brand promise of ruling the Nigerian beer market with cheap beer?

I don’t know where that information is coming from but obviously not from our house. I am very serious about that. If you look at the African market right now, we have 100 percent premium beer brands. I don’t know where in Africa that we are producing cheap beer. I only know of a high quality beer that we can make affordable for the consumer. I think that’s what the consumer is interested in.

Looking at the high cost of raw materials, how feasible is that venture?

If you look at Grand lager and some of our brands, we are 80 percent price compliant. To sell at the price that an average consumer can afford allows him to buy a quality product.

Don’t you think that will amount to a mere price aggression?

All aggressiveness in trade is right. We believe that the consumer must win at all times.

How do you source your raw materials?

Obviously, barley malt is not produced in this country. So like any other company, we are importing malt.

Don’t you think that could raise the cost of production and make the product expensive like your competitors’?

No. How would you say that?

Given the Nigerian beer culture, drinkers gravitate more towards bottled than canned beers. What makes you think having CMS in can alone will give it the adequate push it requires?

We need to credibly build our brands and control them the ways which we know best. The introduction of the cans in this market is the right step forward. I am sure that as the brand progresses, it will be introduced in returnable glass bottles for the consumer.

The Consumer Must Win at all Times – GambrahSABMiller recently bought into Pabod breweries in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and has started introducing different brands of consumer products such as Castle Milk Stout, to Nigerian consumers. In this interview, Samori Gambrah, the company’s head of marketing, reveals that they are not in the market to compete but to meet consumer needs. He spoke with Ralph Tathagata.What gives you the conviction that you can push Castle Milk Stout to the average Nigerian stout consumer?I think the first thing to talk about is the uniqueness of Castle Milk Stout (CMS). It is much smoother because of the lactose benefit that we add into it. And it is very rich, dark and creamy. In terms of our campaign and how we want to address the market, it’s quite simple. The consumer is our number one focus. We are neither here for competition nor anyone else but the consumer.To win the consumer, we must engage him in an experience. So our loyal trade partners are our distributors. I think if we do that, we will start to address the consumer at the point of purchase. If we are there when he (consumer) wants to make a purchase to give him a compelling reason we will win.
How would you convince a consumer who has been loyal to other stout brands for, say, the last 10 to 15 years to suddenly switch allegiance to CMS?You know this is not the first time the question is being raised. CMS has been very successful in most African countries. Our footprints in Ghana will be the best case and that is a market where there is Guinness stout and CMS as well. CMS did not go to the Ghana beer market to take every Guinness consumer. What CMS is simply saying is that there are many types of stout consumers. So the question should be ‘how do we take and address the ones that we need to address?’ We believe that there is a great pool of consumers out there longing to take what we have to offer. We are not looking at overcoming the market overnight.
When did CMS officially come into the Nigeria market?We introduced CMS in January, 2009 in Port Harcourt , Rivers State .
How has it been in Port Harcourt ?Castle is achieving greatness gradually. We bought into Pabod breweries in Port Harcourt . Although Pabod had some challenges in the past but it has now bounced back. There was Grand lager beer and Grand malt on its stable and now we have CMS.I won’t lie to you by saying that it has been the easiest venture in our lives. I think we have learned more about the Nigerian market as a result of studying in a smaller city. I also think we have grown in that learning process. Every month we have operated in Port Harcourt with Grand lager, we have increased sales.But the question is, how do we take the next step? That is where Castle beer comes in. SABMiller is in 65 different countries and in every single continent of the world. There are a lot of brands we can bring into this market. We are a strong beer company. I think it’s about time.
Are you saying SABMiller is going to introduce more beer brands into Nigeria ?Yes, there are a lot of consumers who have not made a decision as to what they want to drink and why they want to drink it.
But we learn Grand lager is not doing very well in the South South and South East?Grand lager is doing very well. I think so long as we get the marketing angle right we will continue to grow.
There is this belief that if you are not in the Lagos market you are merely playing on the fringes. If Grand lager is doing well, why has the Lagos consumer not felt its presence?Grand is a very regional beer. If you look at where it started from and where it is today, you will agree that it has a very large ambition. All we need is to build a credible base and then we can move on from there. But don’t forget that we now have other brands like CMS which we have just introduced to the Lagos market. So I should say we are in the most legitimate points of the Nigerian market.
Castel beer is now in the Nigerian market. We learned that Castel Group, the makers of Castel beer had an agreement not to operate in the same market with SABMiller. How do you reconcile your market presence?Castel Group and SABMiller have a long standing relationship. Seriously, their (Castel Group’s) strongest footprint is really in the francophone countries in Africa . Ours is more in the Anglophone as well as Southern Africa . If you look at the amount of operations that we jointly run, they are about 35countries in Africa . But let me properly address the Nigerian issue. It is ‘first come, first serve.’ In such a big market you cannot say only one company should operate. Right now, I think our relationship is very solid.They (Castel) have launched some brands like Castel and Kronenbourg lager beers and I think that’s great.
Are you saying that this is not a market threat to Grand lager?I think the brands I just mentioned are well established in the South West or even the Lagos market if you don’t mind. They are operating from International breweries, Ilesha .Just look at what we are doing with Grand lager in the South South/South East; we are in Port Harcourt, Warri, Owerri, Aba and we are now pushing into Onitsha and Enugu markets. I think there is nothing wrong with our market coexistence. No one company can properly attack the Nigeria market.
Don’t you think CMS has some striking similarities with FES (can) in terms of appearance?We are not interested in such competitions. Our focus is strictly on the consumer. I think from all indications, CMS is uniquely different.
Can you tell us some of your marketing and branding tactics in building loyalty for CMS?We’ve got a lot for the Lagos and Nigerian market. We are not going to employ the same strategies you are very familiar with. We’ve got things that consumers have never seen before. We are going to be different and we are going to be the best. We have the intention of building a strong base for the consumers that will enable us dialogue with them one-to-one. No one else can do that. Consumers should just wait and see.
You seem to have reneged on your brand promise of ruling the Nigerian beer market with cheap beer?I don’t know where that information is coming from but obviously not from our house. I am very serious about that. If you look at the African market right now, we have 100 percent premium beer brands. I don’t know where in Africa that we are producing cheap beer. I only know of a high quality beer that we can make affordable for the consumer. I think that’s what the consumer is interested in.
Looking at the high cost of raw materials, how feasible is that venture?If you look at Grand lager and some of our brands, we are 80 percent price compliant. To sell at the price that an average consumer can afford allows him to buy a quality product.
Don’t you think that will amount to a mere price aggression?All aggressiveness in trade is right. We believe that the consumer must win at all times.
How do you source your raw materials?Obviously, barley malt is not produced in this country. So like any other company, we are importing malt.
Don’t you think that could raise the cost of production and make the product expensive like your competitors’?No. How would you say that?
Given the Nigerian beer culture, drinkers gravitate more towards bottled than canned beers. What makes you think having CMS in can alone will give it the adequate push it requires?We need to credibly build our brands and control them the ways which we know best. The introduction of the cans in this market is the right step forward. I am sure that as the brand progresses, it will be introduced in returnable glass bottles for the consumer.