Crown Beverages Ltd (CBL) popularly known as Pepsi in Uganda due to its affiliation to Pepsi Cola International recently launched Nivana water.
This means that competition in the water sector is going to become even stiffer considering the fact that there are over 70 water brands in Ugandan, but about 40 of them are certified by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).
In an interview with Business Focus at CBL head offices on April12, 2017, Brandon Ssemanda, the Head of Marketing at CBL, revealed why they ventured into water, revealing that their well-packaged quality water is already being embraced by Ugandans.
“We are responding to our customers’ needs; we supply them almost everything apart from water. We have a strong distribution network across the country which necessitated us to launch Nivana water. People are also becoming health conscious, so we have to be ready to fulfil their needs,” Ssemanda revealed.
He added: “We have a very strong heritage; our association with Pepsi Cola International means that our customers are guaranteed of quality.”
He revealed that it was ironical for them to have coolers across the country and fail to have water in them yet it (water) is a necessity for human beings.
Emphasizing on the quality of their water, Ssemanda said:
“CBL is best known for quality; we mind about what our customers consume. Our water goes through a three-phase process; filtration, ultraviolet treatment and ozonation. Our water is therefore safe for human consumption.”
He added that their energy drink-Sting that was launched in November 2016 has hit the ground running as the market has welcomed it with open hands.
Asked whether the market should expect more innovative products soon from CBL, he said: “We have a rich innovations pipeline; we have a number of things cooking up.”
