Managing director and CEO of Guinness Nigeria, Baker Magunda, says Nigeria is an extremely important market to Diageo.
Magunda also says Guinness Nigeria, a subsidiary of Diageo, has done well for the country and for consumers of the company’s products.
This is coming ahead of the celebration of Guinness Nigeria plc’s 69 years of driving growth and success in the country.
“From the start of Guinness’ operations in Nigeria, we have not only consistently produced high-quality products, we’ve also modelled our business with the aim of driving local economic growth,” said Magunda.
Established in 1950 as the first and only total beverage alcohol (TBA) company in the country offering a wide range of products across categories, Guinness Nigeria, a subsidiary of Diageo, has been contributing to the economic and societal development of the nation for nearly seven decades.
“As the first country to produce Guinness outside of Ireland, Nigeria is an extremely important market to Diageo. This year, we also celebrate being the first country to launch and produce Baileys Delight, a variant of the popular Baileys Cream liquor, and also the first country to produce Guinness Gold, a premium lager beer product,” Magunda said.
“We are proud that Guinness Nigeria has the most expansive range of brands to offer as compared to any other player in this category. We’ve done well for Nigeria, and we’ve done well for our consumers,” he said.
Guinness Nigeria, through various initiatives and investments in community development and sustainability, continues to be committed to the social and economic growth of the country, according to the company.
The company’s ‘Water of Life’ initiative, for instance, has provided clean water facilities to over 1.5 million Nigerians across communities, Guinness Nigeria said, while it supports agriculture through its ‘Grow with Nigeria’ programme, a local raw material-sourcing scheme, which empowers indigenous farmers.
Currently, Guinness Nigeria’s local content sourcing stands at 75 percent, and there are plans in place to increase this significantly in the coming years, it said.
Every year the company, in partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), holds the ‘Ember Months’ Campaign to educate key stakeholders, especially commercial drivers, on responsible drinking and the choice to never drink and drive. It has also provided the FRSC with breathalysers to assist it in executing its responsible drinking campaigns.
Beyond these acts, the company said it continues to strive to consistently meet the needs of Nigeria’s ever-evolving consumer base. It recently expanded its portfolio with several products including the iconic White Walker by Johnnie Walker.
“In 69 years, Guinness Nigeria has tremendously impacted the market, the socio-economic development of the country, and the well-being of Nigeria’s people. The company looks forward to expanding and positively impacting many generations to come,” it said.
