Coca Cola to increase production by 40% next month

By Alemayehu Seife Selassie

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The East African Bottling Company that has been going through a serious production up lift, is going to increase production by 40 percent starting from September 1st, 2007.
The company which has just introduced its new motto “Live on the Coke Side of Life” has been working on the production capacity upgrade for over a year. The newly installed production line that is capable of producing 36,000 bottles per hour is undergoing testing stage. The last phase of upgrade is taking place with an investment of 7.5 million USD. The three production lines that are part of the upgrade are in Addis Ababa while one more is also taking place in Dire Dawa.

The new production line increase is believed to make Ethiopia one of the largest East African Coca Cola consumers currently Kenya leads followed by Tanzania from the region.
Ethiopia alone currently consumes 15 million physical cases of Coca Cola. The general manager of East Africa Bottling Share Company Mr. Murray Loggie told reporters this week that the company has not set any immediate plans to introduce new products such as diet/sugar free Coke and Ice Tea. “There are lots of people who are suffering from diabetes and cannot enjoy the regular Coke. And that is something we would work on to deliver in future. It will not be far off. But currently we are working on the new production line that will start production starting from next week.”

In the coming three months, the Coca Cola campaign is going to continue through billboards, TV, radio and other advertisements. The new advertisement campaign has also incorporated motifs from contemporary Ethiopian life such as the Ethiopian Millennium, New Year flower, athletes and others to allow Ethiopians to relate with.

Mr. Loggie told reporters this week that Coca Cola products have increased by hundreds of percentage points all over the world, and as the company grows the number of jobs it creates has also grown.
“For every outlet about five job opportunities are created and currently in Ethiopia there are 50,000 outlets. So indirectly we support thousands”, said Loggie. The marketing head also stated that similar numbers of outlets would also be created in Kenya and Tanzania.

“Live on the Coke side of life”, the campaign that has been launched in America and Europe this year has reached Ethiopia this month. And the concept is the regular refreshing of campaign that Coca Cola goes through frequently.
“Consumers need change and their desires and wants also change. To be the number one brand you got to keep evolving”.
The marketing head however declined to comment on how much the Coca Cola Company is going to spend on the current campaign but he stated that it has increased significantly from the previous years.
Starting from the top outlets that will receive tables and chairs to refrigerators, there would be outlets that will just have the name plate on top under the new campaign.

In the sparkling beverage drinks the two major players are the Coca Cola and Pepsi brands. And the marketing head stated that it is good for consumers that they are competitive. But he also added that the company is not only competing with other beverage producers but also with other disposable incomes such as phone cards. •