Adulteration holds back Alomo Bitters planned multimillion dollar factory in Nigeria

Adulteration, which is unfortunately thriving in the face of multi-regulatory authorities in Nigeria, is holding back Ghana’s Kasapreko Company, producers of Alomo Bitters, from its earlier planned $50 million investment of a factory in Nigeria.

The company had previously promised to start production of Alomo Bitters and other aligned brands in Nigeria because of the country’s huge market which is its biggest export destination but said it is being frustrated by the faking of the brand which has reduced the brand equity of Alomo Bitters.

“We wanted to make a strong foot print in Nigeria and we have not cancelled the ambition but once we are able to get rid of those destroying the market and harming the lives of the people through faking of our product then we can decide to put the factory in place”, Kwabena Adjei, the company’s founder and CEO told BusinessDay in Accra, Ghana, last week.

Adjei, who started the production of now global Alomo Bitters brand in his garage 25 years ago, regretted that the faking of the product because of its success and health benefits has brought the equity of the brand down.

“If we don’t fight the fake, we are hurting the government because fakers don’t pay tax. We are harming the consumers because fakers don’t use good product. Some of these fake products have been tested in our laboratory and I tell you that the result is shocking and unhealthy to consumers”, he said.

Adjei, who recognised Nigeria as a big market in Africa, said the brand’s dominance of the market has been greatly diluted not by genuine competition but by faking.

He, however, said that the company which is now exporting to Western countries and other African countries is presently collaborating with Nigeria’s regulatory agencies and distributors to tackle faking of the product.

Adjei welcomed genuine competition in bitters market as it will create healthy market for consumers and employment for Africans but frowned against importation of herbal products when Africa is reach in herbs.

The Alomo founder is also considering partnering with a Nigerian firm to produce the product in Nigeria.

Nigeria is a big market for products and as analysts say, “If you look at Africa, anyone who does not see the Nigerian market is really blind. You can’t miss Nigeria; it is a powerhouse in Africa. From the GDP stand point and population, Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa”.

In order to still offer the quality product to Nigerians who have accepted the product and checkmate faking which is affecting the brand and has the potential of creating health consequence on consumers, Adjei and his team are introducing security seal on the Alomo brand.

“Two years ago we embarked on a journey to protect our brand and consumers. That journey took us to Germany where we partnered with a hologram company”, he said.
According to him, the security will involve four levels, all in an attempt to ensure that the consumer gets the right quality product.

“We know that fakers will try to confuse the consumers with fake holographic seal but ours is so sophisticated and consumers will be able to identify the original from the fake”, he said.

Recently, Nigerians have been switching from beer to bitter drinks, the market Alomo deepened in Nigeria.