Zelalem
Muluken (PhD) has entered the local beverage industry by investing in a
200-million-birr factory in Sendafa, a town some 30km north of Addis
Ababa.
The plant will use natural concentrates from the puree of fruits and herbs to mass-produce rare soft drinks in Ethiopia, and will have the capacity to fill and pack 16,000 bottles per hour (or 700,000 hectoliters per year) with various types of soft drinks, juices, carbonated water and the like.
According to Zelaem, the plant is complete with state-of-the-art machinery and 3-block German technologies – a rarity in Africa and a first in Ethiopia.
Addis Alem Wale, quality control and food safety manager, and Elias Hailu (Eng.), supply chain manager with Zebym PLC, explained how the plant operates from input of raw materials to finished products, with zero human interference. The machines have features of blow molding, capping, labeling, checkmating and full bottle inspection procedures concurrently.
The plant at present employs 50 permanent and 20 temporary workers, and is set to hire 100 more as the business expands, Zelalem said.
With his team of ex-Meta Brewery personnel, Zelalem is certain that he would make a breakthrough in the soft drink industry with natural products.
Zelalem said his factory has already packed and distributed a uniquely developed artesian mineral water and carbonated and smocked water. Finalizing the commissioning and securing standardization permits, the soft drinks he branded as Movita Passion, a puree passion fruit extract, Dr. Moringa, a drink developed from moringa and various herbs, hibiscus with honey are some of the soft drinks developed by Zelalem and are about to be made available soon. The carbonated and smoked water and the artesian mineral water has been named melkam qen (literally, have a nice day).
Zelalem claims that the new products are not mere soft drinks, but have therapeutic qualities as well. The drinks provide energy, are nutritious and help quench thirst. He says he would like to mainstream the Dr. Moringa brand as the moringa plant is widely recognized for having at least 230 health benefits.
“We have come with a different portfolio and would like to offer from what is available naturally within Ethiopia,” Zelalem said. He also notes that there will be nothing to be imported as most of the ingredients are sourced locally.
Poised to double his investment, Zelalem is to invest an additional 200 million birr in two years’ time, when the production capacity will jump to 2.2 million hectoliters, enabling the factory to become a major player in the local beverage industry.
Lying on a 15,000 sq. m. plot of land, the plant is expected to further expand to a 30,000 sq. m. plot, and request for more land is currently under review by the Investment Bureau of Oromia , Zelalem said.
Zelalem made the investment through a combination of bank loans and private equity.
Having in mind export markets such as Djibouti, Somaliland, South Sudan and the like, for the medium term, he plans to work without growers and suppliers for fruits and herbs and other raw materials.
In addition to those alternatives, for the longer-term, he is thinking in terms of venturing into farming as the right thing to do because in ten years’ time, his goal is to provide many countries with his concentrates through franchise deals.
The plant will use natural concentrates from the puree of fruits and herbs to mass-produce rare soft drinks in Ethiopia, and will have the capacity to fill and pack 16,000 bottles per hour (or 700,000 hectoliters per year) with various types of soft drinks, juices, carbonated water and the like.
According to Zelaem, the plant is complete with state-of-the-art machinery and 3-block German technologies – a rarity in Africa and a first in Ethiopia.
Addis Alem Wale, quality control and food safety manager, and Elias Hailu (Eng.), supply chain manager with Zebym PLC, explained how the plant operates from input of raw materials to finished products, with zero human interference. The machines have features of blow molding, capping, labeling, checkmating and full bottle inspection procedures concurrently.
The plant at present employs 50 permanent and 20 temporary workers, and is set to hire 100 more as the business expands, Zelalem said.
With his team of ex-Meta Brewery personnel, Zelalem is certain that he would make a breakthrough in the soft drink industry with natural products.
Zelalem said his factory has already packed and distributed a uniquely developed artesian mineral water and carbonated and smocked water. Finalizing the commissioning and securing standardization permits, the soft drinks he branded as Movita Passion, a puree passion fruit extract, Dr. Moringa, a drink developed from moringa and various herbs, hibiscus with honey are some of the soft drinks developed by Zelalem and are about to be made available soon. The carbonated and smoked water and the artesian mineral water has been named melkam qen (literally, have a nice day).
Zelalem claims that the new products are not mere soft drinks, but have therapeutic qualities as well. The drinks provide energy, are nutritious and help quench thirst. He says he would like to mainstream the Dr. Moringa brand as the moringa plant is widely recognized for having at least 230 health benefits.
“We have come with a different portfolio and would like to offer from what is available naturally within Ethiopia,” Zelalem said. He also notes that there will be nothing to be imported as most of the ingredients are sourced locally.
Poised to double his investment, Zelalem is to invest an additional 200 million birr in two years’ time, when the production capacity will jump to 2.2 million hectoliters, enabling the factory to become a major player in the local beverage industry.
Lying on a 15,000 sq. m. plot of land, the plant is expected to further expand to a 30,000 sq. m. plot, and request for more land is currently under review by the Investment Bureau of Oromia , Zelalem said.
Zelalem made the investment through a combination of bank loans and private equity.
Having in mind export markets such as Djibouti, Somaliland, South Sudan and the like, for the medium term, he plans to work without growers and suppliers for fruits and herbs and other raw materials.
In addition to those alternatives, for the longer-term, he is thinking in terms of venturing into farming as the right thing to do because in ten years’ time, his goal is to provide many countries with his concentrates through franchise deals.
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