(Business in Cameroon) - Some thirty employees of Brasserie Samuel Foyou (Brasaf), the latest brewing company to open in Cameroon,  were temporarily suspended from work on July 1, 2023. According to a briefing note signed on June 30, 2023, by Jacques Kammogne, the managing director of this brewing company, the suspension was decided because of the company’s challenges. 

The management "informs all Brasaf staff that the company is experiencing a decline in both sales and production. However, reforms are underway to stabilize it and bring back growth as soon as possible. The employees affected by this temporary suspension will be gradually reassigned,” the note indicates. 

The brewing company announces the decline in sales and production just one year after it launched operations in June 2022. The challenges are also announced three months after CEMAC competition authorities approved the sales of Guinness Cameroon’s assets to French group Castel. The assets are now managed by local market leader SABC, boosting its market share to over 80%.  

In the present configuration of the local market, Basaf will have to compete with decade-long operators, namely the undisputed leader SABC and Union Camerounaise des Brasseries (UCB), whose products are increasingly popular with consumers. 

The brewing company was established in 2014 by business mogul Samuel Foyou, who owns a distillery (Fermencam). Nevertheless, it presented its first products to the public in June 2022. The beer it presented is "Slash", containing 75% malt, and 25% corn. According to the brewing company, it is different from the others “in its quality and plastic packaging.”’ The company also announced the launch of "Krystal Drink", a range of carbonated beverages claimed to be low in sugar and gas, but to date that soft drink is not yet available on stalls. 

BRM