(Business in Cameroon) - Société Anonyme des brasseries du Cameroun (SABC), a subsidiary of the French group Castel, inaugurated its new research and development laboratory in Douala on January 18, 2022.  

"After a year and a half of work, the central laboratory of the SABC Group’s Koumassi-based plant is fully renovated. Thanks to investments estimated at several hundred millions of CFA francs, higher-caliber equipment is now available for professionals of the Process and Quality Directorate," the company informs. The new laboratory includes a research center. Coupled with the over 70 years of experience of the SABC Group, the latest generation technologies in the research center will help develop new processes and products.  

SABC is inaugurating this new laboratory in a competitive environment. Even if it is the leader of the local brewing market (with more than 70% of market share), the company must face traditional competitors: Union Camerounaise des Brasseries (UCB) and Guinness Cameroon, a subsidiary of Diageo. Those two competitors have introduced several innovations in recent years, launching new products in the soft drink, mineral water, and beer segments. 

A new competitor, Ultimate, is also announced in the local market. According to recent information from the Ministry of Environment, the company is planning to establish a soft drinks, bottled water, and cookies production plant in Mbankomo, a locality situated about twenty kilometers from Yaoundé, the Cameroonian capital.

S.A.