Keroche breweries has launched the Vienna Ice Strong Lager with a 10% alcohol content. The company has exuded confidence in the new drink which it says will generate more that Ksh. 1 billion to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) annually.
According to the company CEO Tabitha Karanja, the Vienna Ice Strong Lager is the first strongest locally brewed beer in a market dominated by imports. Mrs. Karanja said plans are underway to launch another brand of strong beer in the next three months, creating more job opportunities for residents and generating extra revenue.
“The new product Vienna Ice Strong Lager will generate over Ksh. 1 billion to KRA every year and this will rise with time as per our market projections. For years consumers have relied on imports in this market and the new brand which is unique will fill in this gap,” she added.
Mrs. Karanja admitted that the pandemic had adversely affected the liquor sector, with sales dropping by 25% due to the closure of bars. She was however optimistic that things would change in the coming months with their projections of attaining 10% of the country’s market still on track.
“Tax remains a major challenge for us and we are content with the recent court ruling that directed the Competition Authority to the issue of beer packaging,” she said.
Keroche operations manager Nicholas Kipchirchir said that the new product was launched after the successful acceptance of KB Lager last year. He added that the company had the capacity of producing over 40,000 bottles per hour adding that they would meet the demand of the newly launched strong beer.
The company’s daily bottling capacity is 30,000 crates of beer or 750,000 bottles which translates to 10 million crates of beer per year.