The General Manager of Amber Energy Drinks Ltd, Ms. Lola Adedeji, in this chat with AKIN ADEWAKUN, gives her assessment of the nation’s energy drinks market, the reasons for the company’s recent launch of its Amber Energy Drink and why government should support Nigerian brands to enable them bounce back, among other issues. Excerpts:
HOW would you assess Nigeria’s energy drinks market?
The Nigerian energy drinks market is quite a big one. It can accommodate anyone and everyone. For instance, it is a lucrative industry, with market research fore-casting a yearly consumption growth of over 6.5% by 2022. This is slightly an increase in the 5% annual growth experienced between 2014 and 2016, which made the average consumption to be about 25.5 liters, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Report, in January, this year. The questions would then be who are we targeting and what are we delivering, in this type of market? So, it is the best market and I think that if you understand who you are targeting and where you are going, you will be able to play perfectly well in it.
But how ready are you to play in this highly competitive market?
We are more than ready. For us, we have done everything possible. We have even gone the extra mile, which many other companies cannot go, to prepare ourselves. We have taken our time to study, not just the market, but also who our consumers are, and we have decided that every step of the way, Amber will meet the needs of such consumers. So, if you say it is competitive, yes it is. To ask if we are ready to play in the market, yes, we are.
I’m sure you know the market cannot just be there for the taking, there would be challenges to overcome before consumers begin to feel your brand. What are those challenges envisaged, and your strategies at surmounting them?
One of the biggest challenges in the nation’s energy drink market is that of quality. Many Nigerians do not understand what quality is all about. For instance, for an energy drink, the first question they ask is “Is it cold? How much is it? Is it sweet? Is it bitter? These are their four main questions. On our part, we have taken our time to come up with the Amber brand that answers all those questions, and even add body nourishment to the brand benefits. The challenge is communicating to the average Nigerian why this is the best option for him/her. That is what we have taken out time to study and find ways to get to them easily.
What would you say are the unique selling points of Amber?
Just for the lay man; let’s assume that you like coffee and you can have three cups of coffee and feel like you have had enough of it. But with Amber energy drink, you will have three Cans of it, and the total caffeine intake is equivalent to that of one strong cup of coffee. And, interestingly, with one Can of Amber you are energized.
We played with the caffeine level; we introduced Guarana which is natural caffeine. It will boost you naturally without being detrimental to your heart or liver, but it will give you the boost that artificial caffeine will give.
Mind you, I am not saying that there is no artificial caffeine in it at all; but the quantity is reduced. We also packed it full with vitamins and nutrients that would help to energize your body.
How do you intend to communicate all these brand attributes in this era of lockdown?
We have launched digitally. We launched in the new normal way. We had to go back to the drawing board to assess and identify areas and places where the government has allowed people to meet and gather in line with the Covid-19 safety protocols. We identified what the people are looking at now. We discover that most people are watching their TV, listening to their radios, seeing billboards, looking at buses, reading their newspapers, and looking at things that will create excitement for them because it has been a trying time for the whole world. For us, therefore, we key into those areas to make sure that the brand is available at every point. If you wake up in the morning and walk out, you find Amber on the BRT buses. When you get out and you are in the BRT bus and you look at your phone screen you will see Amber. When you listen to your radio or put on your TV you find Amber on your TV. When you get into a supermarket, you will find Amber there. So, we are taking our time to track the lifestyle of an average Nigerian and we are following them there to ensure that we are within the regulation of the federal government but we are meeting Nigerians at every point of the way.
You decided to launch a new product at a period businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Where is the confidence coming from?
I have always been intrinsically motivated. One of my key words is “Nothing is impossible.” Second, I believe in the Nigerian market; the Nigerian market is not one that will wither away because of the storm. We have been through many storms and we know how to weather them. I am a Nigerian with the original ‘Naija’ spirit. I am resilient and my brand is resilient.
What has been your experience doing business in Nigeria?
First of all, I would say that the Nigerian business environment is not for the faint- hearted. If you want to do it you have to do it. With the Nigerian business experience I learnt that every challenge is there to teach you something; not that it is not going to break you down temporarily, but you will definitely come back stronger. And over the years I have learnt that every time there seems to be a challenge, when I go back and look at it properly, there is always a solution. So, using this theory, there are many things people are scared of. Most of the time fear is a function of the mind, it’s not reality. That is how I see life. So, for me every time something shows up, I sit down and look at it properly. You take self away from it.
What are your plans to grow the brand?
I am very passionate about the grassroots because that is the strength of the country. So, we are growing the brand from bottom up; making sure that the average Nigerian would experience the brand.
To what extent would you say COVID-19 has affected your business strategies?
For me, it reminds me that emergent strategies are very important. Don’t ever think in your mind that the strategy you have is the best and will remain so forever. It has thought me to always think. I always think; but it has made me to go back thinking and to begin to find details. I am very open to new advice; but you have to be more open, now, because COVID-19 taught us that you don’t know until you know or you think you know. And you may not even know. And that at every time you should be willing to be fluid, without losing your core.
When we began the year, we had a strategy. But with Corona virus pandemic, we have to tune it to what is happening now to get the same result. So, COVID-19 opened my mind.
Businesses are calling for federal government’s intervention to enable them bounce back from COVID 19-induced trauma. What type of support would you solicit for the industry?
I think it should be in the area of tax rebates for Nigerian brands, whether produced here or elsewhere. For instance, Amber is produced in South Africa, but you see if the federal government had provided us with the enabling environment, production in Nigeria would have been the ideal. However, to produce the quality we need, certain raw materials have to be imported to ensure that every Can has top quality. Now bringing it down here, the first issue we have is with the ports. In the process of clearing, some of our things are vandalized. That is why it is safe, for now, to bring the finished products in Cans. But, with time, our plan is to produce Amber in Nigeria, but when? I cannot tell.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
STATE OF ECONOMY: How Nigeria Is Eating Its Future, Spent Over 90% Of Revenue On Debt Servicing
INDICATION that Nigeria’s economy is still in the throes of death has continued to emerge with the current low revenue it is generating from oil sale and increasing demands on its foreign debt obligation especially. The parlous state of the economy is heightened by the revelation that most of the revenue…
FACT CHECK: Somalia President, Deputy DID NOT Fight In Viral VIDEO
CLAIM: Somalia President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and his vice exchanged blows to the point of wrestling themselves to the ground.
VERDICT: MISLEADING
FULL STORY: Nigerian media space was abuzz on Saturday, August 15, 2020, with a viral video which claims to show President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo publicly exchanged blows with his vice…
NBS Says 21.76m Nigerians Unemployed In 2020
THE National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has put the total number of unemployed Nigerians at 21,764,617. The figure is contained in the bureau’s Labor Force Statistics website entitled “Unemployment and Underemployment Report (Q2 2020) released in Abuja. It referred to the report as an Abridged Labour Force Survey under COVID-19 for August 2020. According to NBS, the unemployment rate during the period under review…
Our Fears As 2020 WASSCE Beckons: SS3 Students Speak On Inability To Finish Syllabus, Other Issues
After a long unexpected delay occasioned by the lockdown from the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will begin in 19,129 accredited centres nationwide on August 17. Some candidates hoping to write the examination spoke with IMOLEAYO OYEDEYI and ADEOLA OTEMADE on their fears and expectations…
FG’s Renewed Tax Drive Will Do More Harm Than Good To Businesses —Muda Yusuf, DG, LCCI
The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Muda Yusuf, speaks with AKIN ADEWAKUN on the state of the nation’s economy, the various efforts of the federal government to breathe life into it, and why the renewed aggressive tax drive it recently embarked upon might be an anathema to the growth of the industrial sector since it targets investors more than the consumers…