Heineken opens regional office in Nairobi

SABMiller and EABL will not exactly be trembling in their shoes now that Heineken has opened a regional headquarter in Kenya's capital, as local media reported in March 2012. But it shows that global brewers are taking the East African market serious.

The Dutch brewer supplies its Heineken beer to the Kenyan market through a local distributor, Maxam Ltd, which is associated with businessman Ngugi Kiuna who has held the franchise since 2007.

Heineken's regional office in Nairobi will be headed by Koen Morshuis, General Manager East Africa, which underlines Heineken's intention to get a larger share of the East African beer market, albeit through imports only.

Mr Morshuis has moved to Nairobi from Vienna where he was Heineken’s marketing manager for central and eastern Europe.

Also in March 2012, Heineken announced it would open an office in Tanzania to help push its brands into the market, which is dominated by East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) and SABMiller.

As in Kenya, the Dutch brewer supplies its Heineken beer through a local distributor, Mabibo Beer, Wines and Spirits Ltd, who has held the franchise for 17 years.

African media say that the East African market is increasingly becoming a battle zone between SABMiller and Diageo-led EABL as both firms try to grow their regional market shares. Already, the two brewers battle head-on in Uganda, where Uganda Breweries, owned 98.2 percent by EABL, and Nile Breweries, in which SABMiller owns 60 percent, strive for dominance.

In Tanzania, Diageo, through EABL, ended a partnership with SABMiller over the running of Tanzania Breweries Limited and bought a majority stake in rival Serengeti Breweries two years ago.