So a few weeks ago, the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), makers of Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Limca, Eva water, Five Alive, Monster Energy drink, hosted Kemi Filani Blog and some other bloggers on a tour around its productive factory at Lateef Jakande Rd, Oba Akran, Ikeja.
The tour was an opportunity to see how these drinks are made so as to confidently advise KFB readers to continue consuming these drinks in crates.
The tour happened after a press conference that addressed misconceptions concerning Coca Cola products.
- If Coca-cola drinks made in Nigeria are safe to drink
- If a bottle of Coca-Cola actually contains ‘100 cubes of sugar’
- If Coca-Cola drinks can be taken with drugs
Nigerian Bottling Company is a bottling partner of The Coca‑Cola Company, that is, the Coca‑Cola Company manufactures and sells concentrates, bases and syrups to Nigerian Bottling Company, which in turn, uses the concentrates and syrups to manufacture, package, merchandise and distribute the final branded products to their trade partners and consumers.
It sells more than 2 billion unit cases every year to approximately 180 million Nigerian people.
Some of the drinks it makes:
- Sparkling drinks: NBC claims they are the number one supplier of sparkling soft drinks in Nigeria. They offer a choice of sugared, low sugar and sugar-free sparkling soft drinks in a diverse range of packaging to match people’s lifestyles.
- Still drinks: Still beverages are drinks that have not been subjected to carbonation. These include NBC’s five variants of the Five Alive juice brand in Nigeria, their Monster energy drinks, Ready to Drink coffee and tea. NBC claims they are the number one, top branded supplier of diverse flavors of juices in Nigeria. And are the number two branded supplier of energy drinks in Nigeria
- Water – Water is vital to the health of all humans. NBC offers Eva water, a processed water brand, which is subjected to filtering and purification treatments before being bottled. Eva is compliant with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and is available in 75cl and 1.5l PET bottles. I was wowed during our meeting with the Nigerian Bottling Company when they said they are hoping to beat Natural water and become the number one supplier of water in the world.
Unarguably, the NBC remains the Number one maker of beverages in Nigeria and Africa.