TheCable

Peter Njonjo, president of the West Africa operation at Coca-Cola, says the company plans to spend $600 million on its new products by 2020.

Njonjo explained that this is part of a global strategy of the company to extend its product range beyond soft drinks.

“Our objective is to provide whatever beverages you need across your life stages,” Njonjo told Bloomberg in an interview.

The company, which has been in Nigeria since 1951, had pledged that it would invest $17 billion in Africa by 2020.

It said this is to make its brand a “total beverage company” and reduce reliance on carbonated soft drinks.

Njonjo added that the rising inflation in the country had increased production costs as prices of imported goods have gone up to dollar scarcity.

“As disposable incomes start getting under pressure, expenditure in products like ours start becoming inaccessible to most consumers,” he said.

In response to the challenges, Coca-Cola increased prices and introduced new product-sizes and sought more inputs locally.

The manager said the company plans to raise the share of raw materials produced in Nigeria to 75% from the current 70% by 2020 to reduce its exposure to foreign exchange.

In 2016, Coca-Cola bought a 40% stake in Chi Limited, a juice and dairy company, for $240 million and said, at the time, it intended to take total control within three years.