In 2020, several beverage companies in Nigeria have made the list of the Top 10 brands, proving that beverages were becoming more popular and important in the Nigerian market. This is true as the demand for beverages like milk, chocolate, and juice has increased over the years.
In this article, you are going to find the top 10 beverage companies in Nigeria based on their popularity in the Nigerian market. Most of these beverage companies also operate worldwide and have been in the beverage business for more than 10 years.
Top 10 Beverage Companies In Nigeria
1. Coca-Cola Company
Taking the first spot is the biggest soft drink company in the world, the Coca-Cola Company. The company produces most of the largest beverage products in the world including its flagship beverage drink, the Coca-Cola which it’s most popular product till date.
The Coca-Cola Company has hundreds of brands and products and caters for almost every nation in the world. Its products, Fanta and Sprite including its best product Coca-Cola are popular choices for most Nigerians making it the most popular beverage company in Nigeria.
2. Nigerian Breweries Plc
Established in 1946, Nigerian Breweries Plc is the largest brewing company in Nigeria. Its primary customers are Nigerians but it also exports to other parts of West Africa.
Nigerian Breweries brewed its first bottle of beer, STAR Lager, in its Lagos Brewery in June 1949, just three years after it was incorporated.
The company produces mostly alcoholic beverages with a long range of products like Star Lager, Goldberg, Gulder lager beer, Heineken and many more.
The company also produces non-alcoholic beverages like Maltina (its first non-alcoholic drink), Amstel Malta, Malta Gold, Maltex and others.
Nigerian breweries also have several factories spread all over the country with its first brewery located in the Lagos metropolis. Other of its factories includes the Kaduna Brewery, Ibadan Brewery, Enugu Brewery, Onitsha Brewery, and many others.
3. Nestle
Nestle is the largest food company in the world and a leading manufacturing brand in Nigeria. They have numerous products under their name including Nigeria’s popular seasoning cube, Maggi, Nespresso and Kit Kat.
The company is known to hold a major share in the beverage market with beverages like Nesquick, Nestea, Milo, and Nescafe being the popular choices of many Nigerians.
4. Unilever
With a turnover of 53 billion euros in 2017 from over 400 product brands, Unilever takes its place as one of the top beverage companies in Nigeria. If you are wondering what beverage product this company makes, then you should know that they are the genius behind the sweet, comforting tea we all call Lipton.
Unilever is involved in the production of other brands of products including Dove, Axe/Lynx creams, Knorr seasoning, and Omo detergent.
5. Promasidor
Promasidor is a food product and beverage company which focuses on the African market. The company is reportedly the biggest beverage and food products company in Africa catering for over 850 million people in the African continent.
Promasidor produces one of the most popular diary brands known as Cowbell Milk. The powdered milk was the first product the company made for Africans and it went to on to become its most successful product till date.
Other beverage products produced by the company include Cowbell chocolate, Loya milk and Miksi. The company also has other brands of products under it including seasonings such as Onga and Sossi.
6. FrieslandCampina WAMCO
If you have heard of Peak Milk, one of the most popular milk products in the Nigerian market today, then you should probably know that FrieslandCampina WAMCO is the beverage company behind the powdered milk.
Peak Milk was the first product of the company and has become one of the most popular milk products in the Nigerian market which perfectly puts FrieslandCampina WAMCO as one of the top 10 beverage companies in Nigeria.
FrieslandCampina WAMCO (WAMCO stands for “West Africa Milk Company Nigeria”) was incorporated in 1973 and began operation in 1975. The company presently caters for many countries in West Africa with Nigeria being its biggest market location.
FrieslandCampina WAMCO products include Peak powdered milk, Peak condensed milk, Peak Choco, and Three Crowns.
7. Cadbury Nigeria Plc
Cadbury is known to produce one of the most popular chocolate beverages, Bournvita. The company is also known to be the second largest confectionery company in the world and one of the largest beverage companies in Nigeria.
Cadbury is a subsidiary of Mondelez International, a multinational beverage and confectionery food company based in the USA. The company caters for over 180 countries with a workforce of over 83,000 people.
8. Arla Foods (Dano Milk)
Arla Foods is a multinational company in the United Kingdom that produces mostly dairy products. The company is known to be the 4th largest dairy company in the world and the geniuses behind one of Nigeria’s most popular milk beverage Dano Milk.
9. Chi Limited
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, Chi Limited is one of the largest consumer goods companies that provide consumer products in beverages, dairy and snacks sectors.
The company is known to produce the largest number of Juice & beverages, dairy, and snack brands in Nigeria. Its beverages like Chivita, Capri-Sun, Happy Hour, Chi Exotic and Hollandia Yoghurt are very popular brands in the Nigerian market.
Chi Limited also has several product brands in its snacks sector like Sausage Roll, Superbite and Beefie meatpie.
10. Suntory Beverage & Food
Although Suntory Beverage & Food as a company is not well known in Nigeria, it owns two of the major beverage brands been consumed daily in the country. Suntory Beverage & Food gained ownership of Lucozade and Ribena drink brands in 2013 after the parent company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) sold the brands for 1.35 billion euros.
Lucozade is among the most popular energy drinks in Nigeria and has been a market leader for many decades. Ribena is also a popular drink in Nigeria consumed mostly by children and young adults.
That concludes our list of the 10 best beverage companies in Nigeria for 2020. Do you know any other beverage company that you have cogent reasons why it should be on this list, simply leave that in a comment below.
