While the campaign was welcomed as a breakthrough to the local alcohol Industry association, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) have a different view. The campaign seemed as a step forward especially that it came during the industry’s dry spell.
‘Dinwele Dladleng’campaign encouraged alcohol consumers to purchase and drink alcohol at home only. The campaign came as a compromise to let the alcohol Industry to get back on it’s feet while at the same time observing the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) regulations.
According to KBL, the campaign had a negative impact as it affected their sales and slowed down their recovery. “The clear beer category also experienced a market shift towards the more affordable and less profitable returnable bulk packs. This resulted in a heavy reliance on consumers returning the empties and a more than the normal injection of new returnable empty bottles as these were lost in the trade. The situation was exacerbated, unfortunately, by the βDinwele Dladlengβ campaign encouraging Batswana to drink from home. This resulted in a heavy reliance on consumers returning empties and a more than normal injection of new returnable empties to replace those lost to trade.” the Company’s 2020 annual report revealed.
The report further points out that the sales for their alcoholic beverages went down by up to Thirty-eight percent (38%), while the budget went down by up to Forty-eight percent (48%). The Company reports that for clear beer category, the sales/revenue declined by Twenty-four percent (24%) Thirty-eight percent (38%) for Fruit Alcoholic Beverages, specifically Flying fish, and Thirty-seven percent for Traditional Alcoholic Beverages- Chibuku. As for the budget, Clear beer category declined by Twenty-seven percent (27%), Fruit Alcoholic Beverages recorded a Forty-seven percent decline while Traditional Alcoholic Beverages saw a Thirty-eight percent (38%) decline. These are in comparison to the prior year.
During lockdown alone in 2020, the Company reported that last they have lost more than hundred (100) days of sales, which equates to close to Seventy percent (70%) in revenue losses. The losses did not include over Forty Million Pula (P40 Million) lost in expired alcohol as revealed by the Botswana Alcohol Industry Association (BAIA).
