Arenel invests $2,5m in mahewu plant

By Dumisani Nsingo Senior Business Reporter
LEADING biscuit and sweet manufacturer Arenel has set aside $2,5 million for the construction of a mahewu plant in Bulawayo as part of its programme to diversify products and tap into the growing demand for the beverage.
A number of companies have ventured into brewing mahewu as demand has increased over the past few years.
Arenel managing director Mr Joshua Lepar told Sunday Business during a Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce facilitated tour on Thursday that a piece of land has been secured and construction will start soon.

“We have already bought the machinery and secured the land for the construction of the plant and we hope to have completed construction of the factory by the end of April or beginning of May (this year).

“Our distribution is good and as such we thought of tapping into the market since we have a good brand and the product will definitely be Arenel guaranteed and we are looking forward to export to Zambia and Malawi, which are traditional mahewu markets,” Mr Lepar said.

Mahewu is a beverage from Africa, made from cornmeal and its taste has over the years been enhanced through mixing it with an array of fruit flavours. Last year, Arenel bought a property adjacent to its Bulawayo head office comprising 2,6 hectares where it plans to construct a new purpose built production facility to house a new enlarged biscuit factory together with an automated plant. The estimated $2 million facility is expected to be commissioned in 2016.

“Renovations to the new factory have started and the new plant has been ordered, this will ensure we maintain our supply to our ever growing demand both locally and regionally,” Mr Lepar said.

“This is to ensure that we stay abreast of new technologies as well as ensuring that we are able to meet the ever growing demand for the Arenel brand.”

Arenel exports its products to Zambia, South Africa, Malawi and Nigeria and has set sights on spreading its tentacles across the continent by including Angola, Uganda and Ghana.

As part of its efforts to stifle competition exerted by an influx of imported biscuits, Arenel recently introduced a new range of products.

“We have recently launched our new range of biscuits to combat imported biscuits called yummies, these come in five flavours, chocolate ice-cream, vanilla ice-cream, tangy lemon, tropical banana and sweet orange,” Mr Lepar said.

He said the company’s capacity utilisation was hovering around 60 percent as production increases buttressed by increased demand for the company products.