Delta Beverages expands into drinking yoghurt

Business reporter
LISTED beverages giant Delta will this week launch a new yoghurt drink. The new drink consolidates Delta’s continued interest in expanding its non-alcoholic portfolio and claiming an increasing share under the growing health and nutrition category.
According to Delta, the new yoghurt drink will fall under the Super Sip brand which the company launched in a highly publicised campaign in October last year. The company indicated that the product will be in three flavours — Banana and Strawberry, Mango and Pineapple. Additional flavours would be launched at a later stage.

Pan African consumer research firm, Ipsos, showed in its first quarter retail audit results of the Zimbabwean beverages landscape that the Super Sip brand itself has already established itself within the top three dairy fruit juices in the market six months after launch, and Delta is now gunning for an increased share through the launch of new yoghurt.

The yoghurt follows increased investment in production capacity at the non-alcoholic manufacturing facility in Willowvale. All in all, Delta Beverages will now have two lines under the Super Sip category, the existing dairy drink, and now a yoghurt.

“Our primary focus remains to ensure consumers have choice, always, and where we have capacity to offer better products for the consumer’s enjoyment we will do so,” Delta marketing manager Ms Patricia Murambinda. “The drinking yoghurt we are launching is an expression of our commitment to quality and choice. While most people are used to ordinary yoghurt, drinking yoghurts are an innovation that we believe has potential to grow”.

In March 2014, Super Sip Dairy Drink was awarded an innovation award by Delta Beverages parent firm SABMiller in acknowledgement of the technical and commercial expertise invested into bringing a concept to life in a compelling and engaging way.

The continued focus on innovation and consumer responsiveness continually exhibited by the blue chip stock may be an indication of why its stock has remained bell weather even after a slowdown in general consumer spending across its other lines.