As an online journalist, I was elated to have got the invite to be at the Nigerian Bottling Company’s Bloggers Conference which held recently.
As an entrepreneur, it was worth knowing how the Nigerian Bottling Company, a member of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company(CCHBC), became an industry leader.
Interestingly, Coca Cola Nigeria grew from a bottling facility in Ebute-Metta Lagos in 1953, to now boast nine production sites in Nigeria with 29 Distribution Depots, 700,000 Distribution partners and a full-time staff of 3,550!
Hosting Kemiashefonlovehaven and some other prominent bloggers with a tour around its production factory located at Lateef Jakande Road, Ikeja, was indeed an awesome time.
A lecture/press conference which had NBC top management staff in attendance preceded the tour and many misconceptions concerning some Coca Cola products were addressed.
I’m sure the first question any health-conscious Nigerian would ask is the million dollar question of the quantity of sugar in a bottle of Coke.
“Coca-Cola contains sugar from sugarcane. The sugar is the same as you would buy in a supermarket to use at home in your tea and coffee or in other drinks. While sugar in moderation is fine, too much sugar isn’t good for anyone.”
Oh by the way, if you’re looking for reduced- or no-sugar options, you can try these alternatives of Coca-Cola— Diet Coke and Coke Zero Sugar which both have zero sugar and zero calories and are each made with their own unique blend of flavors.
Then, the management addressed some misconceptions on whether Coca Cola products manufactured in Nigeria are safe for consumption:
Yes, the Coca Cola products manufactured in Nigeria are safe for consumption in view of the following reasons:
1.Risk assessment was conducted to ascertain maximum limits of food additives acceptable in foods.
This takes into consideration the environmental, storage and distribution conditions as well as the shelf life of food products.
2.NAFDAC and SON regularly monitor the manufacturing practices of Food industries and conduct laboratory analysis to ascertain continuous compliance with required national standards.There was a routine inspection conducted at Nigeria Bottling Company by NAFDAC officers in December, 2016 which was satisfactory.
What You Never Knew About The NBC:
• The NBC was incorporated in Nigeria in 1951 and began bottling operations in 1953.
• It started 67 years ago from a small under ground building and has now developed to a 6million unit crate production plus 11 productive unit in Nigeria.
• Nigerian Bottling Company is a bottling partner of The Coca Cola Company, that is, the Coca Cola Company manufactures and sells concentrates, bases and syrups to Nigerian Bottling Company, which in turn, uses the concentrates and syrups to manufacture, package, merchandise and distribute the final branded products to their trade partners and consumers.
• All its Coca-cola Hellenic products are made with the best technology you can think of and the drinks are mixed, bottled within an hygienic environment with the best technology in Africa.
• It sells more than 2 billion unit cases every year to approximately 180 million Nigerian people.
• Sparkling drinks: NBC affirms its the number one supplier of sparkling soft drinks in Nigeria. They offer a choice of sugared, low sugar and sugar-free sparkling soft drinks in a diverse range of packaging to match people’s lifestyles.
• Still drinks: Still beverages are drinks that have not been subjected to carbonation. These include NBC’s five variants of the Five Alive juice brand in Nigeria, their Monster energy drinks, Ready to Drink coffee and tea. NBC affirms its the number one, top branded supplier of diverse flavors of juices and the number two branded supplier of energy drinks in Nigeria
• Water:Water is vital to the health of all humans. NBC offers Eva water, a processed water brand, which is subjected to filtering and purification treatments before being bottled. Eva is compliant with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and is available in 75cl and 1.5l PET bottles