Zim: Delta Beverages refreshes bottles

Delta Beverages, a division of SABMiller’s Zimbabwean unit, Delta Corporation, is expected to roll out “rejuvenated” bottles and new labels for its brands, a circular to the company’s stakeholders revealed.

Larger beer will come with new “calabash” bottles in line with developments surrounding SABMiller operations in other countries. Brands that will be affected include Castle, Lion, Pilsner, Zambezi, Zambezi Light and Bohlingers.

But an official said on Wednesday, 14 April 2010, that the Pilsner brand would be the first to get new packaging.

“It’s going to be in May and currently the bottles are undergoing some testing processes,” she said.

Delta Beverages commissioned state-of-the-art packaging lines at its breweries last year following a US$16 million cash injection from SABMiller.

The circular said sparkling beverage bottles from the Coca-Cola brand would also be affected. There were plans to replace the existing bottle float with ‘light-weight’ glass.

Delta, which had lost its marketshare to imports during the decade-long crisis that ended with dollarisation last year, claims it has regained its marketshare, currently topping 90%.