The Managing Director, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Mr. Emil Moskofian, has said the ongoing upgrade of the company’s facility will gulp $130m.
According to him, the company has already spent $100m in the first phase of the facility upgrade, which has been completed; while the second phase, which is currently ongoing, is expected to cost $30m.
Moskofian said this in Lagos following a facility tour and the unveiling of the new Cadbury Bournvita 500 grams pack.
The MD, who explained that the upsizing to 500g pack was aimed at adding more vitality to consumers, expressed delight that not only was the factory state-of-the-art, Bournvita had also been re-endorsed by the Nutrition Society of Nigeria “reconfirming its nutrition credentials”.
Moskofian, who said the experience of the company in the country had been consistent, assured that the company would continue to ensure it got the basics right as it had done so far.
The MD told our correspondent that the company was not fazed by competition, stressing that Bournvita had been a favourite brand for the Nigerian consumer for years.
“We focus on our brand. We look at what is happening in the marketplace, but our focus remains that we continue to invest behind our brand in regards to quality, communication, product innovation, route to market and capacity building,” he said.
He added that with the national reach of the company, along with its procedures and processes, it had been able to ensure that its products were not affected by counterfeiting.
Explaining why the company was expanding despite the security challenges in the country, Moskofian said, “We take long-term view of the market, our decisions are long-term driven. We believe very strongly that we have a very good future hence the reason we will continue to invest in our brand, our business and that will continue because we take a long-term view.”
Concerning the investment, he said the firm had not faced much challenges raising funds as the funding for its investment had come from internal funds.
Apart from investing in its factories to boost the quality of its products and ensure that consumers get nothing short of what they paid for, Moskofian said Cadbury Nigeria was also committed to cocoa processing in the country.