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November 24, 2016
The Peruvian group seeks to take advantage of Bhutan’s proximity to northern India and thus grow in the Asian market.
AJE Group, one of the largest multinational beverage companies, reinforces through the joint venture Ice Beverage its international presence with its landing in Bhutan, the kingdom of the Himalayas and the gateway to Northern India.
The group’s new plant is located in the district of Samtse, one of the twenty districts into which Bhutanese territory is divided and which is on the border with India, a country to which the products manufactured at the Bhutanese plant will also arrive, specifically the BIG and Cifrut brands.
In this way, the AJE Group reaches a potential market of more than 250 million new Indian and Bhutanese consumers, who can now enjoy the authentic flavour of BIG.
For Julio Roda, Global Executive Director of Franchises and Strategic Alliances and Regional Executive Director for the Middle East and Africa of the AJEm Group, the inauguration of a new plant in Bhutan to supply this market and that of Northern India represents a giant step forward in the Asian continent, where they already offer products in other countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Southern India, among others.
” This way, we consolidate our presence in Asia thanks to our solidity, experience and know-how, as we already demonstrated with our arrival in Madagascar in 2016, and Reunion Island in 2013, where we have been offering BIG to more than 26 million consumers since then,” he said.
THE TWO PRODUCTS THAT WE WILL OFFER
Cifrut belongs to the bottled fruit beverage category, which accounts for 13.3% of the group’s global sales. It is currently available to consumers in twelve LATAM countries -it is the leading citrus fruit-flavored beverage in the Peruvian market in its category- and will soon be available in Bhutan and India.
“This is a young and fresh brand, which surprises and encourages people to enjoy every moment, so it represents one hundred percent the essence of Grupo AJE; and, in addition, it shares with BIG the positive, fun spirit and the desire to eat the world of its users, but in the case of Cifrut it is reflected through the power of the color of the fruits that give life to its juices”, says Roda.
Meanwhile, BIG is the group’s best-selling and most international brand, which is why it has become the company’s flagship since its inception. It belongs to the category of carbonated beverages, which account for 60% of AJE’s global sales. Today it is present in more than 23 countries. “The welcome we have received in Madagascar, where we started in July this year with a local partner, has been truly amazing, allowing us to consolidate our position on the African continent, where we are also in Egypt, Nigeria and Reunion Island,” concludes the Global Executive Director of Franchising and Strategic Alliances and Regional Executive Director for the Middle East and Africa, AJE Group.