Paradise Beverages plans to take Bitter and Vonu to Australia

By RACHNA LAL

Paradise Beverages has indicated plans to launch Fiji Bitter and Vonu Beer into the Australian market by April or May this year.
Paradise Beverages has already launched Bounty Rum in the Australian market in December.
This has been confirmed to Sun Business by Paradise Beverages general manager, Tony Scanlan.
The announcement comes as Coca-Cola Amatil, which acquired Paradise Beverages (then known as Foster’s Pacific Group Limited) in 2012, re-entered the Australian brewery market in December.
“We are also exploring markets in Australia, New Zealand and Asia as well as the UK and the US for our beers and rums,” he said.
“We already have a large hotel group throughout Asia interested in our Fiji Rums.
“We will be concentrating on establishing the large number of new products we developed in 2013 including the Fiji Rum Co, Vonu Beer and a range of extensions to Bounty Rum.”

New products
General manager of Coca-Cola Amatil non-alcoholic beverage operations in Fiji, Steven Jowell, indicated they have had great success with the Minute Maid Pulpy in Fiji.
He revealed plans to introduce Glaceau Vitamin Water, Kiwi Blue Sparkling Water and Powerade Zero into the local market this year.
Coca-Cola Amatil’s non-alcoholic beverages business in 2013 delivered strong volume and earnings growth as per the 2013 Financial Results released this week.
A spokesperson said this was as the business cycled the impact of major floods in 2012 and continued to benefit from the strong growth of Minute Maid Pulpy.
Mr Scanlan highlighted Paradise Beverages launched around 16 new lines in 2013 including Fiji Rum Company, Tribe Blue Lagoon, Vonubeer as well as new Bounty Rum variants.
“Most of them we believe have excellent export potential and this year we will be concentrating on getting these products into new markets,” he said.

Upgrade completion by December
Meanwhile, Mr Scanlan said the investment of the previously-announced FJ$44 million has been ongoing since Coca-Cola Amatil acquired Paradise Beverages in September 2012.
“We are on track with capital expenditure going into the major redevelopment of the Suva Brewery. The completion is scheduled for late December this year,” he said.