(Business in Cameroon) – On October 24, Fuh Calistus Gentry, the interim Minister of Industry, visited the construction site of Pristine’s factory in Tiko, located in the Southwest region of Cameroon. This investment, although its amount has not been disclosed, positions the company to enter the mineral water and soft drink market in Cameroon as early as 2025.
The government has identified Pristine’s investment as a priority industrial project. This factory is being built in an area designated as an Economically Distressed Zone (EDZ) due to the impacts of Anglophone separatist violence in the Southwest and Northwest regions since late 2016. Both the government and Pristine’s owner, businessman Mohammed A. Abdulrahman, view this factory as a pioneering project for the reindustrialization of the Southwest region, which has faced significant industrial destruction due to the conflict.
According to its promoters, Pristine’s factory will offer affordable products while focusing on processing local raw materials. In addition to serving the local market, the company plans to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which provides access to a common market of around 1.3 billion consumers across Africa.
Pristine’s entry into the market is expected to boost competition in the already fierce sector of mineral water and soft drinks in Cameroon. The company will face tough competition from well-established rivals. Notably, Source du Pays has dominated the mineral water market since 2016 with its popular Supermont brand.
In that year, Source du Pays made a strong comeback after several years and took market leadership from the Société des Eaux Minérales du Cameroun (SEMC), a subsidiary of the Castel Group. SEMC had been the uncontested leader in this market for decades. The acquisition of Nabco, which produced the “Opur” mineral water brand and the “Planète” soft drinks, propelled Source du Pays to 67% market share in 2018, up from 58% in 2016.
Following Source du Pays’s rise, SEMC became the second-largest player in the market and launched the Vitale brand, alongside Aquabelle and the well-known Source Tangui, to compete with its rival’s low pricing strategies. SEMC has been working to regain its footing over the past eight years and claimed 40% market share in 2021. Together, Source du Pays and SEMC lead a market that already features around twenty other local and international brands.
