Aujan eyes $1bn in sales next year

Aujan Industries, a privately-owned beverages firm and manufacturer of popular brands Rani, Vimto, and Barbican, said on Sunday that it is on track to meet an ambitious $1 billion sales target by 2012, buoyed by full-year 2010 growth figures of 20 per cent. 

Juice brand Rani leads sales, with increases of 23 per cent value year-on-year, the company said in a statement. Aujan’s Vimto cordial sold 29 million bottles in the GCC in 2010, and currently accounts for more than 90 per cent of the regional cordial market, it added.

Aujan’s Barbican brand also grew in terms of footprint and product range with the latest introduction of the brand in the Iranian and Egyptian markets, and the addition of the cans range to its portfolio. 

The team at Aujan is aiming at sustaining the +20 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) that the team managed to deliver over the past five years, the statement said. To meet the target, Aujan Industries is undertaking an aggressive strategy of global expansion and further gains in market share across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region (MENASA), with a focus on emerging markets including Egypt, Syria, Libya, and Algeria.

Accepting that further growth in the GCC may be difficult, president and CEO of Aujan Industries, Kadir Gunduz said: “There are a number of fast emerging markets in the region which are crucial to our growth strategy. Our brands have long been market leaders across the GCC, representing as much as 90 per cent of market share in their segments, so the acceleration of growth within the Gulf would be relatively difficult.”

Nevertheless, he claims that other markets in the Middle East may be ripe for its expansion plans. “However, with markets where we enter as challenger brands we have huge potential. For example, in Egypt Rani jumped from seventh to third best-selling juice in only nine months.
Given the speed of our success, we’re now focused on creating an even larger global footprint, and are in the initial stages of expansion into new territories including India and Malaysia.”

To handle increased consumer demand for its products, Aujan Industries is investing more than €100 million on capacity expansion, modernization and infrastructure at its current plants in Dubai, Tehran and Dammam, increasing output capacity by approximately 40 per cent. The company also plans to add one more plant to its portfolio by 2013.

The company made the announcement ahead of its participation at Gulfood 2011, being held from February 27 to March 2 at the World Trade Centre, Dubai.

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