Peruvian multinational beverage maker Ajegroup, with presence in more than 20 countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa, has managed to take on the largest soft drinks companies Coca Cola and Pepsi in Asia.
According to an
article published by the Financial Times, this is mainly due to a combination of a low-cost strategy, clever marketing and relentless focus on emerging markets.
Another factor that has contributed to Ajegroup’s success is perhaps its partnership with four English Premier League clubs, an ambitious marketing move smartly used by the company.
In this regard, some Asian drinkers, as is the case of IT technician in the Indonesia Sebastianus Hendro Kistanto, might believe Big Cola is an English tonic since the bottle displays a large logo of the English Football Association (FA) on it.
Big Cola’s presence in Asia is so strong that, in June 2013, the FA extended its partnership with it for a further two years, to include The FA’s 150th anniversary year and remainder of the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.
IT is surprising to find that FA claims this new deal will allow them to increase its brand presence in Asia, taking into account that Big Cola is not even Asian, but Peruvian.
The FA’s Global Head of Business Development, Sean McAuliffe, said: “We are delighted to strengthen our brand presence outside the United Kingdom and continue working with Big Cola.
"Asia is a market of increasing importance for us and working on partnerships with brands like Big Cola increases our presence in the region and is a great avenue for our Asian fans to support the team,” he added.
AJE sells its products directly or through distributors in more than 20 countries throughout Latin America, Asia and Africa: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Réunion Island, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.
Its products are also exported to and distributed in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos, with 25 years of experience,
Besides, AJE is the 10th largest soft drink company in sales volume and the 4th largest producer of carbonated soft drinks, according to a Euromonitor research report in 2011.
Ajegroup, owned by the Añaños family, created Kola Real in 1988, when the Peruvian region of Ayacucho was being devastated by the terrorist conflicts, leading major beverage suppliers to pull out of business there.
Ajegroup's first attempted foray into the foreign market was in Venezuela, where its international expansion started in 1999. Then, in 2000, the company decided to enter in the Ecuador market.
In 2002, Aje entered into Mexico, a major milestone for the company, as Mexico had the highest per capita consumption of soft drinks in the world.
“We thought that if the business model we had designed in Peru was sustainable in Mexico, then it was sustainable anywhere,” Carlos Añaños
Later, the Añaños family intensified the group’s international expansion in Costa Rica in 2004, and Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras in 2005.
Then, they established a corporate office in Spain in 2006; and launched operations in Colombia in 2007, Panama in 2009, India, Vietnam and Indonesia in 2010, and Brazil in 2011.
In 2012, the group announced the launch of its flagship brand Big Cola in the Indian market.
In the same year, armed with a new approach "Think Big", AJE also announced their association with Sony Pictures as the beverage partner for South-East Asia, to promote Hollywood blockbuster 'The Amazing Spider-Man'.
(END)INT/RMB
Published: 8/7/2014