JEDDAH, 31 January 2003 — Leading Saudi beverage producer, Aujan, announced yesterday that compared with last year’s figures, its 2003 exports to the US and UK markets increased by 32 and 46 percent respectively.
The Saudi producers of some of the best-known high street brands of soft drinks including Vimto and Rani, Aujan exports over 10 million liters of juice to over 30 countries. The US and UK markets represent 15 percent of the total volume.
Local consumers assume that because it is a Saudi company, production and coverage is probably local, at best regional. “One of our brands, Rani, is now available in some of the best-known supermarkets in the UK,” said Ahmed Al-Mubarak, Aujan’s commercial manager in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Dammam. “We also export Vimto to the US, where it is very popular. We have managed to break into some of the world’s most competitive markets — and into some of their best-known supermarkets and stores — with ‘Made in Saudi Arabia’ products.”
Based in the Eastern Province, the company recently demonstrated its confidence in the development of future business in the Kingdom by investing more than $30 million in new filling lines, boosting their existing plastic bottle (PET) production facility that was added last year. The company now has a capacity to produce up to 1.5 million bottles a day.
This year, Aujan Industries changed its status from limited-liability company to joint-stock company. The company chairman, Sheikh Adel Aujan, recently said this development was an indication that the company’s vision was firmly fixed on the future and added that it was the foundation of a much larger package of commercial and technological enhancements. “We have always prided ourselves on being responsive and efficient to consumer and market needs and this new structure will allow us to meet those needs with even greater efficiency and effectiveness,” said Sheikh Adel.
Aujan currently exports to South Africa, Mauritania, Sudan, Egypt, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, India, the Maldives and Canada.
Products are packaged in cans, PET bottles, non-returnable glass bottles, and in Tetra Pak cartons, all of which are produced in the Kingdom, where it creates local jobs and develops the local skill base. “This also allows great flexibility and continued innovation and choice for both customers and consumers,” said Bader Aujan, the company’s managing director.
Founded in 1905, the company produces some of the world’s best-known brands, including Vimto, Barbican, and Canada Dry as well as acting as distributors for Cadburys and Wrigley’s confectionery.
