Soft drinks maker Softa Soda has shut down its factory due to frustration from market forces and lack of capital to expand operations, the company has said. The company that has operated for two decades has already started sale of its assets in a resource mobilisation drive, paving way for the closure.
The assets which are estimated to be worth about Sh1 billion include the land where the plant stands.
Softa Soda owner Peter Kuguru has blamed cut-throat competition from the international soft drink brands saying this had caused his company immense losses. “It is hard to compete against an established brand which has deep pockets,” the businessman said.
The company had two processing plants with 2,000 casings of soda being produced daily.
Kuguru pointed out that business was doing poorly that it took days for the company to market what it produced in a day.
“We produce for 24 hours and then we close the plant and market slowly until we sell all of them and then we produce again,” Kuguru said.
The businessman pointed out that they had tried to reach various proprietors but their efforts have failed to bear fruits.
He said a capital injection of half a billion shillings would have saved the company.
“We expected to find a partner who would invest at least Sh500 million, and this could have salvaged the company,” Kuguru said.
The businessman said that he is seeking alternative business ventures .
Kuguru has carried blame to the Government citing that it has failed to support local entrepreneurs.
“Local businesses are having a hard time as they get little or no support at all from the Government. Brands that could change the face of the nation are falling,” he said. The brand was a family business under the name Kuguru Food Complex, founded by Peter Kuguru and his wife in 1988.