Nestlé Waters announced Wednesday the creation of a partnership with the ZAHAF brothers, owners of the Boissons Gazeuses des Frères Zahaf Group (B.G.F.Z. - formerly Boissons Sidi El Kebir), one of the leading players in the beverage field in Algeria.
Nestlé Waters and the Zahaf Brothers are now associates in a joint stock company called Société Source de TABERKACHENT, with Nestlé Waters holding 51% of the capital. This corporation has taken over all of the B.G.F.Z. group’s bottled water business, the Sidi El Kebir water brand and has a distribution agreement that will enable it to take advantage of the network and expertise developed in Algeria by the B.G.F.Z. group. The company will be headed by Mohamed ZAHAF.
The B.G.F.Z. group (formerly Boissons Sidi El Kebir) was established in the early 1980s by the ZAHAF family. It is specialised in the production and distribution of bottled waters and carbonated beverages. Since the start of the decade, it has been the exclusive Algerian bottler and distributor of the Orangina and Mecca Cola brands.
In 2001, the B.G.F.Z. Group added the natural still mineral water brand Sidi El Kebir to its business portfolio.
At the end of 2004, this brand was in second position on the fledgling bottled water market in Algeria, with a substantial market share. Sidi El Kebir water comes from a spring near the town of Blida, 50 kilometres from Algiers.
At 550 million litres, for an annual bottled water consumption per inhabitant of more than 16 litres at the end of 2004, the bottled water market in Algeria displays a strong growth potential, with annual growth in consumption at more than 22% in recent years.
