Nigeria’s Bature Brewery Targets Five-Fold Output Jump as Craft Beer Surges

Nigeria’s largest craft brewer, Bature Brewery, is accelerating expansion plans as researchers project the global craft beer market will triple to more than $250 billion by 2033. The Lagos-based company, founded in Abuja in 2017, currently produces 22,000 litres a month and sells its locally inspired beers in about 70 locations. Co-founder Kevin Conroy said Bature aims to boost production to 100,000 litres a month and expand distribution to 500 outlets within the next 18 months. The brewer is installing new fermentation vessels, diesel generators and a water-treatment plant to cope with Nigeria’s patchy utilities while investing in draft dispensers for hotels, bars and restaurants. Nigeria’s beer market is valued at roughly $7 billion annually and is the second-largest market for Guinness worldwide. Bature’s craft products—such as Harmattan Haze, Lagos Lager and coffee-infused Black Gold stout—can cost up to six times more than mass-market beers. Conroy said capturing even 1 percent of the domestic market, about $70 million in sales, would meet the company’s growth ambitions. The brewer also faces headwinds, including naira devaluation that has pushed up the cost of imported raw materials. To offset this, Bature is increasing the use of local ingredients such as coffee from Taraba State and promoting its Mango Disco seasonal ale and other award-winning variants to foster consumer loyalty amid the broader craft-beer boom.