Cameroonian tycoon Samuel Foyou prepares to launch brewing company

Samuel Foyou, a Cameroonian businessman and leading industrialist, is set to launch his brewing company as part of an effort to break into the fiercely competitive alcoholic beverage industry.

On June 30, the brewery unit, Societe Brasseries Samuel Foyou (Brasaf), will officially launch its first beer, as well as a line of soft drinks marketed as low in sugar and gas under the brand, “Krystal Drink.”

“Brasaf will officially launch its first beer containing 75 percent malt and 25 percent corn on June 30. This alcoholic drink wants to be different from the others in terms of its quality and its packaging on the market,” the company stated in a press release.

The Foyou-led company revealed that it intends to defy competition codes by limiting the constraints typically observed in points of sale, as its product will be marketed in PET (plastic) bottles of 0.65cl and 0.33cl, with a 5.1-percent alcohol volume.

In the wake of Brasaf’s official launch, the number of active players in the Cameroonian brewing sector now stands at four, as the new brewer joins players such as Societe Anonyme des Brasseries du Cameroun (SABC), a subsidiary of the French group Castel, and Union des Brasseries du Cameroun (UCB), owned by Cameroonian billionaire Kadji de Fosso, in a fierce battle for market share.

The Castel-owned SABC controls 80 percent of the Cameroonian brewing sector, with Guinness Cameroon SA and UCB accounting for the remaining 20 percent.

Brasaf’s entry into the industry comes nearly eight years after it was founded by Foyou in the city of Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, through deeds of creation filed on July 10, 2014.

Foyou, the majority shareholder in Societe Camerounaise de Fermentation (FERMENCAM), a distillery he purchased from Victor Fotso in 2006 for CFA12 billion ($19.2 million), derived the majority of his wealth from his investments and businesses in the hotel, food, and printing industries.

Toward the end of 2021, the Cameroonian businessman will open Krystal Palace, a CFA16-billion ($27.5 million) five-star hospitality establishment in Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital.

The hotel, an extension of his Krystal Palace & Resorts Group, is Douala’s first five-star hotel and Cameroon’s second after the Hilton Hotel in Yaounde. There are 237 rooms and 10 suites.