Africa-Press – Angola. The managing partner of the “Caxaramba” alcoholic beverage factory, located in Lobito (Benguela), Ricardo Guerra, is against the use of sachets (small plastic packaging) in this segment, as he considers it harmful to society and the environment.
In an interview, this Wednesday, Ricardo Guerra said that the sachets are filled with small doses of alcoholic beverages and are easily consumed by different age groups and in large quantities, putting people’s health at risk. Regarding the environment, he stated that, after consuming the drink, the packaging is thrown on the floor in several places, creating difficulties with basic sanitation.
“I think we have regressed in environmental issues, compared to what was done 50 years ago, where returnable bottles were used a lot”, he stated. The businessman made a point of talking about its advantages, giving the example of the brewery Cuca, which to this day uses returnable bottles as its main business. “If we want to have a good image of the national drink, it cannot be presented in sachets, because visually it is not associated with positive things”, he explained. He said, however, that the quality of the drink is not at issue, but the way it is presented. To counter this situation and stimulate the economy, he highlighted the two national glass factories, namely Vidrul and Embalavidro. “If there is demand from distilled beverage producers, they will certainly find alternatives for more visually appealing formats”, he argued.
Outlook for 2024
Speaking about the prospects for this year, Ricardo Guerra said that Caxaramba plans to export its product for the month of March, already with the tax seal from the General Tax Administration. “We can’t go out there with a product that doesn’t convey credibility”, he stressed. The businessman also intends to invest in agriculture, based on his company’s by-products that are released in large quantities. Furthermore, according to him, it will also help in terms of training, so that there are increasingly better results.
Referring to investments, he informed that the company has a better laboratory. “We received staff from other companies, mainly a former director of the Castel Group who is increasingly helping to professionalize the factory”, he revealed. At the moment, the manufacturing unit is producing an average of twenty thousand boxes per month, of various products, including “Caxaramba” sugarcane spirit and Gin 77. Ricardo Guerra said he was concerned about investing in increasing distillation and fermentation capacity. “We distill an average of a thousand liters of an alcoholic drink in 24 hours, but we want to do ten times more”, he promised.
2023 Accomplishments _
Regarding the achievements of 2023, the businessman highlighted the choice of Caxaramba, by the company Cinco Sentidos, as being the first national beverage factory whose products are present in the portfolio of that international distributor. He also spoke about the certification of drinks with the AGT tax seal, which, in his opinion, gives a more dignified identity to the national product. According to the businessman, the importance of acquiring local raw materials is allowing new experiments in the manufacture of drinks, such as cornmeal. “We have also had contacts with the authorities of Bocoio because of the traditional production of pineapple. I believe that it is another raw material that we will work with”, he added. Tourism also played an important role in his factory, showing it to tourists, students, businesspeople, among others. According to Ricardo Guerra, this business is linked to history, namely colonization, slavery and sugar cane culture. “We believe that sugarcane brandy and rum are much more African than in other countries, because of the labor that left the continent”, he argued. Caxaramba has 31 workers, who work in the areas of production, technical, finance, marketing, among others. However, there have also been occasional workers, who pass through there every month, totaling between 55 and 60 jobs.
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