Posted Sep 29, 2022 9:57 AM
In 1962, a master brewer from Germany created a beer recipe adapted to Reunionese tastes for the Brasseries de Bourbon, a company formed by various local family groups. The marketing of the “Dodo” began the following year and was a great success. Sixty years later, the recipe of the brand that has become one of the emblems of the island has not changed and the Brasseries de Bourbon measure the progress made.
The company of 230 employees achieves a turnover of 106 million euros, distributes 22 brands of beer, soft drinks, water, juice and other energy drinks on the Reunion market. They are 80% made locally: the “Dodo”, but also a Coca-Cola range and many other references. The Brasseries de Bourbon underwent a major change in 1986, with the entry of the Heineken group into its capital. Today, the world’s second-largest brewer holds 86%, alongside a few historic shareholders.
Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the company, on September 28 in Saint-Denis, its general manager Edwin Botterman highlighted the level of investment in the Breweries: 10 million euros per year over the past three years, in particular to build a new brewing room with advanced automation.
Goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions
Pascal Sabrié, Heineken’s regional director for Africa and the Indian Ocean, for his part announced an investment plan of 38 million euros, from 2023 to 2025, “to continue to modernize the Brasseries de Bourbon, digitize the company and achieve the goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030” for production activities. A roadmap is being developed to achieve this, through renewable energy and improving the plant’s energy efficiency.
Brasseries de Bourbon also wants to increase the percentage of reuse of its bottles, all imported in the absence of local glassware. It is currently 70%, thanks to a recovery system rooted in Reunionese tradition. For several decades, collectors have been roaming the streets of the island picking up empty beer bottles, door-to-door or, today, rummaging through glass terminals. A dozen companies buy this collection before reselling it to the brewery.
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