The festive season is almost upon us and beer has always been a part of the celebrations in our culture. A lot of drinkers however will be irked to learn that Delta has increased the price of opaque beer including the famous Super PET plastic bottle starting today. It’s not yet clear what beer retailers will choose to do with this increase. They can either opt to keep their prices unchanged and absorb the latest increase or pass on the cost to their customers. In Zimbabwe, most businesses generally tend to quickly pass on costs as there is always a risk that prices will not come down in the long run.

New Super and other opaque prices from Delta

Sorghum Beer	Wholesale USD Price Per Pack	Wholesale USD Price Per Unit
1.25 Litre Chibuku Super PET	$4.50	$0.75
1.25 Litre Super Banana PET	$4.50	$0.75
1.25 Litre Chibuku PET	$4.50	$0.75
2.0 Litre Chibuku Scud (6 pack)	$4.00	$0.67
1.5 Litre Chibuku Scude (8 Pack)	$4.65	$0.67
1.4 Litre Chibuku Scud Plus	$4.65	$0.57

All prices include VAT

Most of these opaque beer units already sell for US$1 at most bars and bottle stores. Delta has a recommended retail price of US$0.90 for the Super PET but no one really sells it at this price point because of the costs involved in their operations. There are transport costs and electricity costs, and the current 20-hour load-shedding there are generator costs as no one wants to drink warm beer and a host of others. A lot of sellers also do not buy from Delta Directly and have to go through a middleman. Shebeen operators also have to pay bribes and incur other expenses.

Innsccor maybe salivating

Innscor Africa has entered the opaque beer market with their own 1.25-litre PET bottles. In some areas, they are selling for roughly US$0.90. This is most likely a clever tactic by Innscor to take some of Delta’s market share by charging lower prices. But the fact is, beer drinkers are creatures of habit. They tend to stick to their favourite drink, but there is always the possibility that a significant number of them may take the plunge, switch to Nyathi, and become converts.