The name SBC traces its roots to our Nigerian sister bottling operation, Seven-Up Bottling Company PLC. Our sister company has been operating in Nigeria since that country’s Independence Day on 1st October 1960. Our Nigerian sister company employs over 5000 employees.

The main driving force behind SBC is the El-Khalil family who are no strangers to the African continent. They came into Tanzania with almost 100 years of experience in Africa and of which 40 have been in the soft drinks business in Nigeria.

We commenced commercial operations in Tanzania on April 8, 2001 and since then each passing day has been challenging, interesting and rewarding. SBC had an excellent first year in Tanzania as its long-standing strategic focus on building a broad portfolio of carbonated beverages paid off. Volume was up 50% in the first year, we embraced ‘no nonsense back to basics’ strategy for growth which worked very well for us.

Over the last 4 years we have focused on improving manufacturing capacity, streamlining sales & distribution and upgrading the skills of our people through training & development. All this has paid dividends with our volumes surging ahead with growths of 18% in year 2, 8% in year 3 and 28% in year 4 i.e. 2004-05.

Growth is our lifeline, but equally important is how we get there. For us, growth and integrity go together. They are the two rhythms around the company that simply beat as one. Integrity is the first and most important of our values. We have designed SBC so that we fulfill our ambitions for growth without ever having to cut corners, compromise our integrity or otherwise violate the sacred trust placed in SBC by our shareholders, our employees and so many others.