KWV takes over Wild Africa Cream

Wild Africa, a South African cream liqueur brand, has been acquired by KWV to form part of the company’s portfolio of international wine and spirits brands.

Wild Africa was established by the Wild Cape Liqueurs company in 2001 and has since then created a global footprint and following with its product, packaging and marketing initiatives.

KWV, which has been responsible for the marketing and distribution of the brand in Africa for several years, will now take over the brand in its entirety in all global markets in this new ownership deal.

“KWV has a growth strategy with a strong focus on brands and commercialisation,” KWV CEO Thys Loubser explains. “What attracted us to this brand is its unique, African appeal, which fits well with KWV’s existing portfolio and geographical focus. We expect our highest returns on the brand to come from South Africa, Africa and Europe.”

This move follows on KWV’s acquisition of the Golden Kaan brand in August last year.

“The African image of Wild Africa cream complements the images of KWV-owned brands such as Golden Kaan and Imoya, which are already featuring the continent as an exotic origin and destination in their marketing.”

Loubser added: “Wild Africa has great growth potential in a category that is globally performing above average and is geared to continue growing strongly on a compounded basis.”

Wild Africa will complement KWV’s Van der Hum, which has a distinct positioning and following, especially in the South African market.

According to Wild Cape Liqueurs financial director, Jacques van Litsenborgh, “a focused marketing and brand building effort from the small, but passionate management team has seen Wild Africa become one of the fastest growing brands worldwide in the premium cream liqueur sector. We believe that KWV has the ability to build on this and make the Wild Africa brand one of the top premium cream liqueurs in the world. We wish them success in doing so.”

KWV plans to integrate the production operations of Wild Africa with its current operations. The liqueur’s production facilities will be relocated from Somerset West to Paarl within the next eight months.