Antigua and Barbuda: Carib Brewery plans local production

Carib Brewery, headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago and one of the leading breweries in the Caribbean, is planning an own production in Antigua and Barbuda, the AntiguaDaily Observer reported on Saturday. The local cabinet announced it has entered into negotiations and met last week with a regional brewery, to discuss building a local production on the island. The brewery could be identified as Carib Brewery, a subsidiary of Ansa McAl, a conglomerate from Trinidad and Tobago with interests in the automotive, beverage, construction, financial, manufacturing, media, real estate, retail and service sector.With 73 companies spanning eight sectors in over eight territories, and close to 6,000 employees, Ansa McAl is the leading conglomerate in the Caribbean region.

Carib operates already three breweries in the Caribbean, namely in Trinidad and Tobago (1950), St. Kitts and Nevis (1997) and in Grenada (2002). In addition Ansa McAl bought in 2016 Florida Beer Co. (former Indian River Brewing Co.) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, one of the largest breweries in Florida, which serves not only the Caribbean diaspora in the United States but also neighboring theme parks in Orlando, Florida but also in California with licensed brands like Simpon’s Duff Beer, or Harry Potter beer.

If approved by the officials in Trinidad and Tobago, Carib would be building a brewing and filling plant for about 60,000 cases of beers, malts, juices and soft drinks for local consumption and export. Since Trinidad and Tobago is member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Carib sees a huge potential for trade with the ten member states spread across the Eastern Caribbean.

Carib has partnerships with international companies such as Heineken International B.V., Diageo, Molson Coors and Ginseng UpCorporation. As a result Heineken, Guinness Stout, Coors Light, Ginseng Up and Smirnoff Ice are part of Carib’s production portfolio. However, the types and brands of beverages which will be produced at the new brewery are still not decided.

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