We have been part of Nigeria’s story for 80 years – MD/CEO, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Thibaut Boidin

Eighty years, countless economic cycles, and an unshakeable faith in the Nigerian market. As Nigerian Breweries Plc celebrates its landmark 80th anniversary, the nation’s pioneer brewer isn’t just reflecting on a storied legacy, it is actively shaping the future. Following a remarkable financial turnaround in 2025 and record-setting growth in 2026, Thibaut Boidin, Managing Director and CEO of Nigerian Breweries Plc, sits down with IFEOMA OKEKE-KORIEOCHA to discuss navigating macroeconomic headwinds, driving local sourcing through barley farming, and why, with a market of 240 million people, Nigeria remains one of the world’s most compelling growth stories.

Nigerian Breweries is celebrating 80 years. What does this milestone mean to you and the company?

We’ve been part of 80 years of Nigeria’s history and have navigated the many economic cycles that have shaped the country over that period.
For a company to successfully navigate those changes, help build and lead an industry, and remain a market leader after 80 years means a great deal to us. It is a significant milestone, but it is also one that sets the tone for the future.

In recent years, some companies chose to scale back or exit investments because of the economic challenges, but we decided to stay because we believe in Nigeria’s long-term potential.

So, while we are celebrating 80 years of legacy, we are equally excited about the next chapter.

Looking back over the last 80 years, how would you describe Nigeria’s journey and evolution to date?

It’s actually a very impressive history because we pioneered this industry. The brewing industry didn’t exist before us. We were the first to build this brewery here in Lagos in 1946. Since then, we have continued to shape and lead the industry through different economic cycles and periods of change.

We believe Nigerian Breweries has contributed not only to the Nigerian economy through its scale and investments, but also to communities and society. Our leadership has never been only about doing business. It has also been about creating value in the communities where we operate.

We have a footprint across Nigeria that is unique within our industry, and we have intentionally supported communities throughout the country for decades.

The third dimension is the role our brands have played in bringing people together. Through our portfolio, we have created moments where people celebrate friendship, family, achievement and joyful occasions together.

That is one of the reasons our 80th anniversary theme is “Together Every Moment.” For generations, our brands have been part of moments that matter, helping create connections and shared experiences.

What does that theme have to do with your brands and what it means for you going into the future?

Many companies celebrate anniversaries by focusing on themselves.

For us, we decided to take a different approach. We want to celebrate with Nigerians. This is why the theme is ‘Together Every Moment’.

For 80 years, our brands have been part of everyday life in Nigeria. Whether at weddings, anniversaries, sporting events, celebrations with friends, family gatherings or moments of relaxation after work, our products have often been present.

We’ve been part of Nigerians’ lives. Our theme is really to go beyond celebrating a company to celebrating Nigerians and our contributions to Nigerians’ lives.

Recession, inflation, and foreign exchange policy have been challenges under this new administration. What has been the major lesson the company has learned over the years? And how have you been able to stand these challenges?

The first lesson is about leadership.

If you operate in an environment with the level of volatility we have seen in Nigeria, you need leaders who can navigate uncertainty and turn challenges into opportunities.

One example is what happened decades ago when barley imports became difficult. Barley is an important ingredient in brewing beer and malt beverages. Rather than seeing that situation as a barrier, our predecessors saw an opportunity to innovate and develop alternatives. That led to the development of a local sorghum value chain, and today many of our products are brewed using locally sourced sorghum.

One of the biggest lessons is that you need leadership that can adapt, learn and find opportunities even in difficult circumstances.

The second lesson is the importance of financial resilience.

Nigeria can be a complex market to operate in because policies can change quickly and sometimes create unexpected challenges. We decided to stay because we believe in Nigeria’s future and long-term potential.

Over the last two years, we have focused heavily on strengthening our financial position. Today, we have a much stronger balance sheet, improved cash generation and greater flexibility to invest in the future.

In a volatile environment, cash and financial discipline are critical. That stronger financial foundation gives us the confidence to continue investing in growth.

The third lesson relates to economic reforms.

While reforms can be difficult to navigate in the short term, we believe many of the measures being implemented are positive for Nigeria’s long-term future.

The key question is how quickly consumers and businesses begin to feel the benefits. We are very conscious of the pressure on household disposable income because our consumers feel it every day.

Nevertheless, we remain optimistic that the foundations being laid today will support stronger growth in the future.

Given the current situation in Nigeria, you just mentioned some of them; do you still see this country, this market, as an attractive place for business?

The country is still highly attractive. Suppose you take a step back and look at which countries have the biggest potential. I mean a country with the primary enabler of growth. For us, population growth is a significant factor for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs).

Nigeria is a country of 240 million people, growing at a very high pace, and it’s going to be the third-biggest country in the world in 2050. Every single year, you have five million consumers coming of drinking age. For me, I think the growth ahead of us is huge for our industry.

For our industry, the long-term growth opportunity remains substantial.

We also believe the brewing industry has significant untapped potential. Consumption levels remain below those of many comparable markets, which suggests considerable room for growth as economic conditions improve.

There are very few markets in the world where you have this combination of population growth, youthful demographics and such a strong emotional connection between consumers and brands.

That is why we remain very optimistic about Nigeria’s future.

If you are still with this company 100 years from now, on its 100th anniversary, what do you want the company to be remembered for?

I think we’re already known for what we are today. I would love us to continue to be known for the same. This is because, for 80 years, we’ve been shaping, creating, leading, innovating, and inspiring our consumers. We’ve been doing this for 80 years and going beyond business. The number of communities that we supported, the value chain that we created from agriculture to retail- we’ve been building this and contributing big time to create millions of jobs.

There are millions and millions of families benefiting from what has been done over the past 80 years. I dream that we will continue to do this. My aspiration is that we continue doing this, but at an even greater scale. I would like Nigerian Breweries to be remembered as the company that helped unlock the full potential of the brewing industry. And this is our role as the industry leader. Our mission is to continue to grow, shape, and lead.

The second aspect is our people. We are known for attracting and developing talented people across finance, supply chain, sales, marketing, corporate affairs, legal, digital and technology functions.

I hope we continue to build that winning culture, remain a company known for excellence and continue attracting some of the best talent in Nigeria.

We’ve also been a company known for excellence and top-tier competence in the market. So, I dream that we’ll continue to build this winning culture and have the best people in the market, attracting the best talent in Nigeria.

The year 2025 was a turnaround year for Nigerian Breweries, with a 35 percent increase in revenue. What steps did the company take to transform two years of losses into profit generation in 2025 in Nigeria?

There are three dimensions to that turnaround.

The first was the rights issue. HEINEKEN and other shareholders demonstrated strong confidence in Nigerian Breweries by reinvesting in the business. That support played an important role in strengthening our balance sheet and accelerating our recovery.

The second factor was productivity and cost management. Our teams did an outstanding job optimizing our cost structure in what remained a very challenging operating environment.

The third factor was our focus on winning brands.

We have concentrated our investments behind brands with the greatest potential. The performance of Heineken, Maltina and Amstel Malta has been particularly encouraging. We continue to strengthen our brands and grow their relevance with consumers.

Today, the company has a significantly stronger financial position, improved cash generation and the ability to fund growth from within the business.

That represents a major transformation compared with where we were a few years ago.

There is a significant increase in revenue in 2026. However, we are in a pre-election year, and people will drink more leading up to the 2007 election. What has been the major driver of revenue growth so far in 2026? And how has the company performed so far?

First, we do not necessarily see evidence that election cycles directly translate into increased consumption. The data does not show that.

Now to your question: What is different about 2026 is the quality of our growth. Last year, a larger proportion of growth came from pricing actions, reflecting the inflationary environment. This year, we have been very conscious of affordability and have used pricing much more selectively.

As a result, growth is being driven by a healthier mix of factors, including improved brand performance, market-share gains and volume growth across key parts of the portfolio.

That creates a more sustainable growth trajectory for the business over the long term.

Beyond producing beverages, how do you contribute to the market in which you operate? How do you support people who sell for you?

We contribute in several ways. The first one is, as I said, that for over 80 years we’ve been shaping this industry, so there is the value chain we support. When consumers see a bottle of Maltina, Goldberg or any of our brands, what they do not always see is the large ecosystem behind it.

That ecosystem includes farmers, suppliers, transporters, engineers, distributors, retailers and many other businesses that contribute to getting products from raw materials to consumers.

Supporting and growing that ecosystem is one of our most important contributions.

The second contribution is through community development.

We have a unique footprint across Nigeria, with breweries, depots and operations spread across the country. Wherever we operate, we build strong relationships with local communities and support initiatives that improve livelihoods and create opportunities.

Over the years, we have invested in areas such as water access, agriculture and community development. The Maltina Barley Project is one example of our commitment to creating long-term value beyond our core business.

The third contribution is helping shape the future of the industry.

As Chairman of the Beer Sectoral Group, I am working with government and industry stakeholders on a 10-year master plan for the sector. We believe the industry can play an even greater role in Nigeria’s economic development.

The plan is intended to support investment, local sourcing, agriculture, job creation and long-term growth across the value chain.

I want to ask about your backward integration process: how far have you gone with it? Because I know there was a time when you were doing something along those lines. Secondly, I know that sourcing raw materials, especially amid FX issues, has always been a huge challenge. How are you looking at localizing most of what you use to reduce costs?

As a Nigerian company, many of our suppliers are already based in Nigeria and a significant proportion of our inputs are sourced locally.

Glass, cans, PET packaging, labels and several other materials are already supplied through local value chains.

However, there is still more to do, particularly in reducing foreign-exchange exposure and increasing local sourcing of agricultural inputs.

One of the flagship initiatives is the Maltina Barley Project. Our ambition is to establish sustainable local barley production in Nigeria.

We have been working on this for several years and currently support more than 1,100 farmers in cultivating barley locally.

Agriculture requires patience because outcomes are influenced by climate, infrastructure and other factors beyond our direct control. This is a long-term project, but we are committed to it.

We have seen similar successes in Ethiopia and believe the same can be achieved in Nigeria with the right support and collaboration.

Our objective remains clear: continue increasing localization and reducing our dependence on foreign exchange over time.

So what’s your view about equality, and I mean female representation, in NB?

It is something we take very seriously. If you look at my leadership team today, approximately half of the members are women. Our People Director, Finance Director, Marketing Director and Digital & Technology Director are all women.

For me, diversity is important because different experiences, perspectives and ways of thinking lead to better decisions and stronger outcomes.

At HEINEKEN and Nigerian Breweries, we are very intentional about building an inclusive workplace. We want talented people to have equal opportunities to succeed, regardless of gender.

We have dedicated programmes and recruitment processes designed to ensure balanced candidate representation and equal access to opportunities.

We have made significant progress, although some areas naturally move faster than others depending on the nature of the roles. Because in some departments, it’s more difficult. For instance, by law, we cannot employ ladies on night shifts in the supply chain. There are some departments where we can move faster; in others, we’re a bit constrained.

Overall, our objective is simple: attract the best talent, create equal opportunities and build a workforce that reflects the diversity of the society we serve.