Our history
Guinness Nigeria has a rich heritage that stretches back almost two centuries.
Guinness Nigeria Plc is home of the first Guinness brewery outside of the British Isles. The first bottle of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout in Nigeria was brewed on the 30th of November 1963, three years after Nigeria’s independence - opening up opportunities for the overseas Guinness Foreign Extra Stout brewing in other parts of the world. Two years later, in 1965, Guinness Nigeria was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. We are proud to be the world's second-largest market for Guinness, and a major part of the inspiring long history of brand Guinness.
Steady growth in markets for Guinness Stout and Harp Lager during the next 30 years prompted the building of three more major breweries in Nigeria. In 1974, the company built a second brewery in Benin, where it produced Harp lager beer. This facility was later expanded to accommodate a second stout brewery, commissioned in 1978. In 1982, a fourth Guinness brewery was built in Ogba, Lagos to brew Harp Premium Lager beer. This site too, was expanded to include Guinness Stout. In 2011, the Benin and Ogba breweries were expanded to further increase capacity and meet the growing demand for Guinness Nigeria products which include the acclaimed brands: Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Guinness Extra Smooth, Malta Guinness, and Harp Lager beer. Other brands include Gordon’s Spark, Smirnoff Ice, Armstrong Dark Ale, Satzenbrau Pilsner, Top Malt, Harp Lime, Dubic Extra Lager and most recently, Malta Guinness Low Sugar.
Currently, we are proud to be the only Total Beverage Alcohol Company in Nigeria. This means we are the only company currently with a wide portfolio of brands catering to alcohol and non-alcohol drinkers, with Spirits, Lager & Beers, and Non-Alcoholic drinks.
Guinness Nigeria: Through the Years
Milestones
19th Century | Guinness Stout first imported into Nigeria. |
1950s | Trading company for Guinness established in Nigeria. |
1962 | First Guinness brewery outside of Ireland and Great Britain built in Lagos. |
1962 | Guinness Eye Hospital built in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). |
1965 | Guinness Nigeria is quoted on Nigeria Stock Exchange with 1,200 investors. |
1974 | 2nd ultra-modern brewery built in Benin to produce Harp Lager. |
1978 | 3rd brewery built at Benin to produce Guinness Stout. |
1982 | 4th brewery built in Ogba to produce Harp Lager, and later Guinness Stout. |
1986 | Guinness Nigeria invests in farming of maize and sorghum to replace imported barley. |
1990 | Malta Guinness launched into the Nigerian market. |
1990 | Guinness Nigeria invests N1.6billion (£45 million) in upgrading its breweries. |
1991 | Another Guinness Eye Hospital built in Onitsha. |
1997 | Guinness Nigeria becomes a subsidiary of Diageo Plc, thus gaining access to Diageo's range of global brands and technical support. |
1997 | 1st Water of Life mini-water works commissioned at Oregbeni/Benin, Edo State. |
2001 | Guinness Nigeria records over 60,000 investors, share capital value of N354million (£2.1 million) with shareholders’ funds of N14,158million (£84.95m) |
2001 | Gordon Spark, an exotic ready-to-drink product is launched into the Nigeria market. |
2003 | 1st Corporate Citizenship Report launched to highlight the company's contributions to the society |
2004 | Guinness Nigeria commissions another brewery in Aba, Abia State. |
2004 | Commissions the 2nd Water of Life mini-water works project in Aba, Abia State. |
2005 | Commissions the 3rd Water of Life mini-water works project in Badia Lagos. |
2005 | Guinness Extra Smooth is launched in the Nigerian market. |
2006 | Smirnoff Ice launched into the Nigerian market. |
2007 | Guinness Nigeria becomes the 1st brewery in West Africa to be ISO 14000:2004 certified - the highest certification available for clean environmental standards globally. |
2007 | Guinness Nigeria provides water to an additional 500,000 people in Nigeria under the Water of Life scheme with mini-water works located in Lagos, Anambra, Ogun, Imo, Rivers, Nassarawa, Niger, Ekiti, Kwara and Edo states respectively. |
2007 | Guinness Nigeria becomes the 1st manufacturing company to become ISO 22000 certified for food safety standards. |
2007 | The International Institute for Quality Selection, Bruxelles, endorses Foreign Extra Stout and Guinness Extra Smooth with Grand Gold Medals. Harp Lager and Satzenbrau awarded Gold Medals for surpassing international quality standards. |
2008 | Ogba Brewery emerges as Africa's best in the Guinness League of Excellence. |
2008 | Guinness Nigeria goes live on SAP. |
2008 | The International Institute for Quality Selection, Bruxelles endorses all Guinness Nigeria brands with Grand Gold Awards at the Monde's 47th International Awards for surpassing international standards. |
2009 | Brand Guinness celebrates 250 years of iconic existence globally. |
2010 | Guinness Nigeria celebrates its 60 years of brewing excellence in Nigeria. |
2011 | Guinness Nigeria signs into the Convention of Business Integrity (CBi). |
2011 | Harp Lime, a cool new flavoured Harp Beer is launched into the Nigerian market. |
2012 | Dubic Extra Lager, a beer with a great Nigerian heritage, is launched in Aba and Ibadan simultaneously. |
2012 | The 1st solar-powered Water of Life mini-water works is commissioned in Awba Ofemili, Anambra State. |
2012 | Guinness Nigeria wins the Best Place To Work in Nigeria and the Best Multinational Company in Nigeria Awards. |
2012 | Malta Guinness Low Sugar, a new low-sugar Malta variant filled with top-of- the-world goodness and vitality is launched into the Nigerian Market. In the same year, SNAPP was also launched targeted at women. |
2013 |
Guinness Nigeria launches Orijin Ready to Drink (RTD), an alcoholic drink with the bitter-sweet taste of African herbs and fruits, which went on to become the fastest growing innovation brand in Diageo history. |
2015 | Guinness Nigeria launches Guinness Africa Special. |
2016 | Guinness Nigeria launches Orijin Zero, a non-alcoholic variant of the popular Orijin RTD, targeted at consumers who want to enjoy the bitter-sweet taste of Orijin but without the alcohol. |
2016 | Guinness Nigeria is named the third best place to work in Nigeria and named the best in Excellence in Wellness by the Great Place To Work Institute. |
2018 | Expanded the Ogba Brewery by adding a PET Line |