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Innscor Africa’s bread unit, Bakers Inn, will commit $24 million towards installation of four additional bread productions lines by 2018 at its Harare Graniteside plant.
Managing director Mr Marcus Athitakis told an Imara Investors tour recently that the group would invest in more lines by 2018, bringing the total number to eight. The group is currently running on four lines which were installed at a cost of $27 million.

Mr Athitakis said current production stands at 85 percent of installed capacity, with the unit producing between 320 000 to 340 000 loaves of bread per day.
“This means by 2018 we will have doubled production.”

Mr Athitakis said although the company reported a 4,5 percent growth in volumes for the four months, Zimbabweans had found other affordable substitutes for bread due to liquidity constraints.

“Bread volumes have grown during the first four months of the year due to growing our market share as other players lose ground.”
The managing director said market share in Harare is 85 percent whilst in Bulawayo it is 80 percent.

“Total group market share is around 60 percent, with bread sales at around 850 000 and 900 000 loaves a day but down from 950 000 in the same period last year.”
Mr Athitikas said 4 500 loaves are produced per hour and the mixer takes three minutes.

He said at any given time the company had over 200 000 tonnes of wheat.
Innscor group chief executive Mr John Koumides said the group had rescheduled the commissioning of the refrigeration line to December 2014.

“We are very positive about this business but we have shifted the commissioning of the line to December 2014,” he said. He said Capri was a well known brand that holds its own on the local market.

He also said the group remains optimistic that the Innscor business as a whole will grow spurred by investments and newly opened business outlets — FinX.