Bidco Africa, previously Bidco Oil Refineries Limited (BORL), is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Thika, Kenya with subsidiaries and distributorships across 17 countries in East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Its products include edible oils, fats, margarine, laundry bars and detergents, personal care products, animal feeds and most recently, Food and Beverages. Bidco Africa owns over 40 brands and is the largest producer and marketer of consumer goods in the region.
Overview
Bidco Africa has manufacturing factories in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with over 40 brands distributed across 17 African countries.
In April 2015, Bidco Africa announced plans to quadruple business volume before 2020, by building new manufacturing factories in Mozambique, Madagascar and Ethiopia in addition to existing operations in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda. In February 2019 the BBC reported Bidco Africa's expansion into the food and beverage category as a move that positions the company to become the leading manufacturer of consumer goods in East Africa with a portfolio of over 40 brands and over 25,000 employees.
Ownership
The stock of Bidco Africa is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hemby Holdings Limited, a privately held investment holding company of Bhimji Depar Shah and his family. The indirect shareholding in the group's stock was equally divided among Bhimji Depar Shah, Vimal Shah and Tarun Shah.
History
Bidco Africa was founded in 1970 by Bhimji Depar Shah to manufacture garments. The company ventured into soap production in 1985 and launched edible oil manufacturing in 1991. In 1998, Bidco acquired the Elianto unit from Unga Group, a firm listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. This was the first acquisition by Bidco.
The group expanded regionally in 2001 when it launched into Tanzania through the creation of BIDCO Oil & Soap Ltd in Dar es Salaam. This marked the entry of Bidco into one of Africa's fastest growing markets.
In 2002, Bidco acquired Unilever’s brands in edible oil and soap business in Kenya. This bought brands such as Kimbo and Cowboy into its stable.
In 2005, the group expanded into Uganda with the official opening of the Bidco Uganda Limited Complex in Jinja. This plant has since been producing products for both the Uganda local market and the export markets.
The Company started producing personal care and beauty products in 2011, with the launch of “Pure and Natural Bar” soap.
In 2013, Bidco launched more personal care and beauty products, detergents and laundry soaps, with the launch of “Nuru premium multipurpose soaps, Power Boy Pro-Activ Liquid detergent, and Pure and Natural Activ Man.
In 2014, the Company launched more personal care and beauty soaps with the launch of Gaea – a family bath soap and Germonil – a personal hygiene product. During the same year, the company ventured into making animal feeds, building on its growing portfolio of products. The company installed a Sh500 million production line that has capacity to churn out 100 tonnes of animal feeds per day.
In 2016, the company announced a joint venture with a fortune 500 company – Land O’Lakes ltd, to form Bidco Land O’Lakes Ltd, a company that will initially produce animal feeds for the Kenyan market but eventually expand into other East African countries.
In 2017, Bidco Africa announced plans to commission four new plants as part of an ambitious diversification plan estimated at $200 million (Kshs 20.66 billion) over a period of five years. The expansion involved constructing an industrial park in Ruiru which includes a noodle factory, and a beverage plant.
In February 2019 the BBC reported Bidco Africa's expansion into the food and beverage category as a move that positions the company to become the leading manufacturer of consumer goods in East Africa with a portfolio of over 40 brands and over 25,000 employees.
Products
Bidco Africa manufactures 40 brands across six product categories, namely: animal feeds, fats and edible oils, baking products, food and beverages, detergents and laundry soaps, hygiene, personal-care and beauty products. Some of Bidco's fastest-moving edible oil brands include Kimbo and Elianto.
Competitive position
As of 2015, Bidco Africa was the leading fats and edible oils manufacturer in Kenya, controlling 24 percent of the market. Its closest competitors were Kapa Oil Refineries and Unilever which controlled 12 percent and 9 percent of the market respectively. In 2014, Bidco was estimated to control 60 percent of the market for cooking fat and 54 percent of that for cooking oil.