East African Breweries has appointed Wahu Mwangi as Brand Manager for its cider portfolio, placing an executive with direct craft-brand experience in charge of Manyatta and Tusker Cider at a moment when Kenya’s cider category is growing faster than beer.
Mwangi joined EABL in November 2025, stepping across from African Originals, where she had spent 18 months as Senior Brand Manager building the KO cider range, one of EABL’s most aggressive competitors in the segment. Before African Originals, she held senior account roles at dentsu in Nairobi, managing marketing portfolios across Safaricom, banking, and FMCG clients. She holds an MBA from the United States International University, Africa, and is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
The hire puts a brand operator familiar with both sides of the competitive divide in charge of EABL’s two cider brands. Manyatta, which launched in December 2023 out of EABL’s Sh1.2bn ($9.2m) microbrewery at Ruaraka, competes directly with the KO range she previously managed. Tusker Cider, launched in 2016, was the first locally produced cider in East Africa. The two brands together give EABL a presence across the premium and mainstream cider tiers.
The timing carries commercial weight. Kenya’s cider category has grown more than 200% in volume since 2020, according to African Originals company data, while beer volumes recorded a compound annual growth rate of roughly 1% between 2018 and 2023. Research firm IWSR projects a 9% CAGR for Kenyan cider through 2028. The Kenyan government reduced excise duty on cider in December 2024, a policy shift that industry observers expect to accelerate both volume and new product activity.
Competition in the segment is intensifying. African Originals, the craft-cider pioneer Mwangi has recently departed, reported gross sales of $10m in 2024 and is targeting revenues of more than $12m by end of 2025, according to CEO Alexandra Chappatte in interviews with African Business. Its KO cider brand holds roughly 40% market share in Kenyan retail chains, per IWSR data. Kenya Wine Agencies Limited has also expanded its cider portfolio. EABL’s response has been to extend its own range: the company launched Snapp Dry Cider in February 2025, bringing its cider brand count to three.
EABL is simultaneously managing a broader ownership transition. Diageo agreed in December 2025 to sell its 65% stake in the company to Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings for $2.3bn, a deal valuing EABL at roughly $4.8bn. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to close in the second half of 2026. EABL posted net sales of $996m in fiscal year 2025.
Mwangi’s brief is to grow two brands in a category that now has the policy environment, the consumer demand, and the competitive pressure to justify serious investment. Whether EABL can defend and extend its position before Asahi takes full ownership may depend, in part, on what she builds in the next 12 months.
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