As Nigeria’s sachet alcohol ban enters its most turbulent phase yet, the country’s largest spirits maker rolls out a compliant new format , and positions itself ahead of a market reshaped by policy
Nigerian Distilleries Limited (NDL), the country’s largest manufacturer of spirits and wines, has launched Seamans Bless, a new 20cl bottled expression of its iconic Seaman’s Aromatic Schnapps brand. Company executives describe it as a bold consumer innovation; the regulatory calendar tells a more complex story.
The launch lands at the precise moment that NAFDAC’s ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and bottles below 200 millilitres has plunged Nigeria’s entire spirits industry into one of its most disruptive periods in decades. NDL’s much-loved 3cl schnapps format falls squarely within the banned sizes, and the company’s Group Executive Director, Adekunle Rosiji, was candid about the connection at the launch:
“The 20cl bottle is a bridge between tradition and today’s consumer lifestyle. It retains the brand’s heritage while offering convenience, elegance, and value for modern retail channels.”
He added, pointedly, that the new size “fills the gap created by the phased out 3cl category while elevating the brand’s aspirational appeal.” That is about as direct an acknowledgement as a corporate launch event will typically produce.
A Ban Eight Years in the Making
The regulatory backdrop is worth understanding in full. The phase-out of sachet and small-bottle alcohol was first agreed in December 2018, when NAFDAC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and industry groups to eliminate sub-200ml packaging. Manufacturers were given until January 2024 to comply. They did not. The deadline was extended to December 2025. When December 2025 arrived, the SGF’s office issued a suspension pending consultations, but NAFDAC resumed nationwide enforcement on January 22, 2026, citing a Senate resolution backing the ban and pointing to evidence that cheap, easily concealed small-format alcohol was driving underage access, addiction, and road accidents.
The backlash was fierce. Labour unions warned the ban threatened up to five million people across the spirits supply chain. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria condemned the enforcement as contradicting prior government directives. Protests broke out outside NAFDAC’s Lagos offices. By February 11, 2026, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the National Security Adviser jointly ordered NAFDAC to halt enforcement, describing the warehouses being sealed as a security and economic threat. Yet NAFDAC, citing the Senate mandate, has maintained its public commitment to the ban’s objectives.
The policy is, in short, suspended but unresolved, and every serious player in the spirits sector is now preparing for a world in which sub-200ml packaging is eventually gone.
NDL’s Strategic Positioning
NDL is better placed than most to navigate this shift. Incorporated in 1961 and wholly Nigerian-owned, the company is part of the Lexcel Group of Companies and, following its January 2025 merger with Grand Oak Nigeria Limited , now operates as a single, consolidated entity with a portfolio that includes Seaman’s Aromatic Schnapps, Lord’s Dry Gin, Regal Dry Gin, Bacchus Tonic Wine, and Calypso Coconut Liqueur.
Seaman’s Schnapps is the crown jewel. Embedded deeply in Nigerian cultural life, used in traditional libations, naming ceremonies, burials, and family gatherings across the country, it commands a loyalty that purely commercial brands rarely achieve. The 20cl Seamans Bless seeks to preserve that loyalty while adapting to a market that can no longer legally accommodate the 3cl format it replaces.
Executive Director Wale Majolagbe framed the move in terms of cultural continuity:
“Seamans Bless 20cl reflects the company’s ability to balance heritage with innovation, ensuring the brand remains relevant to evolving lifestyles while retaining its cultural authenticity.”
Marketing Manager Gbemileke Lawal appealed directly to that cultural equity:
“As the ‘Son of the Elder’ — Omo Odo Agba, also fondly known as ‘Nwa Agadi’ in Igbo — Seamans Bless carries the same premiumness, status, and promise as the ‘True Spirit of Our Culture,’ while carving its own identity in the consumer market.”
The Affordability Challenge
Cultural resonance, however, does not resolve a hard commercial problem. The 3cl format was affordable partly because of its size. A 20cl bottle, at a higher unit price, must win over the same price-sensitive consumers — in markets, motor parks, and informal retail outlets — who have historically reached for the smaller pack. Euromonitor’s research on Nigeria’s spirits sector notes that the sub-200ml ban is “likely to reduce affordability for many consumers” and that “the primary area for innovation” in this environment will centre on alternative packaging formats. NDL has moved quickly on precisely that front.
Senior Brand Manager Nnenna Onyenacho acknowledged the breadth of the consumer base the company is trying to hold:
“From youthful consumers and working professionals to traders and social consumers, the 20cl bottle offers convenience without compromising the trusted Seamans Schnapps taste or brand promise.”
The new packaging features refined labelling, enhanced shelf visibility, and what NDL describes as improved portability — all attributes designed to justify a higher price point without alienating the grassroots consumer base that has made the Seamans brand what it is.
Reading the Room
There is also a reputational dimension to NDL’s timing. By introducing a compliant 20cl format now, while enforcement is suspended and the policy outcome remains uncertain, the company signals to regulators, distributors, and trade partners that it is adapting in good faith rather than waiting to be forced. That positioning is not without value in a sector where the government has proven willing to intervene abruptly.
The launch drew a notable endorsement from Oba Abdul Razaq Adesina Adenugba, the Ebumawe of Ago Iwoye, who commended NDL’s “unwavering leadership in the industry” and expressed strong confidence in the new product’s prospects, a reminder that for a brand as culturally grounded as Seamans, the support of traditional institutions is a genuine commercial asset, not merely ceremonial.
Distribution of Seamans Bless 20cl has commenced nationwide, with full availability across major markets and licensed retail outlets expected in the coming weeks.
What Comes Next
The outcome of Nigeria’s sachet alcohol policy standoff will shape the spirits market for years. Movendi International, a global health NGO that has studied sachet bans across Africa, notes that Uganda’s 2019 sachet ban brought the proportion of establishments selling sachet alcohol from 52% to just 1.4%, but also warns that long-term impact depends on consistent enforcement and resistance to industry interference. Nigeria, with a far larger and more complex spirits industry, faces a tougher path.
For NDL, the core question is not whether the ban will ultimately land, the direction of travel is clear enough, but whether Seamans Bless 20cl can hold the brand’s mass-market position when the consumer must spend more per purchase than before. Getting ahead of the policy curve with a credible, culturally resonant product is the first step. Holding price-sensitive consumers through the transition is the harder one.
Drinkabl has been tracking Nigeria’s sachet alcohol saga since enforcement began. These reports give the full picture, click through to read each chapter of a story that is still unfolding.
- NAFDAC Begins Enforcement of Ban on Alcoholic Beverages in Sachets, Small Bottles : The moment enforcement went live: what NAFDAC’s Director-General said, and why the Senate’s backing made this time different.
- Sachet Alcohol Ban Threatens ₦2trn Investment, 5m Jobs : The scale of what is at stake for Nigeria’s spirits value chain, from distillers to distributors to informal retailers.
- NLC, Distillers Stage Mass Protest Against NAFDAC’s Sachet Alcohol Ban in Lagos : Street demonstrations outside NAFDAC headquarters and what the protests revealed about the ban’s political fault lines.
- Nigeria’s Sachet Alcohol Ban Draws Continental Commendation As FG Freezes Implementation : African nations praised the ban — then the government suspended it. The reversal that shocked health advocates.
- Between Health and Hardship: Nigerians Clash Over Sachet Alcohol Ban on Social Media : Health advocates vs economic justice campaigners: the online battle that defined public opinion on the ban.
