LEW Ghana Ltd supports Graphic’s 70th anniversary

LEW Ghana Limited, producers of the APHRO range of beverages, has donated GH₵25,000 to support the 70th-anniversary celebrations of the Daily Graphic newspaper and the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL).

This brings to two the number of institutions that have donated towards Graphic’s 70th anniversary after Adehyeman Savings and Loans Company had last week donated GH¢15,000 to the company.

The GCGL, which published its first edition of the Daily Graphic on October 2, 1950, will climax the anniversary celebrations in October this year.

The anniversary is on the theme: ‘Seven decades of influencing national development and building brands’.

Presenting the cheque for the amount to the GCGL yesterday, Mr Kofi Carson, who led the LEW team, said the gesture was to support the company.

It was also to help LEW align itself with the Graphic brand to tap into its influence to also build the LEW brand and business, he added.

Other members of the LEW team were Mr Kojo Bucknor and Mr Francis Andoh.

APHRO beverages

The APHRO beverages are alcoholic brands produced in Ghana.

Currently, LEW Ghana has gone into an agreement with GIHOC Distilleries for GIHOC to produce the APHRO range of products on its behalf.

The raw materials used for the production of the APHRO beverages include organic products such as palm.

Commercial production

Mr Carson said LEW Limited was seeking to venture into the global space, riding on the back of its roots to Ghana.

“We are capitalising on this whole Year of Return initiative to sell the products, so we will be concentrating more on the export market. We are using organic products like palm to make the products as natural as possible,” he said.

He also hinted that although the beverages would be targeted at the middle and the upper classes when it commercially hit the market in May this year, provision would be made to also have them packaged in sachets for the low-class market.

A director of the company, Mr Andoh, said the beverages were to fill the void of not having an authentic Ghanaian beverage with global appeal.

“In Africa, it is not easy to get a drink that represents Africa but has some global appeal. Our product is to fill that void,” he stressed.

Mutual support

The Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Ato Afful, who received the cheque, said the company was grateful for the kind gesture.

He said the GCGL would provide mutual support to help the APHRO brand succeed on the market.

“We are 70 years and we know how to build brands. So we will help you grow your business,” he said.

The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Kobby Asmah, said the GCGL had always helped to promote made-in-Ghana products and would, therefore, provide the APHRO brand the support needed to help it grow as a local business.

He advised the company to adopt an aggressive marketing plan to leverage the goodwill that locally produced products enjoyed in the country.