Samoa Breweries is the main brewer in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

, established in 1978. It brews a German type

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage" ...

beer, called Vailima after a village in Samoa. Samoa Breweries also brewed San Miguel under licence from 1982 to 1990. In 1999 a majority stake in the company (68.3%) was purchased by the Carlton Brewery of Fiji, a subsidiary of the

Foster's Group Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. was an Australian beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks, known for Foster's Lager, now called Carlton & United Breweries since the company was renamed in 2011. Foster's was founded in 1888 in Melbourne, Vi ...

, the remaining shares were held by the Samoan government (15%), the Nauruan government (10%) and the remainder by small shareholders. In 2011 Foster's was acquired by

SABMiller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world's ...

which subsequently sold its Fiji and Samoa operations to

Coca-Cola Amatil Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA) was an Australian bottler of non-alcoholic beverages that existed from 1904 to 2021, when it merged with Coca-Cola European Partners to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was one of the largest bottlers of no ...

. Main brands include Vailima Lager (4.9% alc v/v), Vailima Special Export (6.7% alc v/v)and Vailima Pure (4.9% low carb) In 2013 they released "Vailima Natural" which uses locally grown breadfruit in its recipe as a partial replacement for imported malted barley. "Vailima" is literally translated from the Samoan as "water in hand" and has its origin in a Samoan folktale in which a woman revives her dying lover by carrying water to him in her hands. Samoa Breweries also bottles

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

and allied soft-drink brands under licence. Annual production is approximately 8,500,000 litres of beer (85,000hL) and 6,500,000 litres of soft-drinks. The majority of beer produced is for the domestic market. Exports amount to about 12% with

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

being the main export markets. In July 2022 Samoa Breweries announced it would cease brewing Vailima in Samoa and move production to

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. Following public opposition to the move it licensed production of the beer to a Samoan producer in August 2022.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Samoa Breweries Limited
Beer in Samoa Companies of Samoa Companies established in 1978 1999 mergers and acquisitions 2011 mergers and acquisitions

See also

References

External links