High profile Ghanaian palm spirit brand Aphro has officially launched in Accra. The premium brand has reportedly been backed by seven investors, including Nigerian musician Peter Okoye (who is referred to as a co-founder).
Aphro Beverages is the brainchild of Kojo Bucknor, a Ghanaian businessman whose previous experience to date has been as CEO of Incipere Infrastructure Ltd. (Incipere), an infrastructure and Agri-business investment firm based in Accra, and as a business development executive in the energy sector. It claims to have an advisory board which includes former executives from Coca Cola, Diageo and (leading Ghanaian distiller) Kasapreko.
Kojo Bucknor is a fixture on Ghana’s celebrity scene and is also known for having married beauty pageant winner Geraldine Partington. He is the son of Jude Kofi Bucknor, a wealthy Ghanaian investment banker. Kofi Bucknor is the founder J. Kofi Bucknor & Associates, a corporate finance advisory firm. He is a former managing partner at private equity firm Kingdom Zephyr, and a former Chairman of the Council of the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Aphro is explicitly positioned as a premium export brand. It comes in three variants – The Kush, The Nuri, and The Moor. It is looking to position itself as an authentic pan African brand, and also targeting diaspora communities in Europe and the US. Aphro will retail between $25 to $35 and is apparently available in over 300 outlets in Ghana. It is currently on sale at Jumia at GH₵181 ($31) for 750ml. By contrast, Diageo’s Johnnie Walker Black Label sells for GH₵155 for 750ml ($26.55).
