Letting go of a golden dream

There is a saying in the 100 percent juice business: it’s magic lies in the fact that is “juice is food, juice is better than fizzy drinks and juice is better than alcohol”. Juice’s popularity also piggybacked on the growth of the global health movement, which began in the 1980s.

Globally, the industry is worth approximately US$30 billion (P285 billion) per annum, which is easily twice the projected size of the local economy for the 2014-2015 financial year. The potential for the business in Botswana was recognised early by South African juice giants, who quickly established firm supply networks through retail networks dominated by players from that country.