Regional beer maker East African Breweries Ltd (EABL) will launch new beer brands in the coming weeks to boost shrinking sales and fight off growing competition.

Charles Ireland, the group managing director, said the Diageo-owned brewer will start producing the series of new drinks aimed at the low-end market, a segment in which the company is facing increased competition from Keroche Breweries and a host of small spirits manufacturers.

EABL, which reported a six per cent overall growth in revenues for the full year ended June this year, will be taking an approach its rivals have pioneered in the recent months to shore up sales, which have been affected by increased excise taxes in the region.

READ: Sobering dip in profits for giant brewer EABL

“We have lined up a number of innovations including new brands of beer targeted at the lower end of the market. Some of these innovations will be launched in the next few weeks. There are other things we can do in terms of our cost structure and pricing to mitigate this,” Mr Ireland said.

Over the past three years, the company has unveiled a set of high-end brands like Tusker Lite, Pilsner Lite and Snapp in a bid to shield its market share from rivals such as SABMiller, which has re-entered the Kenyan market.

But it now seems to be focused on the low-end market, having launched Balozi beer in December, a product meant to take on Summit Lager, Keroche’s flagship brand.

READ: Brewers bring beer fight to East Africa

Announcing the annual results for the year ended June 2013, Mr Ireland said that the company was affected by the introduction of a 25 per cent excise duty in Tanzania while in Uganda the suspension of aid affected government spending and, by extension, disposable incomes, thus hurting sales.

It is also expecting increased pressure from Tanzania after the government raised duty on beer by 10 per cent in June, and a reduced remission of taxes to 50 per cent on its Senator keg brand, which is sold in Kenya.

EABL said both its Kenyan and Tanzanian operations reported a 10 per cent rise in revenues.

Revenues from Uganda, which accounts for 16 per cent of sales, remained flat, while the company’s international business, which covers areas outside Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, grew by five per cent.

Brewers across the region have relied on volumes rather than price increases to drive earnings, but a mixture of high excise duties across region and a tough economic environment resulting from aid suspensions in Uganda and Rwanda has lowered household incomes, leading to reduced beer sales.

By David Mugwe and Peterson Thiong’o