Theandy Factory, which started operating in Angola seven months ago, has already exported a total of 40 tonnes of sweets to Mozambique, Sao Tome and Zambia and soon plans to sell to five other African markets, the company said on Tuesday.
The factory was opened in October last year and exported its first container, with about eight tonnes of sweets, tablets and lollipops, totalling more than one million units, in March 2023 to São Tomé and Príncipe.
“This month, Candy Factory closed two more containers, of 16 tonnes each, one for Zambia and another for Mozambique, totalling more than 40 tonnes of exported product – almost five million units of ‘sambapitos’ [lollipops], sweets and chewing gum,” the company said in a statement.
The next steps in the export markets of the Candy Factory are Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), the Ivory Coast and Ghana, the press release said.
In Luanda, the Angolan capital, Candy Factory already has its ‘Oko’ brand in over 5,000 points of sale and has started distribution in the provinces of Huambo, Bié, Cuando Cubango, Benguela, Kwanza Sul and Huíla, and plans to also enter Saurimo, Uíje, Malanje, Moxico and Cabinda.
The 15 billion kwanzazaza (26 million euros) investment, which is the result of a partnership between the Serbian group Nelt and Angola’s Oxbow, has a production capacity of over 6,700 tonnes per year (over 15 tonnes per day) and occupies an area of over 24,000 square metres in the Special Economic Zone.
The company plans to hire 150 workers in the first two years of operation, of which over 90 percent are Angolan, and to generate a total of 350 direct and indirect jobs in this initial phase.
