How Zambian Breweries Is Looking Beyond Beer for Growth
Zambian Breweries has launched MXD, a 5% ABV ready-to-drink vodka cocktail, in Zambia as it expands a portfolio better known for beer brands such as Mosi, Castle and Carling Black Label.
The September launch gives the brewer another way to reach consumers choosing different drinks for different occasions. MXD joins brands such as Brutal Fruit in the company’s move into flavoured alcoholic beverages, an area that has become increasingly important to parent company AB InBev’s growth strategy.
The brand already operates in South Africa as Redd’s MXD, giving Zambian Breweries an existing product to introduce to its market. Its task now is to establish where that product fits locally: who will choose it, on which occasions and alongside which alternatives.
Expanding the drinks portfolio
Beer remains central to Zambian Breweries’ business, with its local and international brands covering a range of tastes and price points. However, the company’s recent reporting points to growing demand beyond its traditional brewing portfolio.
In its 2025 annual report, Zambian Breweries said its Beyond Beer portfolio gained more than four percentage points of market share during the year, strengthening its position in flavoured alcoholic beverages. It entered 2026 identifying both high-end products and Beyond Beer as areas supporting its growth strategy.
MXD builds on that direction. As a premixed vodka cocktail, it offers a different flavour and drinking experience while retaining the convenience of a ready-to-drink format. For the brewer, this broadens the range of choices it can offer through its existing commercial network.
The launch also draws on AB InBev’s experience with brands including Brutal Fruit, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and BEATS. Although these products serve different markets and preferences, together they show how the group has been developing a business around occasions that its beer brands may not fully reach.
Why this move makes sense
Zambian Breweries already has much of the infrastructure needed to bring another beverage to market. Its distribution network, retail relationships and experience building drinks brands give it a starting point that a new entrant would have to establish.
Adding a vodka cocktail allows the company to put those capabilities to work across a wider category. A consumer who chooses beer on one occasion may prefer a sweeter or spirit-based drink on another, and a broader portfolio gives the brewer more opportunities to remain part of that choice.
There is also an advantage in drawing from a brand already sold elsewhere in the group. Experience from South Africa can inform the Zambian launch, although local pricing, positioning and consumer response will determine how well it translates.
The company’s reported progress in flavoured alcoholic beverages offers a reason to keep investing. MXD gives it another way to explore that demand and learn which products can secure a lasting place in the market.
Finding growth in the next drinking occasion
For Zambian Breweries, the opportunity extends beyond adding another name to its catalogue. A wider portfolio could help it serve more of the purchases made through the shops, bars and other outlets it already reaches.
That is the commercial thinking behind Beyond Beer: use an established drinks business to develop new sources of demand close to its core expertise.
MXD’s contribution will depend on whether consumers choose it again after trying it. If they do, Zambian Breweries will have found another product capable of turning its existing market presence into growth.
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