Bia Tosha might not be a household name for most of us but for beer lovers it is. So, who owns Bia Tosha Distributors? This article will highlight the story of the self-made billionaire who owns the most prominent beer distributor company in Kenya.
Before we go deeper into Bia Tosha’s owner, Bia Tosha distributors work hand in hand with EABL as their main distributors in certain areas around the country. Once EABL does the production, Bio Tosha ensures the produced product arrives on the market on time.
Who Owns Bia Tosha Distributors?
Peter Burugu a low-profile tycoon is the founder of the Bia Tosha distributors. Burugu founded the company in 1995 after working for EABL for almost three decades. His journey began at EABL working as an accounts trainee before rising to a higher rank and becoming the head of the distribution and logistics department.
He worked with the company for 27 years before joining the entrepreneurial world as his retirement plan. The plan worked perfectly for him as he’s currently one of the few billionaires in Kenya with a series of high-end businesses including the popular Kiambu mall located at the heart of Kiambu town.
Peter Burugu Businesses
Burugu left employment in 1995, taking an early retirement plan to establish a distribution company. A the time, EABL was facing tight competition from South African Breweries which was famously known for its flagship drink the ” Castle Lager”. Following the stiff competition, the late Jenga Karume’s company which was the main distributor for EABL ditched EABL for SAB.
With Karume out of the picture, Burugu took the helm as the distributor of EABL. At the time his company was named “Bia Yetu” to start off, he took a loan from a local bank and bought nine trucks. His former employer on the other hand supported him by providing the products on credit for a year before the business got on track.
While he was starting up his major distributing area was Kiambu and some parts of Nairobi Eastlands including Dandora and Kariobangi. After a while, the company that was in charge of the Nairobi West region collapsed and he took over the area but with his second company, ‘Bia Tosha.’
In 2008, he was asked to merge his two companies, ‘Bia Yetu and Bia Tosha.’ On top of that, he was asked to drop the Kiambu region to another distributor. Under the brand Bia Tosha, Burugu became the main distributor of South C, Industrial Area, Hurlingham, Upperhill, Kiserian, Rongai, Namanga, and Juja.
In 2011 he left the CEO chair to his daughter Anne-Marie Burugu who’s currently sitting in that position.
Kiambu Mall and Mugaa Investment
Aside from Alcohol distribution, Peter Burugu is also a real estate investor and he owns an investment company by the name of Mugaa Investments. The Mugaa Investment is the owner of the famous Kiambu Mall sitting on a five floors mall that covers 14,300 square meters with large and ample parking. According to whownskenya.com the Mall is a Ksh 800 million investment.
Peter Burugu Family
Burugu is a family man and a proud father of three adult children, he has two boys and a daughter. According to him his daughter who is the current CEO of ‘Bia Tosha’ was keen on running the family business while the boys were interested in running the real estate firm.
Wealth
Burugu has an estimated net worth of about Ksh 3 Billion.