Some of the world’s most popular soft drinks, such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Fanta, Miranda, 7 Up, and Sprite, are also favourites in Sudan. However, they compete with locally produced beverages such as Pasgianos, Champion, and Stim, which have built strong followings of their own.
Here are some of Sudan’s most popular drinks:
Champion
Champion is the first and leading malt beverage in Sudan, which comes in various flavours, such as apple, strawberry, peach, pineapple, and cherry. A product of MB Food Group of Moawia Elberier Group (MBG), it is made with locally-produced ingredients, refreshing malt.
Maaza
Maaza is a concentrated mango-flavoured juice. It is a product of Stim Beverages, which also produces Rango, Royal, Stim and Veno. Stim’s products are made with locally-sourced ingredients.
Rango
Rango is a Sudanese drink with natural fruit juices such as guava, pineapple, and mixed fruits. It is a product of Stim Beverages, which also produces Maaza, Royal, Stim and Veno. Stim’s products are made with locally-sourced ingredients.
Royal
Royal is a carbonated drink with three refreshing fruit flavours: orange, lemon, and pomegranate. It is a product of Stim Beverages, which also produces Maaza, Rango, Stim and Veno. Stim’s products are made with locally-sourced ingredients.
Stim/Steem
Stim, also known as Steam, is a popular carbonated soft drink with various fruit flavours, with apple being their most loved and successful flavours. In addition to the popular apple flavor, Stim also offers sodas in orange, lemon, and pineapple, which are available throughout Sudan.
Pasgianos
Pasgianos is a popular Sudanese carbonated soft drink, which has a bold, fruity flavour with smooth carbonation in a vibrant dark red colour. It is part of Pasgianos Food & Beverage was established in the 1920s and became the first soft drink to be bottled in Sudan. In 1999, Haggar acquired the brand and invested in expanding its production capacity to meet growing market demand. Today, Pasgianos is bottled in both the UAE and Egypt, and distributed across various markets in the region.
According to an excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in Sudan, Pasgianos is named after George Pasgianos left Plomari (Lesvos), who in the 1930s and immigrated to Khartoum in Sudan. There he founded a small factory and created soft drinks like lemon and ginger-lemon. In the early 1960s, he formulated the one fizzy drink for almost 30 years, which became so popular within Sudan that despite the coming of multinational brands Coca Cola and Pepsi, Pasgianos still continued to enjoy a big loyal following.
Pasgianos is available in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the US.
For more information, see their Instagram page @pasgianossd.
Veno
Veno is a non-alcoholic flavoured malt or barley with several flavours including raspberry, chocolate, strawberry, pineapple and peach. It is a product of Stim Beverages, which also produces Maaza, Rango, Royal, and Stim.
Vita
Vita is a concentrated fresh fruit juice with two flavours: mango and mixed fruit, which are full of vitamins and nutrients. A product of MB Food Group of Moawia Elberier Group (MBG), it is made with locally-produced ingredients.
The companies behind Sudanese beverages
MB Food Group
The MB Food Group is comprised of five industrial complexes, all dedicated to providing high-quality food and beverage. One of their best-known brands is Oranga, the first locally manufactured powder juice, and has made its mark as one of the leading brands in Sudan, despite influx of international brands. Another major facility specialises in manufacturing soft drinks is known for producing some of the leading brands like Champion and Vita.
Best Complex has one of the most technologically advanced facilities and production sites in Sudan, producing (UHT) cow milk, yoghurt, juice, and tomato paste.
The group has a wide variety of snacks, fast foods, macaroni and noodles, and cakes, some of the brands are Krunch Corn, Rich Potato Chips, Althuraya macaroni and noodles, Nice and Rich cakes. Their fifth complex produces sesame sweets products tahniya, biscuits and powdered milk.
For more information, visit moawiaelberier.com/en/food-and-beverage-group.
Stim Beverages
Stim Beverages produces various Sudanese carbonated soft drinks and fruit juices including Stim, Maaza, Rango, Royal and Veno. The well-known company was founded in 1984 in Wad Medani in Al Gezira State, offering a variety of sodas and juices. Stim’s products are made with locally-sourced ingredients.
For more information, visit stimbeverages.com, or Instagram @stimbeverages.
