World Report

Market leaders Estrella Galicia and Begano have taken very different routes to success

Estrella Galicia: Follow the star to a fascinating land that tastes of attraction

mong those who left Galicia to seek their fortune elsewhere were some who eventually returned to their homeland to set up businesses, using the experience they had gained abroad.
One such emigrant was José Mariá Rivera Corral, who founded the brewery company Estrella Galicia after coming back from Cuba and Mexico. Almost a century later, the firm remains 100 per cent family owned, with its founder’s great grandson and namesake, José Mariá Rivera, at the helm as Director General.

Export markets for the company’s beer include the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Mexico and the United States. Over the last 13 years, the firm has increased its annual production from 55 million litres to the 80 million litres it expects to produce this year.

“We have made the fact of being a family company an advantage rather than a problem,” says Mr Rivera. “Companies like ours are now being taken as management models. Our growth has been sustained and solid, and we have internationalised cautiously.”

JOSÉ MARÍA RIVERA
Director General of Estrella Galicia

‘Companies like ours are being taken as management models’

ANTONIO COUCEIRO MÉNDEZ
Director General of Begano S.A.

‘Our aim is to have a well-positioned product to meet consumer needs’

In contrast, the success of bottling company Begano is based on its relationship with one of the world’s global giants, as the official producer and distributor for Coca-Cola in Galicia.
With a product line that also includes Fanta, Sprite and Nestea, Begano holds 51 per cent of the beverage market in Galicia and 80 per cent of the cola market.

The company, which is 100 per cent Spanish-owned, forecasts sales of £120 million this year, having achieved an increase every year since its foundation 40 years ago. It accounts for 5 per cent of the sales of all Spanish bottling companies.

“We are well-known in Galicia as a company which generates added value and employment, and which is very involved with the region,” says Antonio Couceiro Méndez, the company’s Director General. “Our aim is to have a well-positioned Coca-Cola product wherever there is an opportunity to meet consumer needs.”