Africa is where most spirits are 'homemade', Diageo has undertaken a marketing program to persuade more drinkers to sample its known brands instead of making their own brews. The secret is in the use of smaller bottles which are of the same size as ones used in unbranded liquor.

Diageo is the manufacturer of Smirnoff Vodka, Johnnie Walker Whiskey and a number of other liquor brands. Central to their marketing plan is a the use of 20 centiliiter bottles, which is one third the size of a normal bottle specifically targetting markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. This, according to research, would prove to be cheaper for drinking buddies to share one of the brands in the Diageo portfolio instead of opting for local brews or beer.

According to a Diageo managing director, Gerald Mahinda, "There's a perception that spirits are expensive in Africa. This allows people to try them."

The low alcohol consumption in these fast emerging economies is the niche that Diageo seeks to capitalize on. On average, Nigerians drank 0.3 liter of alcohol while Ghanaians had 2.4 liters. In comparison, Russians had 20.9 liters while Americans finished 7.4 liters. With increasing consumer spending, the market has become a major battleground for alcohol manufacturers.