Deebee Company Limited was incorporated in June 1977 with the initial purpose of commercially exploiting the research results of Dr D B A Ogutuga, Ph.D. (Cantab), the Founder and Executive Chairman, on the process for the manufacture of wine from kolanuts. These research findings were as a result of Dr Ogutuga's doctoral research work at the University of Cambridge, UK leading up to his Ph.D. degree in 1969. The results were also later patented in Lagos and London in 1978.

 

Production of wine started in an improvised factory in Ibadan, Oyo State, using mainly small-scale equipment and utilizing capital provided from the limited resources of the proprietor. The company was the first to produce wine in commercial quantities in Nigeria. Following the successful introduction of its products to the Nigerian market and the enthusiastic reception given to its products, the need to expand its production capacity was soon recognized.

 

Between 1979 and 1985, the company obtained funding for expansion and the construction of a purpose-built factory was completed at Isonyin, near Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. Operations at the new factory commenced in May 1985 and, with ready acceptance of the company's brands in the marketplace coupled with prudent management of funds, it was possible for the company to pay back its loans ahead of schedule. Between 1985 and 2004, the Deebee range of products continued to grow, utilizing the technical know-how of the Founder; it was thus that some of the brands (e.g. Popapine, Deebee Black Label ) became house-hold names in the Nigerian marketplace.

 

All Deebee products are NAFDAC registered.