About Nectar

Founded in 1991, Nectar has established itself as a cornerstone of Malta’s food and beverage industry, representing a broad and distinguished portfolio of international and local brands.
The name Nectar represents our enduring commitment to quality, reliability, and excellence. These principles guide our operations as we source, manage, and distribute leading food and beverage brands that support Malta’s retail and hospitality sectors.

Charles Abela

1952 - 2010

Founder of Nectar

Charles Abela, the founder of Nectar, was a visionary whose leadership defined the company’s character. Strong-willed, pragmatic, and forward-thinking, Charles built Nectar from humble beginnings in 1991 after more than two decades of experience in the tobacco and confectionery trade. His insight into the Maltese market and commitment to quality laid the foundations for the company’s enduring success.

In 1997, Charles became the sole owner of Nectar and steered it into a period of strategic growth and innovation. Under his direction, Nectar evolved into a dynamic, future-oriented enterprise recognised for its reliability, professionalism, and customer focus. Today, the company continues to uphold his vision under the stewardship of his four children, who serve as Managing Directors.

Beyond business, Charles was deeply dedicated to his community. As President of the Mosta Football Club from 1999, he guided the team to new achievements and left a legacy honoured by the naming of the Charles Abela Memorial Stadium, a lasting tribute to his commitment and influence.

Our Story

From modest origins in 1991, Nectar has grown into one of Malta’s leading names in food and beverage distribution. Proudly family-owned, we represent an extensive portfolio of trusted local and global brands and supply over 3,000 retail and hospitality clients across Malta and Gozo.

Our continued success is driven by an enduring dedication to quality, integrity, and innovation; values that define who we are and guide how we serve our partners and customers every day.

UPDATES IN PROGRESS

Abela Family Takeover

 

In 1997, the Abela family bought over the full shareholding of the company with the aim of further developing and managing as a family-owned company run by directors Mr Charles Abela and his two sons Roderick and Mario. This move triggered further growth and enabled the company to embark on an expansion program.

Consolidated Headquarters

To accommodate its exceptional growth in 2003, the company relocated to new and centralized premises situated in Ta’ Qali, close to the historic and picturesque old capital city of Malta – Mdina. The new building, which incorporates modern offices and warehousing facilities, is equipped with latest state-of-the-art technology to meet the requirements of today’s fast-changing business world.

Sweetsource Acquisition

Later during 2003, Nectar acquired Sweetsource Limited, previously a competitor in the same segment which imported and supplied sweet and salty snacks and confectionery products.

Through its acquisition by the shareholders of Nectar, Sweetsource came back to life and from near-bankruptcy to a thriving company. The new Directors took immediate steps to correct its strategy by implementing their proven formula. The first critical steps were to gradually eliminate loss leading branded products already distributed by other local agents, and streamline the Company’s portfolio to better concentrate on marketing its exclusive brands.

The impact of the new strategies produced instant results. With the merger of Administration, Warehousing, Marketing and Finance Departments, and the implementation of all IT processes and systems, a synergy was created to rapidly boost Sweetsource’s efficiency.

ISO Certification

 

Huge effort and work was continuously being done on systems and procedures while the workforce was consistently growing year on year. The need for official recognition for all this work, plus the need to self-impose standards of the highest quality across the whole growing organisation was necessary. An experienced British consultant was hired and helped Nectar to draft it first Quality Manual and implement the quality system in line with the ISO standard requirements. Nectar already had detailed procedures and discipline in its operations so the process was quite a straightforward one. The company decided to engage a foreign experienced certification company BVQI UK to audit the company. Nectar got fully certified immediately after the first audit and has been recertified ever since.

Wrigley Division

In 2006, the Wrigley Division was established with the aim of consolidating the strong market share already enjoyed by Wrigley products; more popularly known in Malta as Orbit chewing gum. Following the success story of Sweetsource running as a separate sales team, the time had come to dedicate further resources to Orbit which also required focused sales and specialised merchandising work. Since then Wrigley merged with Mars International and eventually the confectionery products Skittles and Starburst were included within this team’s portfolio to become Wrigley-Mars Confectionery Division.