The Parmalat Phuma Phambili programme, initiated in 2015, aims to work with emerging fast food and retail businesses as a business enabler, giving these township startups a much-needed competitive advantage. It has honoured five township entrepreneurs for their outstanding efforts in successfully growing their retail and fast food businesses and as a direct result, creating more jobs for members of their local communities, at an event held at Moyo, Melrose Arch.
In 2016, businesses participating in the programme were assessed against a combination of the following elements:
South Africa's best products, recognised through a market-leading independent consumer survey, were announced at the Product of the Year gala event in Johannesburg in February.
The winners of the second annual Parmalat Phuma Phambili programme are:
These entrepreneurs recorded phenomenal results in 2016, with sales increases ranging from 55% at Pule’s Fast Food to 317% in the case of Zakhele Fast Food. Significant employment opportunities were created because of these increases, including the hiring of 12 new staff at Zakhele, eight additional staff at Zikhiphani and five full-time staff and two part-time staff members at PKP Kitchen.
The incentive for businesses to use Parmalat Cheese Slices is the opportunity to gain access to invaluable outlet support from Parmalat, to help them grow their businesses. This is in the form of access to improved equipment and branding; enhanced marketing collateral, and more efficient production to help entrepreneurs achieve better margins. Programme participants also receive items such as TVs, fridges and Chromadek signage boards to help give their businesses a more competitive edge.
South Africa's best products, recognised through a market-leading independent consumer survey, were announced at the Product of the Year gala event in Johannesburg in February.
Based on the independently verified feedback of the 5 000 consumers surveyed, the most innovative products of the year for 2017 are:
Category Winner
Baby care Epi-max Baby & Junior Range
Beverages Fuze Tea
Biscuits Bakers Eet-Sum-Mor Chocolate Chip
Breakfast White Star Instant Maize Porridge
Chips Doritos
Dairy Beverages Deneys Swiss Dairy Gourmet Drinking Yoghurt
Dessert (Heritage) Ultra Mel Vanilla Flavoured Custard
Female Deodorants Shield MotionSense
Feminine Skincare Johnson's Vita-Rich
Food (Heritage) Big Jack Pies
Fuel BP Ultimate with Active Technology
Hair Treatment Dove Intensive Repair Treatment Mask
Hairwash Tresemme Beauty Full Volume
Healthy Snacking Planters Nuts
Home Appliances Hisense Ice Maker Refrigerator
Male Deodorants Shield MotionSense
Male Grooming Schick Hydro 5
Mayonnaise Miracle Whip
Mobile Phones Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Motor Lubricants Shell Helix Ultra
Popcorn Simba Kettle Popped Flavoured Popcorn
Pourable Sauces Wellington's New Recipe Tomato Sauce
Television Samsung SUHD TV
Therapeutic Skincare Vaseline Camphor Restore
Wearables Samsung Gear VR
Yoghurt NutriDay Yoghurt
A Heritage category was included for the first time in this year's endorsement programme, offering multiple divisions in line with the other established Product of the Year categories.
With a proven franchise model that spans over 20 years, Cash Crusaders welcomed its 200th franchise store to the family at the popular Protea Glen Mall in Soweto on 24 February 2017.
Since 1996, the Cash Crusaders business model has proven itself time and time again against recession and fluctuating economic conditions, making it a sought-after franchise opportunity for passionate entrepreneurs. This year the proudly South African group aims to open thirty more franchise stores, further strengthening its reputation as the largest secondhand retailer in southern Africa, three times the size of its closest competitor.
This 20-year success story is attributed to the company ethos of helping entrepreneurs be in business for themselves, but not by themselves, coupled with a successful three-tier business model that allows franchisees to maximise their profit potential by diversifying their service offerings.
In line with this strategy, all stores trade in competitively priced secondhand items including mobile phones, appliances, laptops, electronics, and more.
In addition to its secondhand offerings, Cash Crusaders is committed to being a niche provider of quality private label new goods, giving customers access to a wide variety of value-for-money new goods which are sourced internationally. These range from home theatres, electronics and car audio to musical instruments, housewares and smartphones and include private label brands such as DXN Pro, Dixon, Jebson, Sanchez and Amber. These brands make high-end consumer goods more accessible to South African consumers, such as DXN Pro DJ equipment and the Sanchez range, which together make Cash Crusaders the largest DJ and musical instruments retailer on the African continent.
With excess carbohydrates increasingly under scrutiny, leading bakery ingredients supplier Anchor Yeast is on a mission to show that South African bread offers great nutritional and price value in every slice.
At a recent promotional industry event, Lorraine Bezuidenhout, bakery business director at Anchor Yeast, asserted that South African bread offers consumers good all-round value: it is not only an affordable staple available in multiple varieties but also has many health benefits.
"Since 2003, most breads have been fortified with a number of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, iron and zinc, which are important from a public health perspective. And last year, bread manufacturers also reduced the amount of salt (and thus sodium) added to their loaves," she noted.
“Bread is now required, under legislation restricting the salt content of many foods, to have a reduced sodium content. This is significant, given that the average salt intake in South African adults is 8.6g/day – well above the World Health Organisation's recommended 5 grams a day.”
Despite the fact that bread is one of the five most commonly-consumed foods bought by eight out of 10 South African households, many consumers don’t realise their regular loaf of bread has so much value to offer.
This is just one of the findings coming out of a recent review of the local bread industry by well-known dietitian Jane Badham. The review was commissioned by Anchor Yeast and presented at the event.
