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COMPANY REPORT
SIMBA
Simba potatoes:
More local than ever
Editorial – Christian Jordan
Production – Hal Hutchison
Simba Chips are one of
South Africa’s favourite
snacks. We take a look at
their community potato
farming projects to
understand more about
where these delicious
delights come from.
Our food industry focus this month comes
from one of South Africa’s leading food
companies. A company with one of the country’s most
recognised icons. A company with an intriguing history,
dating back to 1939.
It is, of course, Simba – the multi-billion Rand company
that was born from the visions of one inspirational lady
living in the Eastern Cape.
The remarkable story that is the history of Simba is one
of the more unique tales of ‘zero to hero’, that any business
in the country has to offer.
In Molteno, Eastern Cape, Mrs Greyvenstein
affectionately known as Ouma Greyvenstein, was feeling
the plight heaped onto the world from the imminence of
World War Two. Instead of wallowing in despair, Ouma
started making the now famous Ouma Rusks.
As word of this fantastic new snack spread, orders
began to grow, providing funds that the local community
PAGE 32FEB 13
desperately needed.
Eventually, the snack became so popular that Ouma was
regarded as one of South Africa’s top bakers and her family
were also becoming famous.
For 13 years the family business continued to run,
making the nations favourite Rusks until 1952 when
Ouma’s son, Leon, met Herman Lay (a pioneer of the
potato chip industry and founder of Lay’s, one of the
major manufacturers of chips in the world) and decided to
diversify. This is where
“The potato farming initiatives from
the idea for Simba Chips
Simba are community farming projects
was born.
In 1956, Simba Chips hit the stores of
whereby communities have the land
South Africa with Simba the lion, the icon of
the company, fronting the marketing push.
but do not have the finance or the
Over the years, Simba Chips have tried
relationships with companies to procure
to stay up to date and current with their
products, boasting a flavourful and fun
anything that was made on the farms”
experience for all customers. Contributing
the success of the brand is the fact that Simba
manages to provide snacks that encapsulate a local feel and
presence and today their production methods are heavily
answer demands from the local market.
scrutinised to ensure sustainability is at the core of the
process.
PRODUCTION IN 2013
IndustrySA recently spoke to Simba’s transformation
In 2013, production of Simba chips remains a driver of the
manager, Arnold Selokane, who told us a little bit more
snack food market. Manufacturing PepsiCo’s snack brands
about the company’s community involvement.
in South Africa makes Simba a local player with a global
Obviously, the key to good Simba chips is good potatoes
FEB 13 PAGE 33
COMPANY REPORT
and to ensure that is what the company are getting, Simba
have established community farming projects in various
regions around the country.
These projects, started in 2009, were created to supply
Simba with potatoes and also to educate and uplift
communities by up-skilling local people and creating jobs.
“The potato farming initiatives from Simba are
community farming projects whereby communities have
SIMBA
the land but do not have the finance or the relationships
with companies to procure anything that was made on the
farms
“In 2009, Simba came together with these communities
and created a partnership between established farmers, the
community and the company. This started in Ga-Matlala
in Limpopo.
“The project had the support of the local provincial
“The first of these community projects should produce
around 4000 tons. This is a significant amount for
a community that has only just started planting
potatoes”
PAGE 34FEB 13
COMPANY REPORT
SIMBA
inperspective
Shopper Marketing is the new buzz word as we
realise that shoppers are the gateway to our
success, yet many organisations are spending
more in-store but are not winning with shoppers,
nor are they achieving their commercial
objectives.
So where does it all go wrong?
• We do what we did last year
• We invest in the wrong type of activities
• We try to do too much
• We often don’t get the exposure
• We don’t create links for shoppers and so our
•
activation lacks relevance
We try to get too creative
Traditionally shopper initiatives have focused on
quick wins, but these do little to change shopper
behaviour in the longer term or drive growth. There is a science to developing successful
shopper marketing campaigns.
We need to understand where to prioritise, how
to activate across the 5P’s and how we can
change behaviour. In order to do this we need
to understand our shoppers’ needs and how
to differentiate our Shopper Marketing Strategy
across different Retail Environments.
The challenge is that shoppers are becoming
increasingly difficult to engage so how do
government and extension officers from the Department
of Agriculture
“We realised for this project to be sustainable we had
to ensure we get students from these communities trained
and given skills relevant to the agricultural industry. They
were registered with the Lowveld College of Agriculture
for a three year diploma in plant production. The first five
of these students graduated with their diploma in 2011 and
they are now being registered with the Tshwane University
of Technology to study a B-Tech in agriculture. They will
do this for one year to complement their diploma in plant
production,” says Mr Selokane.
Education is a key theme in these projects and is a
large part of why they are supported so strongly by the
government and local communities.
“The communities came out and said they had the land
but they did not have the expertise or any procurement
contracts for the potatoes when they had been planted,”
says Mr Selokane. “This saw the birth of a three pronged
relationship between the established farmers who have the
we connect with 11 million households when
demographics do not define who they are?
Inperspective talked to shoppers across 1600
households and collected over 110 000 till slips
from them so they could get insight into ‘who they
are’ and ‘how they shop’ (Shopper Diary Survey).
The shopper insights from this study will give you
a competitive advantage in the trade, help you
achieve your targets and improve your ROI on
“In Makuleke, the land is resting as they have planted
continuously for the last three years but they will soon
start to plant again”
trade spend.
Over 900 billion Rand is spent on food and
groceries in South Africa every year. You can get
a bigger share of your shopper’s wallet if you
know how to connect with your target shoppers.
PAGE 36FEB 13
COMPANY REPORT
SIMBA
Broco is proud to be a preferred logistics
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BROCO Service offering:
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•developing and implementing best-fit
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•capturing data and using business
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•staying abreast of the latest technologies
BROCO is an asset-light Logistics
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made logistics solutions through skilled
and motivated people, leading operational
systems, best of breed technology and a
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skills, machinery and seed, the community who has the
land, and Simba who will procure the potatoes.
“The first of these community projects should produce
around 4000 tons. This is a significant amount for a
community that has only just started planting potatoes.
“To prove that we are 100% behind this project we have
invested money. We want to make sure that learners are
given the skills, thus we have 17 students at college, five of
which have just completed the diploma and are moving on
to university. That in itself is the most exciting thing and
proves the project is a good investment for us.”
The projects have an inspiring longevity attached to
them. The future has been carefully considered with both
the company and the community in mind.
“It is the plan for these students to go back to their
communities with their expertise and continue with the
farming projects.
“Without us giving them the skills, those farms would
not be sustainable. With these skills, the farms will one
day be able to stand on their own, without assistance from
anyone,” says Mr Selokane.
CREATING JOBS
The Simba community farming projects are set up to
help communities grow, as well as providing the company
with those special, local made ingredients. All of the
current projects are in areas that have been previously
disadvantaged through lack of education, lack of resources
or lack of capital and Mr Selokane tells us that while Simba
is very much behind upliftment in these communities, the
product has to be quality and that is where the students
play a big role.
We procure logistics service providers (LSPs)
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BROCO(Pty) Ltd
5 Termo St,Techno Park, Stellenbosch, 7600
PO Box 12804, Die Boord 7613
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E info@broco.co.za W www.broco.co.za
VAT no: 4240172140 REG no: 2001/009562/07
PAGE 38FEB 13
BROCO is an operating company of IMPERIAL
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COMPANY REPORT
“Simba is committed to procuring from previously
disadvantaged areas. It has to be quality product that we
get from them. The only way to get that quality is for us
to help them gain the skills required for the production of
quality product.
“At Simba we hold an interest in the education of the
wider community. At the Lehwelere Secondary School
in Matlala we established a computer room because we
realised that learners were coming out of the community
without computer skills. The computer room itself was full
of computers with internet function.
“In some of the communities we have established
libraries because we feel it’s important to provide skills
and education as well as boosting the local economy
financially.”
Harvesting and production of quality potatoes is more
PAGE 40FEB 13
SIMBA
labour intensive than you might think. Even with todays
advanced farming technology, we still require people to
ensure everything is done correctly and this is where the
jobs are created.
“During planting there is a lot of job creation. The
planting process, even though it is mechanically done, is
labour intensive.
“When you need a lot of people is during harvesting.
We have to lift the potatoes, pack the potatoes, load
the potatoes and send the potatoes to the factories for
production into chips,” says Mr Selokane.
“In the past four years we procured potatoes from
community farms at Ga – Matlala, Mbhahela, Makuleke,
Badplaas and Malelane.”
These projects all make up part of a greater ‘social
responsibility’ programme that Simba has in place. Other
COMPANY REPORT
SIMBA
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social projects that the company places a large emphasis
on include; providing support to orphaned and vulnerable
children, running school road shows, promoting World
Aids Day and encouraging a healthy lifestyle for employees
through wellness weeks in regional branches.
The community farming projects also contribute
significantly to BBBEE, through which Simba is a certified,
compliant company.
WORK IN PROGRESS
The community potato farming projects have been
active for four years now but the work is far from
finished. As we mentioned above, the first students to
become a part of this scheme have only just graduated
and they have a long way to go before they can put their
newfound expertise to full use.
Established farmers in each region still assist with
production and in Makuleke the hectic farming cycle has
slowed to allow for the land to recuperate before another
intensive push begins.
PAGE 42FEB 13
“In Makuleke, the land is resting as they have
planted continuously for the last three years but
they will soon start to plant again,” says
Mr Selakone.
As production levels increase for these community
farming projects, their importance will become
more apparent to not only Simba but to the industry
as a whole. Ten years from now, when each region
has a team of well educated, experienced and most
importantly, local, agricultural experts, Simba will
be able to rely more and more on these,
previously unusable, areas.
It is refreshing to see a multi-billion Rand company
investing so heavily in the community and using their
powerful position to bring about change in local economy,
rather than endlessly pursuing reductions in cost that do
not benefit customer or supplier.
Hopefully, the success of this project will spark other
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