regional business achievers awards 2014
emerging entrepreneur submission
LIZE FOUCHE
PERSONAL NOTE8
To be nominated in this category for emerging entrepreneur, something which I am so passionate about, is an
honour. Building a business and developing product ranges has been a journey which I could never have achieved
without the help and support of my wonderful family and team.
I would like thank the BWA for allowing me to be a part of this exciting opportunity to profile my business and my
vision for our wonderful region.
Lize fouche
PROLOGUE8
Lize is no stranger to starting up her own business, having helped start up her family’s luxury Summerstrand
guest house, Manor 38, which thrice has received the accolade from travel giant Tripadvisor as best boutique
hotel in the city. It was at Manor 38 where Lize first started experimenting with baking her delicious homemade
muesli for guests, which later led to the establishment of Number 1 Foods.
After establishing Manor 38 and before returning to Port Elizabeth to start up Number 1 Foods, Lize moved
with her partner, Stephan, to Cape Town. One day – prompted by a dream – Lize came up with the idea for
creating a peaceful eco cemetery where loved ones could be laid to rest in a secure and tranquil environment.
Here, friends and family could say a heartfelt goodbye and revisit a conservation area where the memories
SECTION ONE 8
personal info
company info
Name: Lize Fouche
Company: Number 1 Food
Position: CEO
Company Registration No: 2013/062050/07
Company: Number 1 Food
Website: chunkymuesli.com / number1foods.com
Company Registration No: 1 Kg
Facebook: facebook.com/ChunkyMuesli
ID Number: 0000000 000000 00
Address: 62 Kragga Kamma
Sunridge Park
Port Elizabeth
South AFrica, 6008
Telephone: 0861-MUESLI
Mobile: 083 450 1569
Email: [email protected]
PO Box 28482
Sunridge Park
Port Elizabeth
South AFrica, 6008
NUMBER 1 FOODS puts
health, lifestyle and nutrition
FIRST.
WE ARE BUILDING
relationships with families
across the world to make
NUMBER 1 their first choice in
food brands.
Q1: What is the nature and history of your business?
BACKGROUND8
In 2013, I returned to Port Elizabeth from Cape
Town with my partner, Stephan, and our two
young children. Our family needed a second
source of revenue, so I decided to market my
home-made muesli which, with my culinary arts
and food product development background, had
been a hit with family and friends.
Using our limited funds, we purchased a steel
roasting drum to be fitted into our kitchen oven,
and I worked on roasting the perfect muesli.
Even though this initial attempt at roasting was
unsuccessful, I remained undeterred and found a
chicory roasting plant in Alexandria which would
help me roast the ideal muesli mixture. So tasty
was the result that we sold 2 tons of the Number 1
Chunky Muesli at its launch at the 2013 Kirkwood
Wildsfees, sparking the start of a great enterprise.
Q2: WHAT PARTICULAR ACHIEVEMENTS ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO YOU AND YOUR COMPANY OVER THE PAST YEAR?
ACHIEVEMENTS
8
Since successfully launching Chunky Muesli at the
2013 Kirkwood Wildsfees (in the process creating
34 permanent jobs at the Alexandria roasting
plant, and a further 7 managerial posts), I have
worked with fellow Port Elizabeth entrepreneur,
Jaco Serfontein, for a new nutritious cereal range
called NutriStart, which includes a product called
I Am Pregnant. Number 1 Foods is also supplying
oats-filled apples to Coega-based company
Dynamic Commodities for export.
There is now an immense demand for the product.
The range is available in many mainstream grocery
stores, while NutriStart has been picked up
exclusively by Pick n Pay (the NutriStart health
bars will be sold in Spar, DisChem and Clicks).
Coega is building a custom-made factory for
Number 1 Foods, which will create a further 150
jobs and have a 600 ton per month production
capacity when it opens at the end of the year.
The company is also launching a US export range
Q3: What obstacles did you need to overcome to start and build your business?
OBSTACLES8
As a mother entering the business world, I had
to really persevere when it came to pitching my
product to various businesses. It also took time
to convince my family that it was the right thing to
do. With a six-month-old and two-year-old, I had
to juggle motherhood and business, sometimes
taking my children with me to business meetings.
I also had to quickly adapt to the tough fast
moving consumer goods market and learn how
to become and expert negotiator, in order to
get the best deals for a product which I am very
passionate about. The people who didn’t take
me seriously to start with have learnt that I mean
business.
WILD
FEES
absa
kkNK
home
makers
expo
Q4: What marketing strategies do you use to promote and grow your business?
MARKETING
8
The nature of my business meant we needed to
get people to taste the product, because once
they tasted it, they were committed to it. We
started with tasting sessions at schools and made
deals with the tuck shops where we donated a
portion of our sales to the school for fundraising.
We also developed brochures with small taster
packs of muesli attached.
For marketing nationally, I head-hunted a national
sales manager with experience and great
contacts. She helped us get meetings with the
likes of Pick n Pay, Spar, Bidvest catering, Macro,
Fruit and Veg City, DisChem and Checkers. We
also market at major festivals like the KKNK in
Oudtshoorn, the Kirkwood Wildsfees, the Home
Makers Expo, and the Potchefstroom Aardklop
Festival.
Q5: What corporate or personal social responsibility programmes are you involved in?
SOCIAL8
We donate 10% of our profits to the Mountain
Crest Community Centre in Thornhill for abused
women and people with addictions. We also
employ adults with Down Syndrome to help with
low-stress jobs at our Alexandria factory.
Our new factory will have a dedicated area for
special needs employees who will assist with lowstress jobs such as packaging the product.
On top of this, we also put 15% of our profits into
a Worker’s Trust for shop floor employees, as an
incentive for them.
??
?
?
?
Think
OUTSIDE
the BOX
Q6: What gives this business the edge over others of this nature?
8
The past year has been a massive learning curve
for me. Within nine months I became a “business
mother” of four unique “children”– chunky
Muesli, NutriStart, Hemel & Hawer and Nutritech.
My background in product development at
Woolworths South Africa has instilled within me a
need to produce food with integrity, and which is
also made up of natural ingredients.
Our focus on community and employee upliftment
is also a move which I believe sets us apart from
businesses which are solely preoccupied with
profits.
THE EDGE
The buy-in from our employees also gives them
the benefit of being more involved with the
product while at the same time being empowered.
As part of our expansion plans, I want to revive the
oats-growing industry in the Eastern Cape, which
collapsed many years ago. This will not only create
jobs in agriculture, but also help us move closer to
building an oats mill alongside our Coega factory
(6 hectares of land has been set aside for this),
which could produce a minimum of 5,000 tons
of oats monthly, helping diversify the agricultural
industry in our region and uplifting the community
through job creation.
NUMBER 1 stands first for health, lifestyle
Building relationshi
across the world to make Number 1 their
e and nutrition.
ip with familieS
r first choice in
food brands
CONCLUSION
Since a
I always had the
of an entrepreneur. Baking
Organizing or selling or bringing
At the age off 11 I did my first
together. (I live my talents)
flowers. My
I
beautiful, inspiring things
I
making something out of nothing
I
working towards my dreams
At 23 i wrote a secret dream for myself. I want to be PE
Im not Miss
or Miss
and selling it to friends and teachers.
where so shocked but it looked amazing.
women.
. Im Miss compassion. Nothing brings me more
then
doors for others.
YES, Number 1 will be
The
, the oatmill, the many jobs, the break of monopoly of oats growing, the (NEW) markets.
All of this is
emerging and it gives me great Happiness.
Q3: What obstacles did you need to overcome to start and build your business?
OBSTACLES8
As a mother entering the business world, I had
to really persevere when it came to pitching my
product to various businesses. It also took time
to convince my family that it was the right thing to
do. With a six-month-old and two-year-old, I had
to juggle motherhood and business, sometimes
taking my children with me to business meetings.
I also had to quickly adapt to the tough fast
moving consumer goods market and learn how
to become and expert negotiator, in order to
get the best deals for a product which I am very
passionate about. The people who didn’t take
me seriously to start with have learnt that I mean
business.