Sweet success: local business acquires honey brand

LOCAL food manufacturer Efoods has entered into an agreement to acquire one of the largest honey brands – Natural forest, the company has said in a statement.

The better-for-you food company will take on the brand, including staff and processing equipment at its Workington-based premises in this first major acquisition.

The acquisition bolsters Efoods’ position as a key player in the food manufacturing and processing space driving competition and adding value locally.

“The Natural Forest brand has a strong and reliable reputation of supplying pure honey to the market and in their 22 years of operation they have grown a dependable network of bee-keepers, harvesting wild honey from woodlands around Zimbabwe. The ethical principles involved, from bee to bottle, really resonate with us.” said Efoods marketing director Mr Justin Evans.

He said the company aims at maintaining its brand integrity by selling pure honey.

“Unlike a lot of honey sold on store shelves, market tables, and roadsides – we aim to maintain the integrity of the brand, not adding extenders, additives, or anything to dilute the pure nature of the product,” said Mr Evans.

Mr Evans said the agreement is part of an ambitious growth plan for Efoods, and is a move to increase the scope of retail sales as well as diversify and broaden its offering to the food, catering, hospitality, and service industry.

He noted that due to the large-scale commercialisation process, especially in international markets, honey often has additives and sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup or brown rice syrup.

He said scaling up ensures the longevity of a household brand and offers stronger drive, through a bigger platform, to promote awareness and education around honey and bee-keeping as a whole.

The company’s general manager Ms Dawn Lardner-Burke said Efoods has a long-standing food service background supplying sauces, sachets, and marinades to most of Zimbabwe’s biggest and best fast food chains and hotel groups.

“We hope to continue our mission of encouraging operators in the tourism and hospitality industry to put their faith in local suppliers and manufacturers,” she said.