End of an era for one of South Africa’s most iconic brands
Tiger Brands has brought the production of one of South Africa’s most iconic grocery brands, Mrs Ball’s Chutney, in-house.
This ends a 13-year era of outsourced manufacturing with a major investment at its historic Paarl factory in the Western Cape.
The food producer officially unveiled its upgraded Paarl Culinary mega-site on 27 July after investing more than R200 million in expanding and modernising the facility.
The project marks the first major investment to be completed as part of Tiger Brands’ broader strategy to strengthen its manufacturing operations across South Africa.
A key milestone is that Mrs Ball’s Chutney, which had been produced by third-party manufacturer Libstar for more than a decade, will now once again be made by Tiger Brands itself.
Tiger Brands CEO Tjaart Kruger said the company wanted greater control over the quality and safety of its products.
“We don’t like someone else to pack our products because we can’t control the quality and the safety of the product,” he said.
Kruger added that the decision also made practical sense because the ingredients used to make the chutney are sourced from the Western Cape, making Paarl the natural location for production.
The revamped facility now includes three dedicated production plants. Alongside the new Mrs Ball’s production lines is a vinegar manufacturing plant capable of producing three million litres annually.
Vinegar is a key ingredient in Mrs Ball’s Chutney, All Gold Tomato Sauce and Crosse & Blackwell Mayonnaise.
Producing it internally reduces Tiger Brands’ reliance on outside suppliers while helping secure production of these products.
The company has also introduced new production lines that allow it to package jams in recyclable polyethene terephthalate (PET) containers instead of traditional cans.
Tiger Brands said it is the first South African food producer to make this change in the jam category, with the new lines producing 290g, 480g and 900g packs, while also providing flexibility for future packaging formats.
Tiger Brands’ R2 billion plan
According to Dumo Mfini, Managing Director of Tiger Brands’ Culinary division, the investment is about improving supply security while modernising manufacturing.
“The transformation of our Paarl facility reflects our efforts to invest in manufacturing capability that enables us to better serve our consumers,” he said.
“By bringing Mrs Ball’s in-house, by securing our vinegar supply, and by improving our packaging, we are focused on driving growth and better meeting consumer needs with convenient packaging solutions.”
The Paarl factory itself has a long history in South African food manufacturing. The site was originally established in 1903 and later became home to H. Jones & Co.
H. Jones & Co expanded from Australia to South Africa during a downturn in the local wine industry to make use of surplus fruit.
It went on to become the birthplace of All Gold Tomato Sauce, first commercially launched in 1908, and became well known for producing jams and other preserved foods before eventually becoming part of Tiger Brands.
Today, the site manufactures several well-known brands, including All Gold Jam, Mrs Ball’s Chutney, Hugo’s Jam, Colman’s Worcestershire Sauce and Mustard, and Crosse & Blackwell Kasi Sauces.
Tiger Brands said the investment also supports local agriculture, with key ingredients sourced from Western Cape growers.
Strawberries from Paarl and Stellenbosch are used in All Gold, and Hugo’s jams, onions from Villiersdorp and Grabouw are supplied for Mrs Ball’s Sweet Chilli Sauce, and Seville oranges from Ceres are used to produce KOO Seville Jam for export markets.
The company said seven Western Cape farming businesses supply these ingredients, collectively employing more than 300 permanent workers and around 700 seasonal workers during harvest periods.
The Paarl project is one of several large investments planned by Tiger Brands. The company has committed to spending about R1.5 billion a year on capital projects over the next three years, with annual investment expected to peak at R2 billion.
Other projects include a R1 billion super bakery in Pretoria, a new mega distribution centre in Gauteng, the consolidation of its Durban snacks operations, upgrades at its Pietermaritzburg mill, and the expansion of its Boksburg culinary facility.
Loading ...