News & Events

Premier Group Limited (“Premier” or “the Company”) has today announced its intention to list (the “Listing”) all the Company’s issued ordinary shares on the Main Board of the securities exchange operated by the JSE Limited (the “JSE”). This is subject to market conditions and the fulfilment of certain conditions (including the JSE's spread and minimum free-float requirements as set out in the JSE Listings Requirements) after which Premier shares will be listed in the ‘45102020 -Food Products’ sector of the JSE under the abbreviated name “Premier” and share code “PMR”.

Home to popular South African consumer brands such as Blue Ribbon, Snowflake, Iwisa, Lil-lets, Manhattan, and many more, Premier is a leading consumer packaged goods (“CPG”) business that offers a diverse array of products across Southern Africa.

The Company provides a multi-brand, multi-product offering across a wide range of categories through numerous channels, strategically positioning itself within the food and beverage and home and personal care sectors and maintaining the flexibility to capitalise on growth areas in the CPG industry.

Premier reported revenue of R14.5bn for the year ended 31 March 2022 (“FY2022”) which represented 16.1% growth over the prior year. This strong performance has continued for the six months ended 30 September 2022, where revenue grew by 23.9% on the prior interim period.

Premier operates two business units, being Millbake which accounted for 82% of revenue for FY2022 and Groceries and International (18% of FY2022 revenue) which houses Sugar Confectionery, Home and Personal Care and Premier’s CPG operations in Mozambique.

Kobus Gertenbach, Chief Executive Officer of Premier, believes that the decision to list on the JSE is an important and exciting step in the Premier growth journey. “The transition into the listed environment is expected to support Premier’s efforts to drive its organic and acquisitive growth strategy and strengthen its market position across all business areas,” says Gertenbach.

Once the Company is listed on the JSE, Gertenbach says the executive management team will remain materially invested in Premier, thereby ensuring strong alignment between existing and new shareholders.

Brait PLC (“Brait”), the ultimate controlling shareholder of Premier, is seeking to raise gross proceeds of up to R3.7 billion through an offer for sale of a portion of its current shareholding in the Company pursuant to the Listing. Brait will remain a significant shareholder of Premier, along with Titan Premier Investment Limited (Dr. Christo Wiese’s investment vehicle), which has undertaken to support the Listing through a direct and pre-committed investment of c. R1.3bn.

The Listing is subject to customary conditions for capital markets transactions of this nature.

In making an investment decision, a prospective investor must rely on his/her/its own examination, analysis and enquiry of the company, the offer shares and the terms and conditions of the offer and admission, including the merits and risks involved.

A pre-listing statement will be published by Premier on, or about, Tuesday, 22 November 2022.

On the 1st of June 2021, Premier FMCG acquired Mister Sweet. Within this time, Premier FMCG and Mister Sweet have integrated and achieved key milestones that have moved them forward to build a solid foundation to grow in the future. Core initiatives include merging key accounts and trading terms, one invoice and an integrated Premier FMCG distribution system, as well as alignment with  #ThePremierWay ensuring effective integration and optimisation of both the top and bottom line of the organisation. #ThePremierMachine #InAction

Andrew Wright, Site Manager at the Mister Sweet Confectionery, comments, “The Premier Way is well entrenched, which gives a fantastic foundation to move to the stability phase quickly. We need to embrace the new season of growth and opportunity so that we can grow together.”

Greg Bates, the GM of Confectionery and Beverages, remarks, “Bringing Mister Sweet into Premier FMCG is a great example of win-win where we both gain key skills and capabilities to leverage across the organisation. The integration turnaround and support of the Project Team was “World Class” Together.  We unlock a revenue contribution of over R1 billion to become a solid number 2 player within confectionery.”

As a qualified nurse and early expertise in mediation as part of the IEC Team during the 1st Democratic elections in 1994, Julian Singonzo has an innate ability to balance heart, win-win situations, and strategic alignment. With a passion for sales, Julian moved into SAB and has invested in progressing his career and learning journey. Completing an MBA early in his career and later an Executive Development Programme, Julian has built a reputation as being results-driven, reliable, and the voice of reason when things get tough. With his high-performance track record within Premier FMCG, Julian was promoted from the Bakeries Sales Executive to the Managing Executive: Environmental, Social, and Regulatory in October 2021.

Julian Singonzo describes his new role as “earning the right to grow in the communities.” He aims to make a difference within struggling communities, focusing on children and the elderly, moving the needle on reduced waste, and actively engaging with governing bodies to build a better tomorrow.

Fritz Grobbelaar joins Premier FMCG as the CFO to build on the solid financial manufacturing foundation that has been established within Premier FMCG. “Sweating the detail” is a crucial part of Fritz’s success combined with a strong focus on leadership and communication to entrench financial principles with an emphasis on embedding ROI objectives throughout the organisation.

Fritz has 17 years of experience in senior financial roles across manufacturing and agri-processing in organisations such as Country Bird Holdings, RCL for Rainbow Chickens and Epol Feeds. Fritz’s depth of experience in manufacturing is an essential component to success as the lead for finance, IT, legal, business intelligence, procurement, and logistics functions within Premier FMCG.

Kobus Gertenbach, appointed as the CEO of Premier FMCG on 1 April 2021, reflects on the last 6 months, "To build long-term value, both companies and brands need to have a purpose. For Premier FMCG, it's about our people and products making a difference in the everyday lives of our consumers. Our brands are also shifting towards a purpose-driven strategy. Together, our organisation and our brands need to earn the right to operate within our communities.

While we move towards a purpose-driven future, we continue to focus on employee health and safety and community upliftment. This year, we have increased our CSI investment by working with partners like Food Forward, Gift of the Givers, ACFS, and charities operating in the communities surrounding our 53 sites.

Despite the turbulent times in which we operate, Premier FMCG remains focused on our strategy, delivering high performance on brilliant basics and achieving great wins across the organisation. Our people survey results showed strong improvements over prior years, the integration of the Mister Sweet acquisition is progressing well, and major capex projects have been commissioned across our business, including a pads line in Durban that resulted in upskilling of 8 employees, promotion of 20 employees and appointment of 18 new employees to the business. Travel restrictions due to the pandemic posed significant challenges in the commissioning of a biscuits line in Mozambique and pads line in Durban. Still, the Premier FMCG team rose to the challenge, and both these lines have been successfully commissioned with new skills being entrenched into the business.

As we move forward, we will continue to entrench our purpose-driven culture with a strong focus on being brilliant at the basics and commitment to growing together."

Not many teams embody #ChooseToChallenge more than Premier FMCG’s legal team. As we embrace the last week of Women’s Month, we would like to congratulate and celebrate the legal team for being shortlisted for two awards in the coveted Africa Legal Awards. This winning all-female team is a contender to snag “Legal Department of the Year – Small Team” and “In-House Most Promising Newcomer” with Legal Counsel Karin Pretsch.

Last year, the department rose to the challenge when covid-19 impacted business continuity and quickly advised and educated the business on new legislation requirements to ensure that the company could continue its 24/7 operations on 35 sites to supply essential goods to our consumers. As we embrace the last week of Women’s Month, let’s recognise the five women responsible for legal, compliance, and governance within a company that employs over 12 000 employees, has operations in South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and the UK. The legal department also attends to the governance of the group of companies, which consists of 18 companies.

Together, we are stronger! We believe in investing in the people within our teams to learn and improve skills for everyone to grow.

In a shrinking economy, Premier FMCG recognises the need to invest in its people, capabilities and brands to deliver growth. “Going beyond employee safety and community upliftment is essential to unlocking growth in our core business to find ways to meet consumer needs better,” says Siobhan O’ Sullivan, Group Strategy, Marketing & HPC Executive.

Premier FMCG has recently acquired Mister Sweet to unlock value through scale and enter adjacent segments in line with business objectives. Premier FMCG has also built a new Lil-Lets pads line in Durban and a Hard-Boiled Candy factory in Johannesburg East within the last year, resulting in cost benefits, employment and new skills development in both regions. These initiatives, together with the launch of Lil-Lets sanitary products and Dove cotton products with organic cotton materials, Pops and Candies innovation, and packaging updates on Lil-lets, Manhattan and Super C Sweets entrenches Premier FMCG’s growth objectives.

“In the future, we will continue to look at opportunities to build Premier FMCG’s portfolio to provide scale through M&A’s as well as invest in our brands and manufacturing capability,” says CEO Kobus Gertenbach.

In line with our growth strategy, Premier FMCG announces the acquisition of the Mister Sweet confectionery business, which is a division of Lodestone Brands. The purchase of well-known brands, including Mister Sweet, Candy Tops, Champion, Rascals, and Frutus, will expand our current Manhattan Sweets and Super C Sweets candy portfolio. This will enable Premier FMCG to enter adjacent categories and unlock value through scale, synergies, and efficiencies. The result will be increased participation in the sugar-based confectionery category with a revenue contribution of over R1 billion and a market share value increase from 7.7% to 13.8% on a 12-month basis.

Kobus Gertenbach, Chief Executive Officer: “The fit between the Mister Sweet and Premier FMCG portfolios will enable the combined entity to add value and grow the category in terms of innovation, brand leverage, and operational efficiencies.”

Going forward, Premier FMCG will operate centres of excellence at its two Sugar-Based Confection manufacturing sites in Gauteng, resulting in efficiencies by aligning production capabilities and seeking opportunities for expansion through our investment in capabilities, brands, and people.

Making a real difference in the lives of women, every day, is our purpose. In South Africa, where social barriers often inhibit open conversation about menstrual hygiene, technology can help educate and empower women whilst embracing their privacy.

Lil-Lets launched the #LilLets Talk Platform www.lil-letstalk.co.za which provides a safe environment where consumers can ask questions and receive answers from trained responders with shared experience, including a gynaecologist.

With topics ranging from first periods, myth busting to menopause has seen 360 thousand positive interactions since the launch last year. With every question asked, a pack of Lil-Lets sanitary pads is donated to those in need as part of the Lil-Lets Making a Difference initiative.

On the 27^th March, South Africa went into level 5 lockdown. Premier, as an essential services business, reacted quickly and effectively with a program that focused on employee wellbeing and food security whilst continuing to run our operations. Stringent health and safety protocols are in place at all our sites, including shutting down plants every 7 days for a deep clean. We have learnt that employee education and awareness is an ongoing effort, both at work and at home, so that we do not become complacent as we move from Level 4 into Level 3. As a provider of maize, flour, bread, mageu and sanitary products, ongoing supply is critical and requires extensive collaboration within the business and throughout the value chain. Food Security will remain an industry priority. For Premier, we will continue to focus on the needs of the community and engage with key stakeholders to ensure access to essential goods.

Snowflake is celebrating 135 years of flop-proof baking and cooking with around the country festivities that pay tribute to this momentous occasion!

Premier employees came together on one special day in 2019 to share their love and passion for this iconic brand that has been a household name for over a century. Registered in 1884, the Snowflake brand has chosen to inspire connections and community by spreading the joy of baking and cooking!

Join Snowflake and all Premier employees in celebrating its birthday this year. Spend time together in the simplest way with friends and loved ones, around the table, to strengthen family bonds and enjoy every moment together. Snowflake, too fresh to flop!

In any economic environment, strategy without action is not effective. Premier has identified executional excellence at a shopper and sales level as a key enabler to unlocking growth. While it’s easy to “talk the talk”, Premier places great emphasis on action versus strategy, as this is often the difference between success or failure.

The current retail environment in South Africa is tough. Consumers are cash strapped and shopping trips are less frequent. This means that winning at the point of purchase, can result in a positive customer experience which directly impacts revenue realisation.

Understanding the retailer’s and trader’s needs is a key enabler. Creating customised channel and customer plans that leverage an understanding of the customer’s profile whilst maximizing availability, visibility, awareness and making the products affordable to shoppers via format and promotional mechanics, can provide sales upside.

In the current retail environment, the ultimate growth drivers of executional excellence come down to two key elements - ‘availability’ and ‘stock pressure’. Making sure this consistently happens with precision in each and every store, can deliver revenue opportunity through the sales and operations value chain.

Have you ever thought about how fresh bread like Blue Ribbon gets delivered to your local store by 6am every morning? The logistics are incredible. Almost 1,000 trucks leave over 25 bakery & depot sites before 4am to deliver freshly baked bread to approximately 30,000 customers every day, 7 days a week. Imagine the infrastructure, processes and logistics that are behind making sure this happens 363 days a year. Now that’s real fast-moving consumer goods!

Swazi Mahewu celebrates six record months in a row with volumes increasing across the board. The launch of flanker brands, Iwisa Mageu and Super Sun Mageu, is expected to further drive volumes and strengthen the overall portfolio.

Based in Matsapha, Eswatini, the business is well placed to unlock growth in the SADC market through its portfolio of brands including Mandla Mahewu, Iwisa Mageu and Super Sun Mageu, as well as producing house brands for Spar and Shoprite. With a quality, shelf stable mageu branded with some of SA’s leading maize brands, one can only imagine the potential of Swazi Mahewu.