As consumers change their eating habits; now more informed about what is healthy and what is not; there is a new demand for more and more information about the food we are eating, both in and out of the home. South Africa’s premier foodservice provider, Unilever Food Solutions, is ready to contribute in this area.
According to Stats SA, income from food and beverage activities in Feb-Apr 2013 was 11 364,9 (R million). This was a 6.6% increase from the previous year. In the period Jun-Aug 2015, the figure was up to 11 990,3 (R million) and this represented an increase of 8.1% on the previous year.
It is clear, out-of-home food and beverage service is a booming business. Restaurants, bars, hotels, coffee shops, take away outlets and catering companies are all key contributors to this industry and with Africa’s rising middle class spending more on these services each year, it’s becoming vital for businesses to stand out from the crowd and provide first class service.
Of course, in the food space, to provide first class service you need the best possible ingredients, you need industry-leading knowledge, you need time and energy saving ideas and you need to be as efficient as possible. Partnering with Unilever Food Solutions can bring you all of these things from one single source and will help you find the right balance of great tasting and nutritious food served to consistently high standards while always keeping up with changing consumers tastes.
Assistant Nutrition and Health Manager at Unilever Food Solutions, Keegan Eichstadt says: “We’ve been in food since the 1880s, and home to some of the world’s favourite brands: Knorr, Hellmann’s, Robertsons and more.
“As part of Unilever, we understand consumers, your guests. We use this knowledge to help chefs and caterers keep up with people’s changing tastes. With our team of highly skilled chefs and nutritionists, we help our customers to find the right balance of great tasting and nutritious food served up to the same consistently high standards. Through our widespread presence we can make cuisine ideas travel.
“From a nutrition perspective we are making a concerted effort to help our customers understand their guest’s needs and educate chefs on how to integrate our products in healthier meals. As needs and preference varies in taste with cultural diversity – so do the nutrition needs of various groups of populations in our beautiful country. We are here to help understand these differences better and advise accordingly.”
BEHIND THE BEST MENU
There is a saying that a good chef is only as good as his ingredients and those ingredients are only as good as the manufacturer, meaning that the supply chain is inextricably linked from source to plate.
Unilever Food Solutions creates ingredients that save precious prep time in the kitchen, without compromising on flavour or flair. This mind-set has made Unilever one of the most recognised organisations in the world with some of the most well respected brands under its umbrella – this is across not only the food business but also home care and personal products. Unilever products are available in around 190 countries around the world and its portfolio is always growing.
In food, Unilever products are found in 74 countries and the company says that, even during these times of economic uncertainty, it is there to help its clients improve.
“We know that owning a restaurant is never easy and in these tough economic times it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet your guests’ demands for great quality, choice and value while costs are increasing,” the company states.
“We want to make kitchen management easy and inspire you with ideas for appealing and successful menus that are efficient, profitable and, keep your guests coming back for more.”
HEALTHY, NUTRITIONAL, TRANSPARENT
Importantly, as the middle class population continues to grow in Africa and demands on caterers change, Unilever Food Solutions is driving the industry towards a place where nutritional information is more transparent and more readily available.
The legislative landscape is changing and consumers are also championing locally produced goods where ingredients in products are more obvious. Unilever Food Solutions World Menu Report found that as many as nine out of ten customers expressed a desire for further information to be made available when eating out in order to allow them to make healthier lifestyle choices.
Ria van der Maas, Global Nutritionist for Unilever Food Solutions tells the company’s website: “Over recent years we have seen a boom in fast and convenience food. With this has come significant concern regarding the nutritional impact of modern eating habits. The results of this research clearly demonstrate that there is a global need for greater transparency around nutritional information when eating out of the home to empower consumers to make healthier choices.”
Eelco Camminga, Vice President of Unilever Food Solutions for South Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan, reiterates that idea saying: “It’s the responsibility of food service professionals to be more transparent with consumers about what goes into their food. At Unilever Food Solutions, we aim to help chefs and caterers simplify what goes into food and keep their recipes fresh and exciting.
“Improved food information offers the food service industry a route to renewed growth following a turbulent period for the world market. Satisfying consumer demand for greater nutritional information offers a clear opportunity to generate growth in challenging conditions,” says Camminga.
Craig Elliott, Executive Head Chef of Unilever Food Solutions in South Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan further reinforces this chain of thought saying: “Through our global nutritional expertise and research, we aim to support foodservice professionals in South Africa by providing them with detailed nutritional information on our products, delivering training to the different channels within the industry, and utilising the services of our country nutritionist to provide advice on nutritional issues. Globally, with our team of highly skilled chefs and nutritionists, we help our customers to find the right balance of great tasting and nutritious food served up to the same consistently high standards.”
UNILEVER INVESTING IN SA
Unilever as a group continues to invest heavily in SA. In October, the company opened its new 40,000 m2 ice cream factory in Midrand. In June this year, a new R1.4 billion home care factory as opened in Boksburg and Unilever also reopened its Indonsa Savoury Factory following a R511 million investment. All of these proejcts were designed to improve capacity, efficiency and drive sustainable growth for the company in the fast-growing developing and emerging markets.
Peter Cowan, Chairman Unilever South Africa said of the investments: “It will enable us to better serve consumers with innovation and green technology, as well as improve service levels to our retail customers. It underscores our ongoing commitment to the long term future of South Africa.”
To cap off a good year for Unilever in South Africa, in October the company was named one of the country’s best employers by the Top Employers Institute.
Certification is only awarded to the best employers around the world: companies that demonstrate the highest standards of employee offerings. The Top Employers Institute’s research assesses all critical areas of the Human Resources environment, certifying organisations that can demonstrate they are continuously optimising employee conditions and leading the way in the development of their people.
Unilever has been commended for its employee offerings for a number of years and the Top Employers Institute commented: “Unilever South Africa was awarded the Top Employers Africa 2016 and Top Employers South Africa 2016 certification. Our comprehensive independent research revealed that Unilever South Africa provides exceptional employee conditions, nurtures and develops talent throughout all levels of the organisation and has demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment, always striving to optimise its employment practices and to develop its employees.”
Antoinette Irvine, HR VP in SA said at the award ceremony in 2014: “We believe that employee engagement leads to better productivity… We are very happy that we can position ourselves as an employer of choice in the South African market.”
It is this dedication to world class best practice that has allowed Unilever as a group and Unilever Food Solutions to position itself as a market leader in South Africa and the perfect partner to any business, small or large, that is looking to grow in the food and beverage industry.