Always Striving for Excellence
As I reflect on the past 30 years, I have pondered what defines us as a business today. One of our key objectives is the ongoing pursuit of consistency across all areas.
In a world full of uncontrollable challenges, we have focused on what we can control, a principle that has guided us since our inception in 1994, the same year our democracy was born.
Through the systems and culture we have created, we strive to create product offerings and service levels that can be understood and trusted by all our valuable stakeholders.
Here are the key areas where we constantly strive for consistency:
- Procurement: We partner with leading companies and brands to ensure a consistent supply of high-quality products.
- Stock Holding: Our goal is to maintain a predetermined amount of stock based on the current and future needs of our client base.
- Service Delivery: We aim to create a unique basket of goods tailored to our customers’ needs, delivering accurately and reliably as per their requests.
- Pricing: We strive to price our products consistently low, thereby offering excellent value always.
- Customer Service and Engagement: We are committed to engaging and serving our clients with a high level of service that is consistently transparent and honest.
We believe that by focusing on these areas, we can best support our customers by offering a partnership that creates a stable and consistent addition to their business, fostering a relationship built on trust and reliability for their future growth goals.
Consistency is everything, and that is why :
We Supply Consistently… You Create Memories.
Thank you for being a part of our journey. Here’s to the next 30 years of excellence!
Warm regards,
Rickard Kershaw
Managing Director
Supplier Highlight
Clover
Recognising that customers lie at the heart of every business, driving its very existence, we understand the significance of offering solutions that address market needs or specific customer challenges. Yet, finding suppliers who grasp these overarching objectives isn’t always straightforward. As we nurture and cultivate relationships with our customers, we equally prioritise fostering and strengthening our ties with our suppliers. Our aim is to align our core business strategies in a manner that ultimately culminates in customer satisfaction.
From the inception of our operations, Clover has stood as a pivotal supply partner to Kerston Foods. Their profound understanding of the criticality of delivering top quality products and dependable service to customers has been evident since day one.
Elto shared his experience in dealing with Kerston Foods since he started his journey at Clover below:
“Since joining Clover just over a year ago, I have further strengthened our longstanding partnership with Kerston Foods, which spans over 30 years. Kerston Foods is a true partner, committed to growing our business collaboratively. We align closely by sharing our business objectives and ensuring mutual growth across our product portfolios. Together, we prioritize excellence in service to benefit their customers and ours alike.
Customers are at the core of Kerston Foods’ business, and they are dedicated to achieving excellence through strong business partnerships. By fostering lasting relationships with their suppliers, Kerston Foods prioritises customer satisfaction and mutual success.
Clover’s business has flourished alongside Kerston Foods as a preferred supplier, nurturing a lasting relationship that has yielded mutual benefits for both parties.
I anticipate that our relationship will continue to strengthen and grow even further.”
Elton Reid
Regional Sales Manager
Springbok Unsalted Butter
Clover meticulously sources its raw materials, adhering to supplier quality assurance principles. While a blend of local and international sourcing is employed, there’s a concerted effort towards bolstering the local economy through increased domestic procurement. From the pastures of local farmers to state-of-the-art factories, Clover’s journey from raw material to end product is characterised by stringent adherence to quality and food safety protocols. Certified to the highest standards such as FSSC 22001/ISO22001, Clover’s manufacturing facilities ensure unmatched product integrity. Setting itself apart in a competitive landscape, Clover boasts an expansive distribution network, underpinned by unwavering commitments to quality and food safety, underscored by certifications like BRCGS.
However, it’s Clover’s Springbok butter that truly shines, a pinnacle of quality and taste. Proven over generations and crowned with the prestigious Best Product Award at the 2024 Bloem Show, Springbok butter embodies the essence of Clover’s legacy – excellence that endures.
Customer Insights
Joostenberg
As a family-owned business spanning three decades, we intimately understand the values, passions, and challenges inherent in nurturing a business amidst evolving industry landscapes. This deep-rooted understanding has seamlessly facilitated our collaboration with Joostenberg and their numerous other ventures emerging from their fifth-generation family business. Joostenberg shares our commitment to delivering top-tier, quality, authentic products, perfectly aligning with procurement initiatives. Over our seven-year journey together, we’ve forged a robust partnership, poised for continued growth and mutual success.
We eagerly anticipate further enriching this relationship with Joostenberg, and are thrilled to showcase the transformative impact of our journey, as recounted by their executive Chef de Cuisine, Akram Apollis:
“Joostenberg has been using Kerston Foods as a trusted supplier for more than seven years with little to no issues. I have used and known about Kerston Foods in my personal capacity at many other restaurants and/or hotels. With reliable service, competitive prices and product sourcing like we have been receiving is what keeps us coming back to Kerston Foods.
Some of the most memorable moments are definitely building relationships with reps, drivers and sales representatives. There has been numerous cases that we needed goods at certain times and with short notice the team at Kerston Foods always delivered.
It has been exciting to work with Kerston Foods over the years and seeing their product offering grow and ordering procedures evolve as technology modernised.
As our company grew and opened new kitchens and restaurants Kerston Foods has played an integral part in our growth by supplying us with everything we need. The Kerston sales team has also been extremely helpful with setting up all our chefs with ordering procedures and regular visits to our establishments.
We are excited to continue building and growing with Kerston Foods as a trusted supplier and seeing new and exciting things come.”
Akram Apollis
Chef de Cuisine
Staff Insights
Ziyanda Nikelo
As we reflect on our journey of growth and development throughout the years, we find immense joy in recounting the pivotal moments with our dedicated staff, who have played an integral role in our ongoing success. Ziyanda Nikelo has been an essential part of our Kerston Foods family for nearly a decade. From her humble beginnings as an office cleaner, she has evolved into a proficient account administrator. Along her journey, Ziyanda has graciously shared invaluable insights into what this experience has meant for her personally and professionally.
“The key memory that stands out for me is my personal growth with Kerston foods . I started as a general cleaner in 2014, the company encouraged me to do courses and today I work in the accounts department and I will forever be grateful that they saw growth potential.
For me our company culture has evolved into having a better understanding of the day to day running of the business, and we try to build stronger relationships with our colleagues ,customer and suppliers.
COVID 19 was one of the most challenging moments ,working short time and having to keep our distance from one another.
I think one thing that sets us apart is that we open our doors for our customers and suppliers to visits and build good relationships with them.
One of my fondest social event memories is the sandwich day which took place last year. The staff was allocated into small groups each to participate. It was fun to spend time doing something that would benefit the less fortunate when we have so many blessings daily.”
Ziyanda Nikelo
Upcoming Impact Initiative
Employee Wellness
Continuing our primary focus this year on internalising our social initiatives to enhance the well-being of our staff, we have opted to collaborate with an external entity to offer our team members self-care options. Procare, a private practice of social workers, specialises in providing employee wellness programs to various organisations across industries, aimed at bolstering the overall health and well-being of employees. Their comprehensive array of services includes counselling sessions, wellness assessments, training in life skills, therapeutic group sessions, crisis and trauma debriefing, and general support.
Equipped with a skilled and dedicated team, we eagerly anticipate embarking on this journey with Procare, empowering our staff with additional tools to enhance their mental, physical, financial, and overall well-being. Through imparting both life skills and job-related skills, Procare will become an integral part of our ongoing efforts to enrich our staff on an ongoing basis. Commencing with counselling sessions, we are excited about the forthcoming workshops and initiatives that will further enrich our team’s personal and professional growth.