Our Continuous Pursuit of Excellence
When we started Kerston Foods, we had one mission: to become the leading food distribution company to the hospitality trade in the Western Cape. As I reflect on the last 30 years, I am proud to say that we have made significant strides toward achieving that goal.
Our journey has been guided by core values and ideas that have remained constant throughout the years:
- Commitment to Quality: We have always been committed to distributing quality products that are competitively priced, accompanied by world-class service.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Recognising the importance of all stakeholders – clients, employees, and suppliers – in creating an efficient supply chain has been pivotal to our success.
- Consistency is Key: Consistency across all aspects of the business, from product quality to customer service, has been our foundation.
- Embracing Innovation: Our daily focus on innovation and improvement has allowed us to stay ahead in a dynamic market.
- Community Engagement: We believe in giving back to our community, knowing that a strong community supports a thriving business.
- Upholding Core Values: We have never wavered in upholding our five company values of respect, honesty, integrity, trust, and empathy, which form the basis of our operations.
Looking ahead to the next 30 years, these fundamentals will remain unchanged. We are planning for exponential growth, pushing the boundaries of what is possible while staying true to our core values and mission.
As we continue to evolve, our commitment to quality, stakeholder collaboration, consistency, innovation, community engagement, and upholding our core values will remain unwavering. Here’s to the next chapter of Kerston Foods’ journey!
Rickard Kershaw
Managing Director
Supplier Highlight
Prima Foods
Marking three decades in an industry and maintaining partnerships since the inception of our journey is indeed a remarkable and precious achievement. The enduring nature of these partnerships suggests a shared foundation of core values such as trust, integrity, innovation, and beyond. We eagerly anticipate sharing insights from one of our esteemed partners firsthand. Andre Botha, the factory manager and product developer at Prima Foods, graciously shared his experiences in collaborating with Kerston Foods over the years.
Kerston Foods was in fact our very first customer in the catering industry when we started our business and we’ve been a proud supplier of spice products to K.F. for almost 29 years.
In my humble opinion, what sets Kerston Foods apart is their loyalty towards us as a supplier after all these years and we have utmost respect for that.
As Kerston Foods grew over the years and the range of products expanded, our business grew as well. Our product development and continues range growth aligned to the growth and needs of Kerston Foods, which ultimately assisted with a mutually successful partnership.
We can see ourselves continuing our long-term business relationship and to supply consistent, quality products with good customer service. Thank you for putting your faith and trust in Prima Foods.
André Botha
Factory manager and product developer
Paprika Catering 1KG
In the dynamic world of the hospitality industry, margins can be tough and making every cent counts is vital but keeping the costs low and the quality high can be a challenge. Buying spices in bulk like our paprika catering 1kg packs can offer not only cost efficiency, but also a key aspect of quality control. Buying spices in bulk to have more control over the quality of ingredients enhances the flavour profile of dishes and leaves consistent customer satisfaction.
The decision to buy spices in bulk is a strategic move that extends beyond immediate financial gains. It aligns with sustainable practices, enhances quality control, and streamlines operational efficiency – all factors crucial for a restaurant’s success in a competitive market. Spice up your savings and flavour profiles by considering bulk spice purchases for your establishment.
At Kerston Foods we offer the best quality products by partnering with the leaders in industry, like Prima Foods, at the best prices. Prima Foods sources their materials from local suppliers and local importers. With a unique blending process that combines certain sequences and times of up to 20 ingredients per blend, precisely weighted and applying rigorous inspections and quality checks, Prima Foods offers top quality ingredients that results in customer satisfaction. Consistency is key in their production lines with very little modification on their blends. If it works, why change it!
Customer Insights
The Cellars-Hohenort
As a luxurious 5-star Hotel and Spa situated in the historical Constantia Valley you can expect excellence. Yet achieving excellence requires the right collaborations. For the past 16 years, Kerston Foods has been an invaluable partner of The Cellars, fostering a relationship built on trust and reliability. This enduring partnership has only flourished over time, fueling our collective success. We eagerly anticipate the future and are delighted to offer insights from Tronette Dippenaar, group executive chef, reflecting on our shared journey.
Kerston Foods has been part of our journey for over 16 years. Customer service is very important to me. Kerston Foods are always succeeding to find a way to make my day to day running of the kitchen easier. Nothing is ever too much trouble, even if I send in my orders late sometimes.
It is always nice to see the sales team when they pop in for a visit. Nothing is ever to much effort for them, and they are always willing to help.
There are always new items being added to their already extensive product list. We are really spoiled for choice.
I have been working for the Liz McGrath Collection for 16 years and having Kerston Foods as a supplier has made my job easier with not having to look around to find the best product. Having Kerston Foods as a supplier, I know, I only get the best service.
The comfort of knowing the best is only a phone call away and that my support and trust will inspire you to strive for continued excellence in every aspect of your service makes the future partnership very exciting.
Tronette Dippenaar
Group Executive Chef
Staff Insights
Nicole van der Poel
Nicole van der Poel started with Kerston Foods in October 2015 and has been part of the family for almost 9 years. During this time she has grown within the procurement department and forms an integral part of our procurement processes, supplier partnerships and product offering initiatives. We look forward to see how she continues to grow within the business and how her knowledge is transferred to colleagues throughout the business to improve our procurement function. Nicole has shared her Kerston Foods journey with us in the following article.
“For me the memories that always stand out is our yearly team buildings, we work daily with individuals and in some instances we tend to not know each other’s names , our colleagues is just a face we see on a daily basis for a few seconds as they pass by us, our yearly team buildings gives us the opportunity to get to know each other on a personal level, spend time together and make them not just a face but someone we can interact with going forward.
I believe the culture of the company has changed to become more focused on learning and growth, where the departments are more involved in each other’s day to day running. The company has become more open for individuals to have the opportunity to learn how everyone’s roles play a pivotal part in keeping the business running and growing from year to year.
One of the hardest challenges was covid . our department was split and I did not work the same schedule as my colleagues anymore , it was hard being alone in and not having the emotional support of my colleagues during the day. What my colleagues and I used to do was write a handwritten message to each other about what happened during the week, what still needed to be done and end it with something motivational to remind us that we are not alone and that we can do this. This is something I have always valued working at Kerston foods, that my colleagues are great at motivating each other through hard times.
The encouragement we receive no matter what position we in to improve ourselves, learning opportunities is always available. At companies I have worked for before Kerston Foods this was not an option. I myself find it very refreshing to work for a company that sees the gap within their employee’s personal growth to better themselves and that by giving them these opportunities the company will flourish with the newly gained knowledge from strength to strength not just in the present but in the future.
One of the standout social events over the past few years have been the Shavathon. It is probably the one which carries the fondest memories as I get to bring my friends and family along, show them where I work and just have fun together , I love being able to share what I do with them as you spend more hours at work and this is a part of one’s life your family always just hears about but never experience with you, and I am very proud of what I do and working for Kerston foods.”
Upcoming Impact Initiative
Cybercrime
Embracing our company theme for 2024, Let us grow together, the social committee at Kerston Foods has decided to launch some initiatives that will lead to growth as individuals, and ultimately growth as a company. Maintaining all our social efforts outside the business and giving back to communities around us will remain a key focus, but this year we are focusing a bit more internal, to our own staff and their well-being.
During the month of May, we will be teaching our staff all about cybercrimes and how to protect themselves against the many challenges we are faced with daily. Did you know that our country ranked the 5th highest globally in 2022 of countries affected by cybercrime.
Cybercrime costs include damage and destruction of data, stolen money, lost productivity, theft of intellectual property, theft of personal and financial data, embezzlement, fraud, post-attack disruption to the normal course of business, forensic investigation, restoration and deletion of hacked data and systems, and reputational harm. In South Africa, cybercrime is a daily occurrence and not merely an IT issue.
Whether you are a small business owner or the director of a large corporate, below are some factors you should be considering:
- What is your level of dependency on systems?
- What amount of sensitive data do you collect/store/process?
- How long would it take for you to recover operations?
- What are your business interruption expenses?
The complexity of your specific environment and preparedness for a cyber incident.
One Response
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