In 2014, Danie Venter lost his business. He owned a Spar supermarket, but the business wasn’t doing well, and he knew his only option was to sell it back to the franchisor. While his wife, Nikki, continued to run the store as the sale was finalised, Danie turned his attention to something else: Sourcing and selling fresh chickens to the informal segment in Mamelodi and surrounds.
“I needed to find a way to pay the bills, and I recognised how under-serviced the informal sector was,” he explains. “Only frozen chickens were available to a community that didn’t have microwaves to defrost them. I knew there would be a market for fresh chickens.”
Danie was right. Within a few months the business had grown so big he was supplying chickens to other retailers in the area, and he approached Oom Stoffel, the owner of JC’s Meat Traders, to expand his product offering.
Over the next 18 months a friendship developed, which led to inevitable discussions around an industry they both knew well, and eventually settled on the idea of packaged biltong.
“It’s a fragmented market and none of us could think of a single brand of packaged biltong that we loved. Instead, we had local butcheries or suppliers that we bought from. We recognised there was a gap for a quality packaged biltong brand, and started working on it.”
From planning and designing the product and packaging to market took three months. Before the business launched though, Danie’s life changed forever. He was declared legally blind as a result of a condition called Optic Neuritis, and approached his business partner to say he could no longer participate in the venture.
“Oom Stoffel refused to accept the fact that I couldn’t participate in the business. His area of expertise was the product — the abattoir and ingredients — but mine was the trading side of the business. Together we could really make this brand work, and he didn’t believe my eyesight (or lack thereof) would get in our way.”
Oom Stoffel was right. Danie’s wife reads him his emails at night, but most of his business is done the old-fashioned way — over the phone or in person. Despite challenges, Stoffelberg Biltong launched and soon started securing a footprint.
Leading a market
The business has a number of verticals and strategies to ensure cash flow and build cash reserves, but the primary vision and mission is a market-leading packaged biltong brand.
For example, Stoffelberg supplies other biltong outlets. While this may seem like Danie and Oom Stoffel are supplying their competitors, the reality is that in many respects, biltong is price sensitive and most retail stores will change suppliers from week to week. This results in a level of inconsistency when it comes to quality, the exact opposite of what Stoffelberg stands for through its branded products.
“We’re consistent, while most of our competitors are not. It’s a big, fragmented market. The current market leader only holds 6% of the market. We believe it’s important to build our brand, but we’re comfortable supplying others at the same time. It adds to our revenue stream, and more importantly, our positive cash flow.”
Going forward, the team at Stoffelberg also plans to open retail outlets and already has a kiosk. The company is also investing in continuous research and development.
“When everyone is offering the same products, you need to differentiate yourself. We want to think outside the normal verticals. When you own the entire value chain you can be innovative. If we want to try something, like chilli packets in biltong bags for example, we can do it and get immediate feedback. We’ve also launched a natural range with no preservatives or sugar for consumers with allergies, diabetes, or who just want a more natural product.”
Stoffelberg is a premium product, from its packaging to the product itself, but because of the vertical integration and the fact that the business holds the entire value chain, the brand remains competitively priced.
“Our goal is to reinvigorate a fragmented market,” says Danie. “That takes focus, brand building, a premium product and constant research and development.” It’s also taken an investment equity partner in the form of Secha Capital.
Equity deals
Within a year of launching, Danie received a call from Brendan Mullen from Secha Capital. “We weren’t too keen to discuss investments at that stage, primarily because we didn’t want to give away equity in the business,” says Danie. “We were supplying some Spar stores and we’d already begun chatting to Shoprite Checkers.
Brendan continued to reach out and we realised that if we wanted to grow the business, there could be value in accessing capital to fund the growth we were experiencing.”
The initial meeting with Brendan revealed that although both Oom Stoffel and Danie are subject matter experts, there was a clear marketing gap that Secha Capital could help fill. In addition, as an FMCG and Agri-focused funder, Brendan and his partner, Rushil Vallabh, came with a network and connections that would be beneficial to the business as well.
“We had one of three game-certified abattoirs in the country, and we were Halaal, HACCP and export certified, but we needed to invest in a drying room and other facilities necessary for large-scale biltong production. Once we understood our needs and the value Brendan and his team could bring to the business from a growth perspective, the deal made sense. Giving away equity if it results in growth is worth it. But you need to make sure you’re selling to the right partners who add value beyond a capital contribution. It’s not just about the money.”
“Look for opportunities in fragmented value chains, where there are no clear brands in that specific section of the market. Find that, and you can find a slice of that value.”