Cremora: Its not inside, it’s exiting!

The iconic Nestle Cremora brand will no longer be produced in the country after the Nestlé East & Southern Africa Region (ESAR) announced the decision to divest its Nestle Cremora business in both South Africa and Zimbabwe.

In South Africa, the Swiss food group, however, sold the Cremora business to Lactalis South Africa (SA), pending regulatory approval, for an undisclosed amount after a review of its product range, which also includes Nescafé, Ricoffy, Maggi, Nespray and Kit Kat.

In announcing the decision, ESAR said disposing of the Cremora business will allow Nestlé to focus investment in other products that can deliver better value.

In Zimbabwe, Nestle produces two other iconic brands Nestle Everyday (Milk) and Nestle Cerevita.

“This decision will impact operations in Harare, where production of Cremora will cease, and focus will shift to brands such as Nestle Everyday and Nestle Cerevita.

“This strategic realignment will ensure the Harare facility remains an integral part of Nestlé’s efforts to drive future investments and sustainable development within Zimbabwe,” reads a statement released by the company on Wednesday.

Commenting on this strategic move, Nestlé’s head, external communications, Mota Mota stated, “This decision was reached after considering various factors and was not taken lightly.

“We believe that Cremora is in good hands with Lactalis SA — a leading food company known for its expertise and commitment to excellence.

“This transition is in the best interests of our business, employees, customers, partners, and consumers, ensuring that CREMORA continues to thrive and deliver quality products under new ownership.

“As we embark on this transition period, the welfare of our employees remains a top priority, with assurances that job security, remuneration, and benefits will remain unaffected.

“We express our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated workforce for their hard work and commitment in building Nestle Cremora into the household name it is today.”

At the time of going to press, it was not clear how the new buyers, Lactalis, would distribute the product in Zimbabwe.

Lactalis is a 90-year multinational food company.

In South Africa, the company is home to brands such as Président, Parmalat, Melrose, Steri Stumpie and Bonnita; with operations in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal.

Meanwhile, another multinational, Uniliver, the producer of brands such as Royco, Omo washing powder, Sunlight dishwashing liquid and Lux soap, has provided further information regarding its reported plan to exit Zimbabwe and use local distributors.

In August, Unilever reportedly informed its workers, through an internal memo, about the transition to a new model “that serves Zimbabwean consumers through a network of Zimbabwean distribution firms rather than through Unilever-owned operations by the end of the year”.

“The new strategic direction regrettably involves the closure of Unilever Zimbabwe’s current operations,” reads part of the memo.

In further developments and confirmation of the new route to market in Zimbabwe, Uniliver released a call for expression of interest from interested distributors.

“Unilever Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd (hereafter ‘Unilever’) is reviewing its route to market model in Zimbabwe and is undertaking an open call tender process to select an entity (hereafter ‘Business Partner’) to distribute Unilever products on a non-exclusive basis in the same.

“The contract to be awarded will run for a period of three (3) years and all interested participants should comply with the basic requirements to undertake business in Zimbabwe,” reads part of the press advert placed by the company.

According to the advertisement, interested parties must present their business legitimacy, import capacity, distribution network, financial health, and reputation in a 12-slide PowerPoint presentation.-ebsinessweekl