LOCAL food manufacturer Efoods Zimbabwe has acquired honey brand, Natural Forest, taking on board all staff and processing equipment at the latter’s industrial premises in Workington, Harare.
Efoods Zimbabwe marketing director, Justin Evans said the agreement is part of an ambitious plan to increase the scope of retail sales as well as diversify and broaden its offering to the food, catering, hospitality and service industry.
“The Natural Forest brand has a strong and reliable reputation of supplying pure honey to the market and in their 22 years of operation they have grown a dependable network of bee-keepers, harvesting wild honey from woodlands around Zimbabwe. The ethical principles involved, from bee to bottle, really resonate with us,” Evans said.
“Unlike a lot of honey sold on store shelves, market tables, and roadsides, we aim to maintain the integrity of the brand, not adding extenders, additives, or anything to dilute the pure nature of the product.”
He said due to the large-scale commercialisation process, especially in international markets, honey often has additives and sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup or brown rice syrup.
“Scaling up like this ensures the longevity of a household brand and offers stronger drive, through a bigger platform, to promote awareness and education around honey and bee-keeping as a whole,” Evan noted.
Efoods Zimbabwe’s general manager Dawn Lardner-Burke said the acquisition of Natural Forest bolsters Efoods’ position as a player in the food manufacturing and processing space driving competition and adding value locally.
“With a long-standing food service background supplying sauces, sachets, and marinades to most of Zimbabwe’s biggest and best fast-food chains and hotel groups, we hope to continue our mission of encouraging operators in the tourism and hospitality industry to put their faith in local suppliers and manufacturers,” Lardner-Burke said.
- Efoods Zim acquires honey brand, Natural Forest
