Pan-African alternative investment firm EXEO Capital’s new food sector investment vehicle, Nurture Foods, this week announced its recent investment in The Fairview Cheese Company.
Nurture Foods executive chairperson and Partner at EXEO Capital Riël Malan said that a strong brand like Fairview sets the tone and lays the foundation for the establishment of Nurture Foods as a very focused investment platform that provides investors exposure to the defensive convenience and functional food sector.
“We are also excited that the transaction will enable the empowerment of Fairview Workers Trust to benefit from the anticipated growth of the brand through the establishment of a goat milk supply company owned by the workers of Fairview. Globally, the trend towards greater convenience, functional effects of food and consumer support of artisanal and ethical brands is gaining momentum.
“Nurture Foods aims to partner with artisanal brands such as Fairview to achieve greater market penetration, efficiency through technology application and generally to support the platform businesses in growing a larger domestic and export market,” said Malan.
Commenting on Nurture Food’s investment, managing director of The Fairview Cheese Company Louis Lourens said the partnership with Nurture Foods would enable Fairview Cheese to expand its artisanal offer and develop valuable new export markets.
“We are very excited to take Fairview Cheese to a wider international market.”
Nurture Foods was established by EXEO Capital through its Food and Agribusiness fund, Agri-Vie Fund II, as a vehicle to drive longer-term investing in the growing convenience and functional food sector. Using EXEO’s 13 years’ investment experience in the food sector in sub-Saharan Africa, Nurture Foods would be partnering with seasoned food entrepreneurs to build a platform of synergistic businesses that will grow and develop this highly differentiated sub-sector.
The Fairview Cheese Company was established in Paarl in 1980 by the Back family. Over the course of the last 40 years, Fairview Cheese established itself as the leading artisanal cheese producer in South Africa, producing more than 50 cow’s and goat’s milk cheese varieties. The Back family retains a significant stake in the business. Their artisanal cheeses are sold in all major centres in South Africa. Fairview products are sold both in the catering market and major retailers.
EXEO’s Agri-Vie Fund II is a private equity investment fund focused on investment in the food and agribusiness sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2008, this fund and its predecessor fund have invested over $150 million (R2.24 billion) in the food and agribusiness sector.
EXEO Capital is a pan-African alternative investment firm with approximately $250m assets under management. The firm operates from Cape Town, Nairobi and Mauritius.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE