SOUTH AFRICA – Premier FMCG, one of South Africa’s leading and oldest consumer goods company, has appointed Fritz Grobbelaar to be its new CFO.
Fritz takes over the position that was left vacant by Kobus Gertenbach, who was appointed the CEO of the company in March following the retirement of its former head Tjaart Kruger.
The new CFO will build on the solid financial manufacturing foundation that has been established within Premier FMCG.
“Sweating the detail is a crucial part of Fritz’s success combined with a strong focus on leadership and communication to entrench financial principles with an emphasis on embedding ROI objectives throughout the organisation,” indicated the company.
Fritz has 17 years of experience in senior financial roles across manufacturing and agri-processing in organisations such as Country Bird Holdings, RCL for Rainbow Chickens and Epol Feeds.
His depth of experience in manufacturing is an essential component to success as the lead for finance, IT, legal, business intelligence, procurement, and logistics functions within Premier FMCG.
The executive reshuffling comes at a time when Premier FMCG is seeking to deliver high performance on brilliant basics and achieving great wins across the organisation.
Despite the turbulent times, the manufacturer, distributer and marketer of branded and private label fast-moving consumer goods, recently acquired Mister Sweet, the sugar-based confectionery business of Lodestone Brands.
The business purchase is in line with its growth strategy into the candy business, as the acquisition of the well-known brands i.e., Mister Sweet, Candy Tops, Champion, Rascals, and Frutus, will expand its current Manhattan Sweets and Super C Sweets candy portfolio.
The consumer goods company, commenced operations at its newly built confectionery manufacturing factory in the first quarter of the year, marking its entry into the boiled candy market segment.
From researching concepts, sourcing and commissioning equipment, creating exciting packaging designs, and taking product to trade, the Confectionery Team at the company were able to take their new range of Manhattan Candies, Manhattan Pops and Super C Fruity C Candies to the market in March.
Premier’s sugar-based confectionery products include gums and jellies, chews, compressed tablets, marshmallows and hardboiled candy, while Mister Sweet’s portfolio includes gums and jellies, marshmallows, liquorice, sugar panned products such as speckled eggs, chocolate panned products, toffee, peanut brittle and nougat.
Other than expansion of its product portfolio, the recent acquisition will also enable Premier FMCG to enter adjacent categories and unlock value through scale, synergies, and efficiencies.
The result will be, increased participation in the sugar-based confectionery category with a revenue contribution of over R1 billion (US$74.18m) and a market share value increase from 7.7% to 13.8% on a 12-month basis.
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