SOUTH AFRICA – A consortium of professional food service brands in South Africa i.e., Marvello and Meadowland owned by Siqalo Foods, Your Food Partners by RCL FOODS, and Bidfood have partnered to launch the Sekela Hospitality Support Programme aimed to foster recovery of the local hospitality industry.

Struggling black-owned restaurants, catering and accommodation establishments have been hit hard by the devastating impact of COVID-19 and will now obtain the needed support through the program valued at R2 million investment per year.

It is a holistic, phased initiative that will provide the establishments access to capital and business stimulus packages, in addition to back of house training and business coaching.

“With this programme we aim to bring much-needed life, passion and positivity back into the hospitality industry and help shape dynamic business leaders.”

Perpetua Ngulube – Brand Manager of Marvello and Meadowland

The first phase will allow up to 50 successful applicants to join the programme and receive a 10% purchase discount on any food order placed through Bidfood.

Bidfood is a leading foodservice distributor and supply partner to thousands of customers across Southern Africa and offers a wide range of frozen, chilled and allied food products as well as non-food items and equipment.

In phase two, qualifying beneficiaries will receive relevant top-class back of house training and business coaching, followed by essential financial assistance / support planning and business profiling.

“The industry has endured blow after blow during the COVID-19 pandemic with the international travel ban, curfew, recurring alcohol bans, maximum capacity and social distancing restrictions all coming into play. Like most countries, South Africa can’t afford for its hospitality industry to fail.

“We wanted to do our part and bring a solution to the fore where we can help drive a positive change and see business owners and entrepreneurs achieve their true potential,” said Edwin Ukama, Channel Marketing Executive at RCL FOODS, Your Food Partners.

RCL FOODS produces over thirty of South Africa’s much-loved brands including Rainbow chicken, Selati sugar, Supreme flour, among many others.

Its out of home division, Your Food Partners produces a wide range of trusted food solutions and serves a multitude of businesses in different channels from quick service restaurants, contract caterers, hotels, retail delis to forecourts and bakeries.

Interested hospitality ventures have until the end of April 2021 to apply for the program via this LINK www.sekelahsp.co.za to apply.

“We look forward to hearing from motivated applicants who are eager to turn their establishments into professionally-run and financially viable businesses. With this programme we aim to bring much-needed life, passion and positivity back into the hospitality industry and help shape dynamic business leaders,” said Perpetua Ngulube, Brand Manager of Marvello and Meadowland.

Trusted for reliability and functional performance, Marvello spreads and Meadowland Dairy Cream Alternatives are the professional choice of many chefs and cooks for their cooking and baking needs.

The brands are committed to supporting their loyal customers and the hospitality industry during these unprecedented times.

Early last year, RCL FOODS collaborated with Unilever Food Solutions, McCain Food Service, Tiger Brands Out of Home and Bidfood, pooling resources in an effort to support the restoration of the industry.

Under the initiative, a free app was developed communicating and simplifying the management of the COVID regulations for restaurants, whilst providing clear guidance to keep patrons as safe as possible in accordance with the National Department of Health, The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and World Health Organisations (WHO) guidelines.

Further to that, the #OneMealManyThanks campaign was launched to educate South African consumers about the millions of people that benefit from every meal purchased.

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