When Associated Foods of Zimbabwe (AFZ) was established in 2016, born out of a merger between Honeywood Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, leading producer of jams, mainly under the Farm Gold brand, and Spread Valley (Pvt) Ltd, leading producer of peanut butter, mainly under the Mamas brand, little did the protagonists know that six years later their baby would be at the pinnacle of manufacturing companies in Zimbabwe.
AFZ has now grown to becoming the leading manufacturer and distributor of spreads, preserves and snacks, canned fruits and tomatoes, and canned fruits and vegetable paste and scooped the Most Improved Manufacturer for the Year at the Buy Zimbabwe awards recently.
The company joined 50 companies honoured for promoting local production and competitiveness.
Sales and Marketing Executive, Mercy Kunaka, believes that the company is on course to reach its full potential.
We have been on a growth trajectory over the past three years in which we introduced a number of new product lines which include Baked Beans, Cornflakes, Snacks and Diabetic Jams. We introduced Mamas Baked Beans after extensive research into product development and we also entered the Michigan Pea Bean market, Kunaka said.
This is the growth that has positioned AFZ as the Most Improved Manufacturer for the Year leading to the company being honoured at the Buy Zimbabwe 2021 awards, a giant step from last years 2nd Runner Up for Manufacturer of the Year award.
We would like to thank Buy Zimbabwe for recognizing us as the Most Improved Manufacturer for the Year 2021, said Kunaka.
During the same three year period AFZ pumped US$1,5 million into a production plant for baked beans while more was invested into a plant for peanut butter production.
Further growth, according to Kunaka, is expected to be underpinned by new initiatives and products that will cater for both the local and international market.
The leading agro-processor will establish groundnuts out-grower schemes this year to guarantee throughput for its Mama’s Peanut Butter product range.
We are actively involved in agriculture running out-grower schemes for our much needed raw materials, she said.
AFZ has also set its sights on attaining the FSSC22000 certification which is a GFSI recognized global food safety standard. This follows the ISO 22 000 certification adopted in 2019 aimed at conforming to international standards since the company is a key expoerter.
“The certification not only provides assurance of product quality but also gives Mamas and Farmgold brands a better competitive edge in both local and export markets, according to Kunaka.
Buy Zimbabwe, launched in 2011, is the prime and preferred competitive driver of quality Zimbabwean products and services keen on fostering the consumption of local content and broadening the local marketing to reach world class standards.
