Premier FMCG


Premier FMCG Ltd, commonly referred to as Premier, is a South African food manufacturer. Its roots date back to 1820. The company is headquartered in Waterfall City, Johannesburg.
Premier owns many well-known South African food brands, including Blue Ribbon, Snowflake, Manhattan, and Lil-lets. The company also sells the Lil-lets brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The company exports food from South Africa to other markets, including Mozambique.

History

Premier has its roots in the 1964 merger of two iconic South African corporations - Premier Milling Company Ltd and South African Milling Company. South African Milling Company originated from Attwell's Bakery, founded in 1820, while Marks & Co., founded by Joffe Marks in 1890, registered under the name Premier Milling Company Ltd in 1913. The company expanded over the years, incorporating more bakeries, mills, and brands, and expanded into Cape Town in 1887. Close to 100 years later, in 1984, the company became Premier Food Industries Limited.
In 2011, international investment group Brait S.E. became the strategic long-term shareholder in Premier Foods, increasing its shareholding from 49.9% of Premier to the current 90% shareholding.
In 2012, Premier Foods entered Swaziland through the acquisition of a controlling stake in Mr. Bread and Swaziland United Bakeries, and in 2013, the company acquired Manhattan confectionery and Lil-lets.

Operations

As of 2016, Premier operated 16 bakeries, 7 wheat mills, 3 maize mills, a sugar confectionery plant, a feminine hygiene manufacturing plant, a biscuit plant, a pasta plant, and an animal feeds plant. The company has 22 distribution depots in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique, and a Lil-lets sales office in the UK.

Brands

Premier owns brands across a number of categories, including staple foods, confectionery, personal care, and home care.

Bread

Premier's Blue Ribbon bread brand hosts an annual initiative, established in 2015, called The Blue Ribbon Sandwich Challenge. Blue Ribbon bakeries around South Africa challenge each other to make the highest number of sandwiches for charity, with the goal of feeding as many people across the country as possible.