OUR
SUPPLIERS
Growing suppliers and producers that align to our values
A major cornerstone of our brand promise relies on providing the best range and the best quality – none of which would be possible without our suppliers. As a brand we believe in showing loyalty to those who’ve helped us grow, with many of our biggest suppliers having started their journeys with us from the beginning of our journey, all those years ago.
We are passionate about aligning ourselves with suppliers that share our values, which is why we are always looking at ways to expand the range of fair trade, organic, free-range and sustainably sourced products on our shelves. We recognise too that agriculture has a huge impact on our natural environment and biodiversity. We are therefore committed to continue working with our farmers and producers to implement good agricultural practices.
The Food Lover’s Market Seeds of Change Supplier Development Partnership, initially launched in January 2021, was created as part of our focus on being the best store in each community.
The goal is to source local suppliers, specifically small businesses and social enterprises, that have integrated social or environmental change at the heart of their operation. The Seeds of Change Supplier Development Partnership seeks to find and empower suppliers that mirror our socially and environmentally focused values and are motivated to deliver the best quality product or service. The Seeds of Change Development Partnership is facilitated by the Social Enterprise Academy (SEA), which is a specialist learning and development organisation supporting social change organisations in South Africa. In the three years since inception, we have received 1,233 applications and narrowed the field down to ten finalists each year. Out of the 30 finalists, we have 15 suppliers currently listed and supplying our stores.
Our 2022 winner, Setšong African Tea Crafters, now supplies tea products to the Food Lover’s Market Group. In second place was Home Bao, which supplies a range of frozen dumplings, and in 3rd place was Yamama Gemmer, a supplier of traditional ginger beer.
Setšong African Tea Crafters
Supplying the Elixir of Life
Setšong African Tea Crafters is an Award Winning Agri-business and vehicle for development of natural indigenous flora found in the naturallanscapes of South Africa, more prominently within the rural areas of Limpopo. Through tea product manufacturing and commercialisation of South Africa’s indigenous resources, which stem from traditional knowledge, Setšong Tea Crafters aims to develop the rural economy and create jobs within the rural areas of South Africa. They have already created 20 permanent and 15 casual jobs in rural Sekhukhune, Limpopo; and upskilled rural cooperatives to supply the processed herbal ingredients to the company. Setšong African Tea Crafters, which supplies 32 Food Lover’s Market stores across Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape and Western Cape with four types of herbal tea, has created a platform for job creation within rural communities, focusing on the empowerment of youth and women, as well as the promotion of African Indigenous knowledge systems and practices.
INTEGRATED AQUACULTURE
Suppliers we are proud to be partnered with
It all started in 2014, when Lance Quiding founded Integrated Aquaculture, a farming group that uses an intensive, environmentally-conscious food growing methodology called Aquaponics. Their farms specialise in biological farming that produces exceptional quality with the smallest possible impact on the environment – water-wise, organic-equivalent, zero-discharge, natural fertiliser-using food producers.
As a vertically-integrated aquaponics business, Integrated Aquaculture farms fresh-water fish (aquaculture) and uses the resultant fish waste togenerate nutrient-rich liquid fertiliser to grow a wide range of leafy vegetables in a controlled, enclosed environment (hydroponics).
Our relationship with them started in 2022, when Integrated Aquaculture became a finalist in our Seeds of Change Supplier Development Programme and was officially listed as a supplier later that year. They supply more than 10 of our Food Lover’s Market stores in Gauteng with fresh fish for the ice slabs in our seafood departments as well fresh, leafy greens to several franchise stores in the area from their hydroponic operations – direct from farm to store.
HAPPY HENS DELIVERING THE GOODS
Suppliers we are proud to be partnered with
Eddie’s Eggs has been a preferred supplier of Food Lover’s Market since 2020 and supplies Food Lover’s Market stores in Gauteng, and the Eastern and Western Cape with certified non-GMO pasture-raised eggs. Established in 2017 by brothers Eddie and Johnny Ferreira, the business is a first of its kind in Africa.
The idea to produce non-GMO eggs was born from a desire to eat cleaner foods. Eddie knew he wanted to implement something that was both simple and unique. Enter, the humble egg. By combining non-GMO feed – including maize and soy from Zambia – with his existing certified organic citrus farming practices, he could produce an egg that would be free from chemicals and pesticides and produced from pasture-raised (free to roam from sunrise to sunset), chemical-free, hormone, and antibiotic-free hens.
LIFE BELOW WATER
The ocean’s resources are being depleted faster than they can be replenished. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that 94% of the world’s fish population is fully used, overfished or in crisis.
Our oceans provide so much to this world, from the underworld forests to livelihoods that depend on them to the incredible natural beauty and abundant biodiversity that resides in them. Our oceans, however, are under threat from polluted runoff due to plastification, rising temperatures and overfishing. At Food Lover’s Market, we understand we have a role to play in the protection of this vast expanse which connects us all, a responsibility to ensure that we are honest in our approach and that we use our business operations not just to minimise damage, but in fact to enhance the ecosystems that are so fundamental to life on earth.
As responsible purchasers and suppliers of seafood, Food Lover’s Market continues to participate in the annual SASSI report, which compares the sustainable seafood sourcing practices across retailers. Each year our commitment improves and reflects a clear commitment from Food Lover’s Market to ensuring that our buying practices are aligned with our values.
