The short version: Tiger Brands transforms 123-year-old factory into culinary mega-site
Shew, Tiger Brands has been busy, busy, busy. The big news this week is the opening of its transformed Paarl factory, which will now house three dedicated production plants into one mega-site. First is the dedicated vinegar production plant, which will produce 3 million litres of the stuff per year. Vinegar is a key ingredient in many Tiger products, including Mrs Ball’s Chutney, All Gold Tomato Sauce and Crosse & Blackwell Mayonnaise, so bringing its production in-house means eliminating complete dependency on external sources. Then, the production of the iconic Mrs Ball’s (the chutney, not the lady) is being brought in-house too, after being produced by a third party these how many years. And the third is the transition of jam packaging from cans to recyclable PET containers, making Tiger the first company in SA to make this switch for that sticky spread. Tiger Brands is not messing around when it comes to investment these days. At its interim results in June 2026, the company said it will spend approximately R1.5bn annually in CAPEX for the next three years, with peak investment of R2bn. Next up is a R1bn super bakery in Pretoria, on track for commissioning in 2027, followed by a mega DC in Gauteng expected in 2028.

The short version: Unilever reports impressive sales and volume growth over H1 2026
Unilever Global is rather chuffed with its H1 performance, with underlying sales growth (or USG, i.e. sales from ongoing core operations) of +4.8%, volumes up +4.2% and price growth of +0.6%. This is impressive for a consumer goods company in our current economic climate, considering how over the past few years, sales of FMCG products have grown more because of raised prices than selling more products. Its Power Brands (i.e. Dove, Vaseline and others), which make up 78% of turnover, are leading the growth, with +6.0% USG and +5.4% growth in volumes, indicating that Unilever’s core engine is firing on all cylinders. The business also confirmed that the separation of its Food arm is still on track, with the spin-off to McCormick hopefully finalised by 2027. “We have delivered a strong volume-led performance in the first half, with a significant step-up in the second quarter – the best volume quarter at Unilever in over a decade,” said CEO Fernando Fernandez, whose catchy surname is basically the Spanish version of Marky Mark. (If you don’t know who that is, you were clearly born this side of 1995, in which case… look it up). Thanks to the strong performance, the business has confidently upgraded its outlook for the rest of the FY.

The short version: Libstar appoints COO | Coca-Cola “not unhappy” about FIFA hydration breaks | Nestlé to sell half its water business
We kick off our wrap-up of short and sharp stories with local outfit, Libstar (Lancewood, Denny, a bunch of retailer private brands), which for the very first time has appointed a Group Chief Operating Officer. The lucky appointee is Cornél Lodewyks, currently Executive Director of Libstar and Managing Executive of Lancewood, who will step into the new role from 1 August. As COO, Mnr Lodewyks will be responsible for driving group operational performance and strengthening collaboration, efficiency and the delivery of sustainable value for all stakeholders of the business, from customers to employees and, of course, shareholders. Alles van die beste, Mnr.

Moving abroad, ten points for honesty go to Coca-Cola’s CFO John Murphy, who, when commenting on the mandatory hydration breaks during the recent FIFA World Cup and how they boosted Coca-Cola and Powerade sales, had this to say: “I’m not sure whether these hydration breaks are going to be a permanent ​feature of the soccer world, but we were not unhappy with them in the World Cup”. As a result, the company’s Q2 comparable revenue rose a nice +6%, beating its own estimates. Will the uptick in demand remain or turn out to be a one-time bump? We’ll have to wait until the next results announcement to find out. 

And still with beverages, Nestlé tells us that it has sold half of its water business to a private equity firm for a tidy US$ 3.4bn. The 50:50 joint venture between Nestlé and Platinum Equity will result in a new premium beverage business called Peranel, which will include more than 30 brands, such as S.Pellegrino, Source Perrier and Essentia, as well as Nestlé Pure Life and other water brands. Currently, water and other premium beverages make up only 4% of Nestlé’s business, and haven’t been doing so well over the past few years. The transaction fits in with the food giant’s broader strategy of shedding its underperforming assets to focus on more profitable opportunities.