The Durban born Packo brand founded by the late Pakkiri Pillay has taken the export market by storm and walked away with two accolades at the KZN Exporter of the Year Awards on 21 October 2016, sponsored by the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Transnet Port Terminals. The first was Finalist in the Exporter to Africa category and the second crown was Winner of the Agriculture Sector & Agro Processing prestigious KZN Exporter of the Year award.
This is no mean feat and one preceded by a number of year’s strategic research, product and business model development and the establishment of an international footprint. Since official launch a mere 12 months ago, the Pakco Export and Import division has out performed all expectations to firmly entrench the brand in the international FMCG market.
Pakco has already secured a 95% market penetration into the Southern African Development Community where more than 20 000 cases a week reach SADC warehouses. The footprint is growing with a presence in the rest of Africa as well as Australia, Europe, USA, Canada and the UAE. Pakco has the highest food standards accreditations including FSSC 22000 for the Canning and Dry Foods plant, certified by the Islamic Council of South Africa and a recognised kosher food manufacturer for finished goods by the Union of Orthodox Synagogues in SA.
“ A key component of our export and import strategy is the knock-on effect it has on job creation, capacity building and globalising local brands,” said Gerald King, MD of Packo. “The significance of taking a family grown business from humble beginnings onto the international stage is vindication of what true entrepreneurship, coupled with strategic business sense and a determination to succeed, can achieve. Pakco has been the mainstay of employment within the local community for over half a century and by building capacity through the creation of new export markets, we are ideally positioned to sustain production and job security,” concluded King.
Pakco is a world-class food manufacturer in the production of spice, condiments, instant meals and complementary products, offering nine brands of 160 stock keeping units (SKU) in more than 10 categories.
“The key focus of our export growth is to provide a facilitation service to other like-minded manufacturers, big or small, who wish to expand their production capacity and partner us on export ranges. We have an established infrastructure, a meaningful footprint (and growing) and will secure product listings, export and distribution in the markets required. This removes the protracted timeframe and rigorous processes, research, establishment of an extensive distribution network, negotiations and vast expense any independent manufacturer will have to go through to secure an export channel. We offer a one-stop service for export partners and look forward to entering a number of strategic business relationships with SA brands wanting to expand,” concluded Tomas Duda, Sales Director for Pakco.