Consumer packaged goods manufacturer Libstar is on the lookout for well-established, food-focused small businesses to partner with.
The company, through its incubator project Libstar Nova, aims to enrich and scale up the operations of local entrepreneurs that average between R15-million and R50-million a year in turnover.
“By partnering with local entrepreneurs, we can move into adjacent categories, explore new innovations and access core capabilities and talent.
“Most importantly, we can leverage all our resources and expertise to be a real catalyst for growth for South African small businesses,” says Libstar chief growth officer Johan Greeff.
The group is particularly interested in family-run ventures, which coincides with Libstar’s family-oriented philosophy.
For example, the company earlier this year took on board its first small business to incubate, a baby-food brand called Umatie, which Libstar says is both family-run and has strong values to boot.
Umatie co-founder Anna Olivier says Libstar is helping the company run successfully and makes the brand visible to more South African households, as the company aims to grow Umatie’s retail footprint and offer new products.
Libstar encourages prospective small businesses to reach out to it with regard to possible partnerships.