How HQ Foods Aims To Provide Products Made By The Community For The Community
How HQ Foods Aims To Provide Products Made By The Community For The Community. For HQ Foods, it all started back in the late 50s with a little family-owned corner shop routed in the heart of Cape Town. The family sold everything from everyday goods to home-made pies, chevra, crackles and samoosas for people in the community to enjoy. The Grandma, the pioneer of the family business, always said: “Nothing is more important than having a business rooted in the community for the community.”
With a passion for cooking and after much family consideration, the family felt like it was time for a fresh start. It was time to start something new. A brand with values and unique flavours that stood out. A brand made by locals for locals. Most importantly, a brand that brings flavours from their kitchen to yours. Just like that, HQ Foods was born.
The Grandma and the rest of the family began by helping pioneers and the first brand to produce and sell Garlic and Ginger mixes in South Africa. They eventually brought in a few staff members, whom are still apart of the family today, and started to develop sauces and spices after seeing a need for this. Today, HQ Foods has over 47 different products ranging from spices, sauces, garlic and atchars that can be found in stores across the country. The company is on a mission to share the family’s flavours for each and every person to enjoy.
Supporting and growing the local economy is important to the company. That is why it uses ingredients that are sourced from local farmers. From its chillies that are specifically sourced in Durban to the herbs and vegetables that are grown in local Western Cape farms. To being manufactured in local factories by locals. Every effort is made to ensure a wonderful local flavour in all of the company’s products.
The team is constantly finding ways to improve the standards, produce new variety of products and develop fantastic flavours. They produce more than 20 varieties of sauce, 5 different garlic products, 2 atchars and over 20 types of spice.
Sustainability and making a positive environmental impact is a top priority at HQ Foods. The company makes use of mostly clean, green energy in its factory to produce extensive range of products. A large source of this energy comes from its solar panels. Even its preforms and patented bottles are made out of 50% recyclable materials. In addition to this, the company recycles paper, cardboard and plastic from its operations regularly. It aims to have a net-zero waste in its factory by working with zero waste in its factory by working with local recycling companies to minimise the impact on the environment.
The company believes it is its duty to effect the positive change it wants to see in the community so it leads by example. The business started from very humble beginnings and as the influence of family is pivotal to the success of the business, it believes that it needs to help the community develop and reach new heights.
