NuMeSA started out as Numesa in 2014. In 2017, we became a Pty. Founder, Bronwen del Paggio got into gut health because her daughter was struggling with IBS, a gut condition which causes pain and bloating. Once she saw the difference that kefir made to her daughters' health, she carried on learning and eventually decided to make it her business to help as many others as possible.
We make the largest range of kefir in SA. We do milk, water, goat and coconut milk kefir. Furthermore, we also do kefir dips, yoghurt and gut powders all with kefir. We are one of the few commercially available kefir’s that are made authentically using live kefir cultures, known as kefir grains. These cultures/grains ensure that all our kefir has the maximum number of probiotic strains available. All our kefir is made in small batches. Our milk kefir takes 3 days to prepare, and our water kefir takes 6 days to prepare using the traditional fermentation methods.
All our products are alive because of the kefir grains. They will keep fermenting if cold chain is broken.
Many commercially made kefir’s use a powder starter culture. This makes production quick and easy to make, but it means they don’t have the probiotic strain diversity found in our products. We have opted for the age-old traditional process of using live kefir cultures/grains so that we can produce a top quality kefir with multi-strain probiotics. The more strains of beneficial bacteria we can get, the better.
Our products work. They help people rebalance and heal their tummies. More people than ever are suffering from health issues which start in their gut because of an imbalance in the gut bacteria. These friendly gut bacteria are our best friends and help us with more than just digestion. They also make vital neurotransmitters like serotonin, prevent allergies, keep us regular, protect the lining of the gut and more. The feedback we get from our customers inspires us to keep making live authentic kefir.
We are available in 70 stores in Johannesburg and Pretoria including health shops, deli’s, Spar’s, fruit & veg shops and online – www.numesa.co.za. We have also recently expanded into Cape Town and have a few stores in KZN.
Our products can’t be exported due to cold chain requirements.
.
We have just launched our kefir dips and spreads. Roasted red pepper and Garlic.
NuMeSA is part of the Gut Health Association of South Africa. We are passionate about gut health and seeing people healed. The gut and the gut brain connection are trending in the wellness space as we learn about the importance of a balance gut microbiome and the consequences when the balance is upset.
Kefir can be used with antibiotics instead of over the counter probiotics. 100ml’s of kefir is sufficient as a probiotic supplement.
Contact person: Bronwen del Paggio
Email Address: info@numesa.co.za
Contact Number: +27 (0)82 854 5641
Website: https://www.numesa.co.za
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/numesakefir
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/numesakefir
Puglia cheese was born in June 2010, when Davide Ostuni noticed that there was no Burrata available in the whole of South Africa.
Puglia cheese is the first to produce the now famous Burrata cheese. Using local milk and local labour. “We are the reason why you love Burrata”.
Ofcouse , the Burrata but we also have the Zizzona del Capo (an extra large Fior di Latte ball that due to the cutting it looks like a beautiful boob, yes a boobie : )), The Treccia which is a mozzarella made into a plaid. The Nodini (stretched and knotted) fior di latte and the famous Sfoglia, a sheet of fior di latte filled with anything you fancy and rolled like a log.
We use only local products, 90% of our production is done by our staff, all manually from the rennet mixing to the mozzarella stretching. This gives the end product a much better consistency and taste. We also do not use any chemical-preservative in our products.
My personality, of course! Ahhaha Jokes aside, we believe our advantage is staying true to nature and to our origins. We strive to keep the same quality by not using too many machineries and not adding additives or preservatives to the product. Keep it like it is supposed to be.
Our cheese factory is visible from the outside, through a window from our Osteria Cheese Bar, and you can see the cooking, the stretching and the shaping all done by hand.
When we first opened, back in 2010, the pro-capita cheese consumption in RSA was less than 600g per person per year. And 95% of that was mainly Cheddar and Gouda. Considering that in Europe is over 11Kg per person per year! So it was quite a small window.
Now thanks also to other ‘mad’ cheese makers like us that are producing and introducing ‘new’ cheeses to the market, the average South African is learning and appreciating, be it from goat, sheep or cow. Therefore, we are slowly changing the demographics of our typical consumer from the occasional overseas traveller to locals that want to try something new. The consumption is now just over 1Kg per person per year and is growing. That’s also why we have opened the OSTERIA CHEESE BAR. The idea behind it is to have a platform to introduce the one thousand and one way to cook and to appreciate cheese. The menu is designed around cheese! The king is the cheese. So, from our cheese platters to dishes, you will find a variety of different cheese used for each plate. And I must say, it is working! Almost everyone in South Africa now knows what a Burrata is, it took us a decade but, it is now in everybody’s mouth! That’s the spirit that drives us.
We won a world award, so we see ourselves capable of competing with the more established ‘European’ manufacturers. We produce under Halal and Kosher, thus giving us an advantage with all markets requests. Furthermore, we are about to enter the local mainstream retail industry, launching our products with Pick'nPay and soon enough with Woolworths. This should give us the strength to think about going further overseas. There are some hurdles to overcome, since Europe is very protective towards ‘some’ imports. Even to just participate in the World Cheese Award contest, we need ‘special’ clearances. So yeah, it will not be easy, even if many South African cheeses have already won the World Awards. But, we are confident that we shall succeed. If South African Wines are now enjoyed in Europe, it’s only a matter of time for our cheeses to ‘clear’ through the bureaucracy web.
.
Mozambique and soon Mauritius.
Yes, we are building new cheese maturing rooms, of course in full view. The maturing rooms will be mainly for our new cheeses. By 2024 we will have cheeses like Toma, Ubriaco (drunken cheeses together with local wine producers), Rodez, Oaxaca, Monteray Jack, Queijo Serra da Estrela and others.
Contact details:
Contact person: Davide Ostuni
Email Address: davide@puglia.co.za
Contact Number: +27 (0)84 0716 691
Website: https://www.puglia.co.za
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064098815151
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/puglia_cheese/
Photos by Patrick Heathcock Photography
This historic fruit and wine farm dates back to 1692 and has one of the best-preserved plaaswerwe (farmyards) in the Western Cape (area in South Africa). It was authentically reimagined by its current owners more than a decade ago to celebrate its history – and future.
Today, Babylonstoren is cherished for its magnificent formal garden, inspired by the historic Company’s Garden in Cape Town that supplied the spice fleets sailing between Europe and Asia with fresh fruit and vegetables in the 17th and 18th centuries. Each of the 300-plus plant varieties of the garden is edible or has medicinal value. The garden boasts a living library of historic rose and fruit cultivars, a splendid succulent collection, a kitchen garden planted with a variety of seasonal vegetables, thousands of clivias, a healing garden, exotic cycad collection and Spice House where tropical plants thrive. Every single aspect of Babylonstoren – including the contemporary Farm Hotel and Garden Spa, the Farm Shop, Winery, Meat Room, farm-to-fork restaurants, Scented Room and Bakery – is led by the ever-changing tapestry and botanical diversity of the garden.
Babylonstoren takes great pride in our range of fresh cheeses that are made on the farm in the Cheese Room. The unique feature of our cheeses is that we have our own herd of water buffalo cows supplying us with the freshest, pure white milk to make our range of cheeses every day. All our cheeses are made by hand every day.
We have two core fresh cheese offerings. One includes a range of products made with water buffalo milk, while we use Jersey cow milk for the other range. We source the water buffalo milk from our own herd, while the Jersey milk comes from a trusted supplier in Robertson.
At Babylonstoren, we make only fresh cheeses.
Our new favourite product is definitely our one-of-a-kind water buffalo gelato and the water buffalo panino gelato made with this creamy frozen dessert and stroopwafels! However, all our farm made cheeses are truly unique in that they’re made fresh every day in our very own milk room on the farm. Our Bocconcnini, mozzarella and water buffalo yoghurt are all testament to the wonderful quality of our very own water buffalo milk.
Please tell us what is unique about your manufacturing process, and your manufacturing philosophy.
The unique aspect of our cheese-making process is our full-circle farm-to-table process. Babylonstoren is one of only a handful of farms producing its own water buffalo products from our own herd. We started the herd in 2019 under the guidance of our dairy and poultry farmer, Christo Botha and his water buffalo man Kobus Lambrechts. Today, Babylonstoren boasts 121 water buffalo in total, with around 30 cows currently in milk production (this changes regularly). Each water buffalo also has their own personal name – and personality!
Apart from our thriving herd of water buffalo, we also have a secret weapon in our dedicated cheese maker Alta Eybers and her team. Alta honed her cheese making skills in Italy and is an invaluable part of the Babylonstoren cheese success story. She is constantly developing her range using the best farm ingredients.
We have many returning guests to the farm who enjoys our water buffalo gelato and the water buffalo mozzarella. We supply our water buffalo products to the Babylonstoren Farm Shop, online shop and our restaurants, with the freshest handmade products. Each batch is a labour of love, perfectly made by hand – so the overall feedback we get is that the time we put into our products speaks of superb quality.
Another unique aspect of the Babylonstoren way is that we host workshops on our buffalo mozerella and gelato. We open our Cheese Room to other cheese enthusiasts and Alta demonstrates the craft behind mozzarella making – from cutting the curds to stretching them into balls. The class also includes a cool demonstration by Babylonstoren artisanal ice-cream maker Carla Hills of how to make your own authentic water buffalo gelato.
Alta Eybers, our cheese maker, has had training both in Italy and locally. Her fresh cheese creations are therefore on par – we believe even better! – than what’s expected on the international stage. Paired with our farm-fresh ingredients, every churn of gelato or scoop of yoghurt is a worthy contender on the global stage.
At Babylonstoren, we strive to always learn and grow and improve our offerings. Alta and her team are constantly working on new creations – like the limited-edition rosewater gelato made with water buffalo milk and raspberries, fresh flowers and pomegranates we did especially for Mother’s Day this year. We’re currently working on a similar show-stopping gelato for the upcoming festive season, as well as various soft yoghurt cheeses (hang-op cheese) infused with Christmas flavours.
Email Address: enquiries@babylonstoren.com
Contact Number: +27 (0)21 863 3852
Website: https://www.babylonstoren.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/babylonstoren
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babylonstoren
The Gourmet Greek recently won a Silver award for their "Black Brie", and a Double Gold award for their Camembert, and we were curious to find out more about this dynamic company.
Based in the heart of the Midlands, KwaZulu-Natal on a small estate, they hand-craft and sell a unique range of cheeses and double-thick, traditionally strained Greek yoghurt.
The Gourmet Greek is a family business that was founded in 2012 and since then has been passionately producing excellent cheeses and yoghurt.
Pasteurised and hand-crafted to the highest standards, their cheeses use full cream milk which is locally sourced from neighbouring dairy farmers. They ensure that every mouthful of cheese and yoghurt tastes absolutely delicious.
Although small and young, their passion and commitment to producing quality products has already been recognised, The Gourmet Greek won a DSTV Eat Out Food Network Produce Award in 2013.
Ultimately, they want to share their passion for good food by ensuring that every mouthful is lovingly made by hand and expresses what the Gourmet Greek stands for.
Contact person: Filia Dimitriades
Email address: filia.d@gmail.com
Contact number: 079 492 1137
Website address: https://www.thegourmetgreek.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thegourmetgreekza
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thegourmetgreek/
Stellenbosch Cheese was awarded Gold at the 2021 Dairy Products Awards. We asked cheesemaker Jade Martin a few questions about their success.
I have a background in Microbiology (MSc, Stellenbosch) and have a passion for fermentation and using it to produce innovative food and beverage products.
When I'm not making cheese, you will find me either mountain biking or trail running.
Stellenbosch Cheese was founded in 1995, at the exact location you will find it today.
Our brand, Roulou, has a rich history tracing back to 1659 with the arrival of a Dutch explorer, Jan Louw, in the Cape. This settler would end up being one of the most successful farmers in South Africa at the time. After many generations, a woman named Anna-Maria Roux would marry into the Louw family. Together, they built a very impressive estate and shared much success. They decided to combine their surnames (Roux and Louw) and rename their farm “RouLou”. To this day, the “Roulou” family still owns and manages the very same estate. Our Feta cheese is produced on that farm today.
We still make our feta cheese the traditional way. We make it in the same way since its inception in 1995. Only Jersey milk is used (originating from the Jersey cow, of course) and we have been doing so since the brand was launched. Jersey cows differ largely from other cattle breeds in the sense that they produce milk with an extremely rich butterfat content and thus allow us to produce a richer, creamier, and smoother product.
Our current Feta range is unique in the sense that we are the only dairy company using Jersey milk to produce our feta range. This range consists of 6 different variants (Plain, Black Pepper, Mixed Herbs, Basil & Tomato, Chives, and reduced fat).
One of the unique features of our production process is that our recipe and process have not changed much since our product was first launched 26 years ago, and we plan to keep it that way. My philosophy when it comes to production would be to expand, scale, and grow without compromising on quality. We have constantly implemented this philosophy and have been able to go from producing a few hundred kilograms of feta weekly to many tons without compromising the manufacturing process, recipe, and thus quality of our product.
We have been producing feta, only feta, and nothing but feta for 26 years. We have been able to focus all of our energy and resources into handcrafting an incredible feta cheese.
Our product is currently exported to a few countries including Namibia, Mauritius, and Zambia. However, we are still aiming to increase our international exposure significantly in the near future.
Yes, indeed. We have a few very innovative, novel interesting projects which we are experimenting with at the moment. Consumer behaviour is changing, and therefore we believe that adapting and meeting constantly changing consumer preferences is vital to the success of the company. We are constantly making improvements to be more efficient, save & recycle more water and produce more sustainably.
Contact person: Jade Martin
Email address: orders@roulou.co.za
Contact number: 079 175 7504
Website address: https://www.stellenboschcheese.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Roulou-Feta-106241178407220
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/roulou_feta/
Indezi River Creamery was a multiple winner at the 2021 Dairy Products Awards. We asked Kate Posthumus a few questions about their history and success.
Our family has been making artisan cheese in the KZN Midlands since 1992. Indezi River Creamery was established by dairy farmers, Jimmy and Wendy Harris, alongside their daughter, Barbara Robertshaw, in 2002. Goats were added to the farm in 1997, managed by their other daughter, Derryn. Barbara’s daughter and son-in-law joined the business in 2020 to continue the family legacy.
We are a farm to fridge company. We have direct oversight over our milk, through the production chain, and distribution to our wholesale and retail customers. This helps us deliver a distinctive product and a custom service.
We are also one of the largest milking goat herds in the country and are growing one of the few milking sheep flocks. We are motivated by a passion for cheesemaking, and doing other interesting things well.
Our speciality cheese range is an enormous asset to professional (and home) chefs wanting to offer their guests something unique. We want to challenge the idea that fancy cheese needs to be imported. Our local cheesemakers are excellent and should be appreciated.
Our goat's milk dairy range is a bonus for those who can’t or don’t eat cow's milk dairy. We work hard on building a range that ensures everything cow's milk can do, goat's milk can do too.
And our kefir range is top class. This is good news for your gut and a relatively new product for most consumers. We are thrilled to hear back from customers who have addressed severe or chronic health challenges using our kefir in their diet.
There is currently no certification body for free-range dairy in South Africa. Nor are there very tight legal definitions of what that might entail. However, our animals are free to range in grass pastures and receive no growth hormones or regular antibiotic treatment. We avoid unnecessary artificial additives and added sugar and want our dairy to be a wholesome and delicious part of your regular diet.
Our facility is also internationally certified for food safety. We will not compromise on the health and safety of our customers.
We have a wide range of products and a varied group of customers. Those looking for high-end dairy, whom they can trust along the production chain are some of our biggest supporters. People inspired by our range are glad to have a reason to enjoy locally sourced cheeseboards. Families who struggle with lactose and dairy allergies are grateful for the quality and diversity of our goat’s milk range.
We hear from kefir fans weekly about how easy drinking it is. They let us know how much they are enjoying it regularly and the support it gives during health challenges.
We’ve always had our focus squarely on building the South African cheese market and bringing new and distinctive cheeses to locals who might believe plastic-wrapped bulk orange Cheddar is the only option. However, we’ve also now got our eyes on an international market for our products, which will be a boost for the reputation of South African cheesemaking.
We are continuously innovating – it is our lifeblood. New kefir flavours are in development, and our cheesemaker has always got a ‘special project’ going on. Cheesemaking offers a rich outlet for creativity and innovation, and we are excited about what the future holds.
Contact person: Kate Posthumus
Email address: info@indezi.co.za
Contact number: 033 492 0571
Website address: https://www.indezi.co.za
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IndeziRiverCreamery
Instagram page: https://www.instagram/IndeziRiverCreamery