A small KwaZulu-Natal company's perseverance has paid off, and its locally-produced range of dhal products are now listed in 25 Shoprite and Checkers stores.

An order from Checkers for bakery goods provided a lifeline and growth opportunity to a long-established bakery whose orders came to an abrupt stop during lockdown.

An order from Checkers for bakery goods provided a lifeline and growth opportunity to a long-established bakery whose orders came to an abrupt stop during lockdown.

Small supplier Cherry Melon designed and manufactured a range of affordable maternity wear exclusively for Checkers.

Small supplier, Ree Collective, has increased its turnover by 144% since it started supplying its baby bags, custom-made for South African parents, to more than 100 Checkers and Checkers Hyper stores.

Shoprite is once again stepping up to enable entrepreneurs to grow their businesses with the 2021 Shoprite Hustle competition. The annual competition boosts small business development and will celebrate established and promising small business owners who stand to win a share of more than R1 million in prizes.

Heavy rains in Limpopo during January and February have caused havoc in the tomato industry in recent weeks - but by diversifying its supply chain, and partnering with innovative suppliers like Red Baron, the Shoprite Group was able to keep tomatoes on its supermarkets’ shelves.

Elias Pangane began farming mielies purely to feed his family - but he’s managed to turn a humble backyard operation into a fully fledged business that now supplies Africa’s largest retail group.

An entrepreneur has taken his Magaliesberg mushroom farm from a pipe dream to a burgeoning business that now employs 175 people, and supplies hundreds of stores with high quality local produce. The business, called Tropical Mushrooms, was started by entrepreneur Peter Nyathi, and it delivers to the Shoprite Group’s Centurion distribution centre on a daily basis. From there, the mushrooms make their way onto shelves of more than 350 Shoprite and Checkers supermarkets throughout Gauteng.

South African farmer Kepas CB Melodi started his business by spotting a gap in the market - and, aided by the hands-on approach of the buying team at Shoprite and Checkers, he was able to ride the unpredictable wave of COVID-19 almost unscathed. The relationships forged between buyers and farmers like Melodi help to create a degree of certainty in an often unpredictable industry, and because of this Melodi says he has a better idea of when, and what, to plant in order to reap maximum benefits from the land.