Empowering Bluff Meat Supply

July 2023

The right financial partner is key to leveraging growth opportunities and unlocking your business’ full potential

South Africa is currently experiencing some of the most difficult economic times in recent history. With the lingering hangover of Covid still having a negative effect on many industries, and the rapidly escalating energy crisis causing unprecedented waves of load shedding, businesses are struggling to survive, never mind thrive and reach their full potential. Amidst of these challenges, the Bluff Meat Supply/Mndeni Meat Group has grown both its operations and its store footprint, and is looking to expand nationally, thanks to an ongoing partnership with RMB Ventures that is 10 years in the making and still going strong.

Cultivating a growth mindset

Bluff Meat Supply was established in 1960 as a family-run business operating a single store on the Bluff in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Over the years they have grown into a multi-faceted meat group, encompassing both retail and manufacturing entities. In 2000 they began processing meat and today operate as two separate businesses, with Bluff Meat Supply as the retail arm and Gen 4 Foods on the processing and manufacturing side.  

They began negotiations with RMB Ventures in 2011 and eventually struck a deal in February 2013. Says Mark Bielovich, CEO of BMS Foods “This was a watershed moment, a game changer for us. Partnering with RMB not only changed our strategy, it also changed our way of thinking. Previously we had no debt, and RMB helped us to understand that to grow the business, debt was actually something we needed. The Ventures team helped us to see the bigger picture and embrace a growth mindset, bringing their years of experience across various industries and sectors to the table to revolutionise our business.”

“Even though we are experiencing difficult economic times currently, we have still managed to open six new stores in 2022 and are rolling out another three this year. We are also now looking to move beyond Kwa-Zulu Natal and open stores nationally. Our partnership with RMB has been instrumental in our growth and in increasing our turnover on the retail side. On the processing side, we have seen several competitors dropping out of the market, and we are well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities this presents,” he adds.

Guidance on the path to growth

Since 2013, RMB Ventures has been a co-investor in BMS Foods with ownership of a significant minority stake in the business. They are also strategic partners alongside the management team, members of the board and various sub-committees, and have a close relationship built on mutual respect and understanding and alignment of individual roles.

“When we invest in a business, we don’t take over, we provide guidance to help them grow. We need to understand the solution the company needs, the strengths they have, where they need assistance and the role we need to play. With BMS Foods we saw a highly passionate, motivated and dedicated management team that was extremely knowledgeable about everything to do with meat, but needed help harnessing the power of their data and to think differently about the strategy for their business – for example, splitting the processing and retail arms into two operations, because they require vastly different skill sets and approaches,” says Andrew Aitken, Co-Head of RMB Ventures.

Restructuring the business was the biggest single change implemented by RMB Ventures, who bought out a number of minority shareholders to streamline the business and ensure that the shareholder base was financially aligned. After several years, they then introduced new shareholders on a smaller scale to incentivise management teams. In addition, aside from introducing data analytics to assist with retail store placement, RMB Ventures has also assisted Bluff Meat Supply to implement systems, processes and documentation to enable them to effectively train new staff as they scale and grown. They have also been instrumental in introducing new talent into the business to diversify skills and in implementing a new budgeting process that is continually being refined and improved.

“Our focus over the last decade has been on helping BMS Food to grow, empowering the management teams and giving them the tools to develop the internal capabilities they need. Our ultimate aim is to use our knowledge and experience to complement their skills and abilities and help them to grow the business. This stems from our purpose to empower teams and businesses to achieve their full potential,” explains Aitken.  

Strategic partners are a recipe for success

“We have more than doubled our profits since RMB came on board, our retail footprint has continued to grow, and our processing business has more than tripled in size – we are now one of the largest meat  producers in the country. RMB Ventures has given us the guidance and information we needed to ensure we are on the right track, but ultimately has left the running of the business up to us, and this has made all the difference,” says Bielovich.

Even in tough economic times, there is opportunity for growth with the right structuring and strategy. A financial partner is crucial in leveraging opportunities for growth, but the business needs to be driven to consistently look for new opportunities, new customers, new mindsets, and new strategies. With the right private equity partner, businesses like BMS Foods have grown through the turbulence, continually driven to reach their full potential. 

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