DURBAN – Kevin Hedderwick has joined the Real Foods board as Group Strategic Director while Antony Ball has joined the company's board as of October 1, 2018.
Real Foods is a multi-brand group that is focused on natural food, taking advantage of the global trend towards health and wellness. Some the brands that the company owns include Kauai, Nü Health Food Café and Kohu and Highveld Honey.
Dean Kowarski, Real Foods chief executive welcomed both Hedderwick and Ball to the business.
He said: "It is a compliment to us and our business model that Kevin, who is so highly respected in the food industry, has chosen to join Real Foods above the many options available to him. Kevin believes that the growth of the natural foods sector is exceptional and that Real Foods is best positioned to take advantage of this growth."
He added that Hedderwick has experience and is a highly regarded business leader and they have no doubts that his expertise will boost the ambitious growth and potential future listing plans that the company has.
Hedderwick is regarded with the turnaround of the Steers Holdings family business with a market capitalisation of R105 million in 2000 when he joined into the R14 billion Famous Brands company.
The new Group Strategic Director said, "Real Foods’ passion for authentic, premium quality real foods is attractive and I am optimistic about the company’s success in a high growth segment. After spending much time in the listed corporate environment, I look forward to being part of the dynamic, agile and entrepreneurial, yet uncompromisingly results-driven culture at Real Foods".
On Ball, Kowarski said, "Ball is known as a pioneering private equity practitioner and as one of the most astute and respected investors in South Africa.” During his tenure at Brait, the company successfully raised four funds, listed on the JSE and the company completed many successful transactions.
The new board member spoke about the reasons that he wanted to work with Real Foods. He said: "We are enthusiastic believers in the ‘real foods’ movement, believing both in the trend towards healthier and more authentic food sources, and in the way in which this underpins the investment thesis."