For three generations Arenel has been producing sweets, biscuits and snack foods. Food and Drink Digital asks about the sweet taste of success
Written by Chris Farnell & Produced by John Holliman
Every child wants to run their own sweet factory when they grow up. What made Joshua Lepar different from most was that he knew which sweet factory he wanted to run.
Arenel Sweets and Biscuits was founded in 1946, by Lepar’s grandfather. It’s now a third generation family owned business.
“It started off as a sweet candy factory,” Lepar explains, “and later on we added a product mix of biscuits and snack-based foods, high energy bars and chocolates.”
Now, as Managing Director, Lepar is finally running that sweet factory: He went to Nottingham University; he then decided it was time for him to return home, whereupon he was ensconced in the family business. He was given license to move the business forward and, taking the company in the direction he projected to be in its best interests, given the prevailing economic fundamentals, thereby bringing it up to speed with new technologies with regard to manufacturing its products.
It might be every schoolboy’s dream, but Lepar was also aware it was a big responsibility taking on the family business. “It’s a family company. The customers and suppliers know this and have this relationship with the name and the name carries a lot of weight behind it. It’s trustworthy because of the reputation of my father and grandfather.” The name alone instils confidence with suppliers and customers alike.
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
However, it’s a responsibility Lepar is proud to shoulder, running the finance and sales side of the business while his brother runs the manufacturing and operations side.
“Being a family owned business, the family-like traits have gone through the whole fabric of the business, from the sweeper to myself, it’s a family environment, there’s a ‘family culture’ and a good relationship exists between everyone in the factory, everyone knows everyone, everyone speaks to each other, communication is the key word,” Lepar says.
Of course, lots of businesses claim to be “like a family” only for it to be spin and bluster, but Arenel is a company that walks the walk and talks the talk when it comes to its people.
“We’ve got moral obligations,” Lepar says seriously. “We make sure to take a certain percentage of physically disabled employees on board in our production facilities. When recruiting, we give the first option to people who have built a name for themselves in the Company already. We will offer it to their relatives. Obviously, they’ve got to have certain skills and qualifications, but if they can satisfy the latter and do the job, they get priority.”
The result is a company that has family connections running not just through the management, but through every sector of the company.
“We’ve got guys who work in the sweets division and they’ve got sons or daughters in the biscuits division,” Lepar says proudly. “They’ve given the commitment and time to Arenel, so we help them out by employing their family members to ease the burden on that family. That’s something that contributes to the ease we work with. Labour relation issues have never been a problem within the company because our people understand the ‘Company Culture’ and there’s good communication between the worker’s committee, our HR people and myself.”
RETURNING TO THE MARKETS
Of course, while Arenel is in many ways like a family, it is also, fundamentally, a business, and to thrive it has to have a sound business model. The company has been doing well, expanding its product line and operations, but like many Zimbabwe-based businesses it has suffered due to the country’s economic climate, which has been compounded by the Global Financial Crisis.
“For the last 10 years, the economy’s been in a constant state of decline with regard to rampant inflation and a lack of foreign currency,” Lepar says, “but from March this year the economy has opened up and it’s been trading in market currency; so obviously there’s been real value in being able to trade in Rand, US Dollars, Euros, Pounds. This year’s been pretty tough, but it’s been an eye opener. We’ve had to align our business with regards to the influx of imported products competing with our products, but it’s been a year we’ve been satisfied with. We’ve moved forward, relying on our quality and our brand name. So, for the last 12 months it’s been tough but we’ve got through it. We’ve redone our whole packaging line; we’ve brought back products that weren’t affordable before the opening up of the economy. Our product range has increased, our packaging has been revamped, we’ve been able to bring in new machinery; so although it’s been tough, we’re still very happy with the last 12 months.”
Previously rampant inflation and a lack of foreign currency had caused Arenel to cease exporting its products, even though the market was there. Now that things are improving, Arenel is ready to return to that market, and its old customers are more than happy to see it again.
“They (our foreign customer base) understood our position,” Lepar says. “They knew it wasn’t just a case of us dropping them, we had to leave purely because of the economic fundamentals in play at the time. So they’ve been very supportive of us and said, yes, definitely, we’ll take your products back into the market.”
Arenel is now once again selling to Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Namibia, while also looking to move into South Africa and Mozambique.
To meet growing demand, Arenel is expanding its operations, and bringing in new machinery to produce more and a greater variety of products. “We’ve got a full maintenance workshop and we have planned maintenance programs. We build up and maintain our own machinery and ensure that we minimise breakdowns. By going automated we’re ensuring our product will be more competitive, more uniform, more in-line with the standards we’re looking to achieve.”
Arenel is a genuine family business, using the best technology to supply its products to growing markets throughout Africa. From a business point of view, it is a growing success story. But as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So after a lifetime of being surrounded by Arenel sweets and biscuits, does Lepar have a sweet tooth, or is he sick of the sight of the stuff?
Lepar laughs, and then admits: “Well, I don’t mind having a pick when I go into the factories but I have to control myself.”
Our motto is “Arenel – every bite a delite”.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
COMPANY NAME: Arenel Sweets and Biscuits
MD: Joshua Lepar
OPERATIONS: Manufactures sweets, biscuits and snack foods
ESTABLISHED: 1946
EMPLOYEES: 250
jlepar@arenel.co.zw