A nut warehouse and roastery was opened at Food Lover’s Market Head Office in October 2016, and in 2021, it reopened to new premises due to continued growth. Starting as the supplier to Food Lover’s Market of bulk nuts from all over the World, (raw nuts, roasting, and packing it all themselves), Cape Roasters is now packing over 200 lines stocked at Food lover’s Market stores nationwide.
Over the last 5 years, they have expanded into dried fruit, various trail mixes, seeds, and most recently confectionery (including the festive range found at Food Lover’s Market stores.). We chatted to Clarence Davis, the Food Lover’s Market Product Manager to get some insight into the ins and outs of the new Cape Roasters.
“We also expanded our pre-pack ranges, which now include Food Lovers House Brand products, most of the You First range in the Health department as well as Munch on the Run which can also be found in FreshStop stores.” Whilst cashews (in the gravity bin dispensers – the weighed cashews that you can buy per kg) and Almonds are still the most popular, Cape Roasters is growing and developing products to satisfy your snack ‘sweet’ tooth.
What are Cape Roasters newest products, and planned new products?
Their very own chocolate division started a few months ago where the delicious range of Nuggles are now produced. These include sustainably sourced chocolate-coated products such as peanuts, nuts, raisins, and shortcakes.
“We are planning to expand the Nuggles range into pre-packs and we are looking at developing a range of chocolate slabs.” says Davis. This year a festive treat was added to the mix, a luxurious Trio of Chocolate Almonds which include milk, white and ruby chocolate-coated Almonds.
What about the Christmas lines at Food Lover’s Market?
Enter; the famous Food Lover’s Festive Cake Mix, a.k.a the Red Bucket, which continues to do well every year. The fruit cake mix was developed and is mixed by Cape Roasters and has grown in popularity of the years.
Tell us about your growth of the social impact of your business – and the effect of bringing more production in-house and local?
“We have created 40 full-time jobs and bringing the production in-house has allowed us to improve the quality of products and create more value for customers through economies of scale.”
Tell us about your sustainable chocolate?
Cape Roasters has chosen to use chocolate that is made from “sustainably sourced” cocoa beans. We have partnered with a third-party organization, Cocoa Horizons, which implements activities that drive meaningful change in cocoa farming communities. These activities enable farmers to lift themselves out of poverty, eradicate child labour, and result in a deforestation-free cocoa supply chain.
Cocoa Horizons is an impact-driven program focused on cocoa farmer prosperity and helping build self-sustaining farming communities that protect nature and children. The focus areas include prospering farmers, no deforestation & carbon positive. and zero child labour.
Nuts about Nuts…and Seeds
‘Nut’ only a healthy snack, nuts are versatile from muesli, a salad topping, dessert, you can get creative with nuts and seeds. Plus, they add healthy fat (and protein) to your meals.
More recently found in many vegan or plant-based meals and desserts. Cashews can be made into a dessert, or as a cheese sauce, chia, or flax seeds are used as an egg substitute.
Browse through some of our favourite tried and tested nut and seed recipes, and get creative in the kitchen…they’ll become a must-have in your pantry!
