The Sunday News
Senior Business Reporter
ONE of Bulawayo’s fastest growing bread manufacturers, Double Fresh Bakery has lost business worth an estimated $18 000 after it allegedly used sub-standard flour supplied by Bulk Commodities Private Limited.
Double Fresh managing director Mr Mnothisi Nsingo has taken a swipe at Bulk Commodities for allegedly failing to adhere to proper business principles by providing his company with bad and water damaged flour in a period of two months which resulted in the massive hit on the company business.
The bakery, which started operations in 2008 produces bread which is marketed under the brand Triple Fresh Bakery.
He said as a result of using the unsuitable imported flour, the company has lost a lot of business with more than 30 retail outlets from Bulawayo’s high-density suburbs having stopped accepting their bread orders, while a significant number of shops and supermarkets have threatened to remove the product from their shelves.
Double Fresh has made significant strides since its inception grabbing a substantial chunk of the market niche from traditional players such as Baker’s Inn and Lobel’s Bread with its whole wheat bread being the most sort after on the market.
As a result of using improper flour Double Fresh’s bread became bad in a day instead of having a shelf life of five days.
The bakery has already envisaged growth through spreading its wings by supplying its bread in Matabeleland North and South as well as Midlands provinces.
“Our first purchase of contaminated flour was in February where we received 600 bags weighing 50 kilogrammes each and they swapped 250 of the bags because it was bad. We thought maybe it was a mistake. We got another delivery on 8 and 9 April.
“We discovered that all the flour was water damaged. On contacting them, instead of changing it, they provided us with a sieve to remove the hardened flour. Little did we know the product from the batch will be condemned by the market,” Mr Nsingo said.
He said owing to the usage of the bad batch of flour, the company lost 65 percent of its production and $18 000 in bread monetary value as their product was returned en masse.
Bulk Commodities, imports its flour from South Africa and supplies 15 bakeries around the country including its own bakery in Bulawayo. However, one of the company’s directors, Mr Imran Shahzad said the massive rejection of Double Fresh’s product lay on the bakery’s incompetence and ineptness.
“We supply flour to 15 bakeries including our own and we used to supply Lobel’s Bread as well and we have never had any problems save for one incident sometime in 2014 when the flour we delivered to Lobel’s had greenish stuff. We rectified this anomaly and returned the consignment to the producer.
“We deal in four types of reputable brands from South Africa and each of our clients chooses the one they require. If the product wasn’t fit why did they sign for it and have it cleared from our premises than complaining after it has undergone further processing. I am afraid we can’t be held liable that their bread wasn’t accepted on the market. The problem lies solely with their quality controller,” he said.
The company further denied any wrong doing through a letter from its legal representative, Mr Nqobani Sithole addressed to Double Fresh dated 7 May of which a copy is in the hands of Sunday News Business.
“We note with great concern that ‘your’ clients are not happy with ‘your’ bread. Our advice is how does your bread get to the market without passing your quality controls, and only to fail in the market,” read part of the letter.
Mr Shahzad instead accused Double Fresh of conducting business in bad faith by failing to pay for the delivered consignment.
However, the bakery’s managing director responded by saying: “We wanted to draw their attention because their conduct showed that they were up to killing our business”.
Consumer Council of Zimbabwe Matabeleland regional manager Mr Comfort Muchekeza confirmed receiving a complaint from Double Fresh.
“We received their complaint and we inspected the product at their premises and even saw complaints from shops condemning their product as unfit for human consumption. A product is rendered not fit for human consumption when the end product reaches the consumer. Double Fresh’s product was no longer fit and we ordered it to be removed from the shelves,” Mr Muchekeza said.
He confirmed that some of the bags of flour recovered at Double Fresh’s factory had expired while some of it was water damaged.
“However, Double Fresh has to prove beyond doubt that it received the flour in that (bad) state. If that’s the case the supplier has to compensate for loss of goodwill. We inspected their warehouse and it seems there is no opening that allows water in. However, the information we obtained is that indeed, the flour was received from the supplier in that state,” Mr Muchekeza said.
Sunday Business is in position of one of the complaint letter written by Greens Supermarket Jason Moyo Avenue branch assistant manager, Mr Lloyd Munemo: “I am not impressed with your quality of your bread. Its shelf life is too short and however with the type of customers that I save if I continue to receive bad reports concerning your bread I will be forced to cease accepting your bread into my shop. Please check the volume of returns lately it’s not impressive,” read part of the letter.
Double Fresh was using imported flour, which was source by Bulk Commodities as it was cheaper than the one obtained from the local market. However, the company has since agreed terms with National Foods and has started purchasing their flour local.
