COLCOM

With its origins dating back over 80 years, Colcom Foods Limited is a long-established household brand name in Zimbabwe, synonymous with a reputation for a very wide range of delicious, hygienically prepared, quality processed pork, and meat products for differing market requirements.

The quality chain incorporates strict Government veterinary standards and controls, as well as the comprehensive standards of the Zimbabwe Quality Assured Pork Scheme (ZQAP), from on-farm pig production through to its factory facilities and distribution.

Colcom Foods Limited operated as a Co-operative until 1993, when Colcom Holdings Ltd was formed and successfully floated on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Funds raised from this flotation and a subsequent Rights Issue were used to refurbish the existing factory facilities, as well as develop new wholesale and retail outlets.

Five years later, in line with international trends, Colcom vertically integrated its operations into a world class state-of-the-art pig production unit, Triple C Pigs. Which achieves some of the best results in the world in terms of quality output and feed conversion ratios, and in this regard supplies Colcom Foods Limited with the majority of its requirements.

In late 2001, Colcom Foods Limited acquired the Danmeats brand (incorporating the Oscars brand) and subsequently invested in a new and modern cold store at the Danmeats site in Ruwa.

In 2003, Colcom Foods Limited established Associated Meat Packers (AMP), which thereupon became a joint venture, principally to process and market beef. AMP was instituted to cater to a wide variety of customers as well as its own retail butchery outlets which were initiated under the Texas Meats and Texas Meat Markets retail butchery outlets, for both beef and chicken.

Colcom Foods Limited also entered an associate venture in Zimbabwe with the Freddy Hirsch Group. The venture was set up to manufacture and supply natural and synthetic sausage casings, ingredients supporting the meat industry, and butchery equipment, as well as provide training for people in the meat business. In 2019, however, Colcom Foods Limited divested its interest in Freddy Hirsch.

In recent years Colcom Foods Limited has embarked on a substantial phased program to upgrade its technologies and equipment, install new machinery for new products, and refurbish its refrigeration systems. At the same time, the group has been restructured to meet the changing needs.

Very conscious of the value of its brand, Colcom Foods Limited has continually upgraded its product packaging in line with modern trends and global standards to retain its appeal to its customers. These efforts have been supported by targeted marketing and sales activities in order to promote and grow the brands and products across all market segments.

During the course of 2018, Innscor Africa Limited acquired all the minority interests in Colcom Holdings Limited, such that it became a wholly-owned subsidiary. Colcom Holdings Limited has since been delisted from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. It in turn conducts its core operations in Colcom Foods Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary.

In 2019, due to a restructuring exercise, Colcom Foods Limited unbundled AMP from its structure. AMP, however, remains part of the Innscor Africa Limited group of companies.

2021 saw the introduction of a new Colcom Farm Shop along Bulawayo Road at the Triple C farm in Norton to cater to community in Norton and surrounding areas as well as motorists on the highway.

In 2022, Colcom Foods Limited expanded its production capacity to run five fully-fledged pig production units across the country, with further expansion on the cards in the coming years. In the same year, Colcom Cash & Carry at Coventry Road in Workington Harare, also underwent a complete refurbishment and now contains a modern refrigerated product display and an expanded butchery section. This successively allowed the business to increase its fresh pork offering in the shop, as well as provide an opportunity to showcase its pork variety and versatility with the intention of increasing consumption per capita.

In 2023, Colcom Foods Limited attained FSSC 22000 certification for its abattoir, making it the first and only FSSC 22000 certified pork abattoir in the country. The Foundation FSSC (Food Safety System Certification) provides a certification scheme, FSSC 22000, that ensures a robust food safety management system to control food safety hazards, minimize risks, and ensure safe food production. The certification is recognised by the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative).