From the heart

It was 12 years ago that Sonnendal noticed a gap in the market where big dairies were ignoring house brands. The door was open to Sonnendal and a decision was made to focus on developing Pick n Pay’s own brand fresh milk, yoghurt and the launch of its 100% nectar fruit juice. Since then, the team at Sonnendal has worked hard to develop this range, putting its efforts into the brand’s phenomenal growth and success. Sonnendal now supplies Pick n Pay’s yoghurt multipacks and drinking yoghurts nationally and its full dairy range in the Eastern and Western Cape.

Sonnendal is no stranger to innovation, as seen by the conceptualisation and launch of the oval yoghurt tub, developed in partnership with Dairypack, a division of Polyoak Packaging, and eye-catchingly designed by Berge Farrel.

Riding the wave of the Pick n Pay brand’s success, Sonnendal is now diving head first into launching its own brand and extensive range of yoghurts, milk and fruit juices. ‘The time has come that we need our own brand to remain competitive and to stake our claim in the developments of the burgeoning dairy market,’ explains Sonnedal’s MD, Martin Swanepoel. ‘By launching our own brand we’re also able to get new products to the market faster,’ he adds.

There’s a palpable ‘buzz’ at Sonnendal that permeates through the plant, its people and its products. In fact, the new brands being launched epitomise the authenticity of the company – they come from the heart.

These new products, with their quirky heart-design theme and light-hearted on-pack copy, are sure to attract consumers’ attention and capture their hearts when they taste the sublime flavour combinations and see the delicious design work by Urban Lab (previously Liquid Lab).

Move to FFS and IML

But it’s not just innovation in product development that sets Sonnendal apart as a trailblazer in the dairy market.

Besides the launch of the oval yoghurt tub, this independent dairy also claims to be the first to produce form-fill-sealed yoghurt multipacks with in-mould labelling in South Africa.

To cope with current demand for Pick n Pay’s house brand and in preparation of the launch of its own new ranges, Sonnendal has installed three new six-cup yoghurt fillers from Marefa (see story on page 92).

In addition to this new equipment, Sonnendal has also developed its own in-line dosing equipment. ‘This in-house design is something we’re really proud of,’ notes Malcolm Jeffery, Sonnendal’s operations director. ‘We have 17 in-line dosers in the factory, enabling us to mix fruit blends with the base product immediately before filling takes place, saving time and space, as we’re dealing with a multitude of flavours being filled simultaneously for our multipack ranges,’ adds Adrian Labuschagne, general manager: operations. ‘When it comes to flavour change over, only the dosing and filling units need to be cleaned, rather than the entire line to the filling machines,’ Adrian continues.

With all its equipment and logistics in place, Sonnendal is now in the process of launching its new products that have been created in collaboration with Jo Pellisier of Urban Lab.

Here Kim Rice, Sonnendal’s marketing manager, picks up the story: ‘In addition to our existing 46 value lines, we’re now taking the Sonnendal brand into the future with our premium range of elegantly packaged products.’

For its new value range, Sonnendal is launching Tootilli Frooti yoghurt tubs, Sonnendal and Yogüd yoghurt multipacks, Flava milk, Yo! drinking yoghurt, Froot Nectar and its range of white milk.

In the premium market, consumers are in for a treat when they see and taste Sonnendal’s Yotopia range in its distinctive and elegant black packaging with its heart theme bringing it all together.

The range includes fresh cream in a black oval tub from Dairypack and its lidding from Aluminium Foil Converters; buttermilk – in keeping the slow food trend – packaged in HDPE bottles from Dairypack, with caps from African Closures and full shrink sleeves from First Impression Labels; low-fat yoghurt, in both smooth and fruited blends, packed in multipacks from Dairypack with lidding from Aluminium Foil Converters; and a beverage range, Quencha, in PET bottles from Polypet sporting full shrink-sleeve labels from First Impression Labels and sealed with caps from African Closures. Milk in this range features wraparound labels from ACF Labels: DLC Pack that are so beautiful consumers will no longer need a milk jug for the table!

Sonnendal’s catch phrase is live.love.laugh, which this brand captures to perfection. It’s healthy – all Yotopia products are low-fat but masterfully created to capture the velvety dessert-like texture of a full-fat product; it’s funny – witty on-pack copy promotes the fun of the brand; and it’s lovely – from the tapered multipack cups, specifically designed by Dairypack for stacking on Marefa’s six-cup filler, to its elegant design and delicious contents.

Be sure not to pass by this range when it catches your eye on the retail shelves!

Sonnendal Dairies
T +27 021 6917481

ACF Labels: DLC Pack
T +27 031 7020521

Alumium Foil Converters
T +27 033 3979758

Berge Farrel
T +27 021 6712001

First Impression Labels
T +27 031 7020404

Marefa
T +27 021 8629944

Polyoak Packaging
T +27 021 7109200

Urban Lab
T +27 021 4484636