Local SPAR butcheries named province’s best in Cleaver Awards
Malelane SUPERSPAR's butchery was awarded a platinum award and Komatipoort SUPERSPAR's a gold one at the annual Clever Awards ceremony in Johannesburg last Thursday evening.
MALALANE – The butcheries of two local SUPERSPARs were named the best in the province during the prestigious Cleaver Awards in Johannesburg on Thursday night.
Malelane SUPERSPAR received a platinum award and Komatipoort SUPERSPAR gold as Mpumalanga winners.
The awards are open to all butcheries in the country. Their clients can vote online and nominate their favourite butchery at the end of every year.
A record of 40 000 nominations were received this year and several finalists chosen.
These finalists are visited by several judges and assessed with a 212-point checklist which includes health and safety, quality of meat, suppliers and customer service such as giving advice on cooking the meat they sell.
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The SA Red Meat Industry Forum started the initiative in 2005, and it is supported by Freddy Hirsch. A Cleaver Award is now seen as an official seal of approval, especially since only customers can nominate entrants.
Marc Burmeister, from Malelane SUPERSPAR, said the award was a pleasant surprise and a great honour. He explained that it was the result of a team effort. “You have to have a good team and an open, interactive relationship with the community. Your customers shape who you are,” he said.
Burmeister remarked that the industry is losing old-school butcher skills, as prepacked products are gaining popularity. At Malelane SUPERSPAR, they are still honing these skills and he invited customers to talk to the butchery staff if they can not find the product they want on the shelves. “We are happy to do bespoke,” he said.
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He explained that their success lies in teamwork and the determination to get as close to perfect as possible. “Serving people food is a personal thing and we are all about providing good quality products and forging personal connections with our customers.”
He thanked everyone who voted, as well as all the shoppers who loyally support them.
Joseph Mabunda of Komatipoort SUPERSPAR was also amazed when he was notified that his butchery had won a gold award. He explained that store manager, Pieter Koekemoer had encouraged him to take part, but that he could not believe that his butchery could compete on a national level.
He was astounded and even called his mentor, Rudy Oosthuyse, who has won several of these awards for the Grove SUPERSPAR in Mbombela, to share the news.
Joseph said people had become distrustful of meat suppliers due to various incidents such as the listeria outbreak and that it took some doing to convince them to come back. “We have built trust with our community over the years, so consistency is important. The awards also show people that you can trust locally produced meat,” he said.
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Mabunda has been working at SPAR butcheries since 1997 and at Komatipoort SUPERSPAR since 2013. He believes that the butchery’s success lies in giving people the best quality meat possible, combined with great customer service.
“This award means that we should keep working harder. Customers will now want to know what we did to win and we need to keep to that high standard. We promise to keep it,” he concluded.
