𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻
𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝘁
Meet the 100-year-old business tycoon who operated under the radar
A true Legend in the Baking 🔻

1/ History
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟴𝟱𝟭….. ✍🏼
John Frederick Baumann migrates from England to South Africa,
here he starts a grocery and bread bakery in the old British Colony of Natal (KwaZulu Natal)
𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲…..
He manages to convince his nephew, John Michael Leonard Baumann to migrate to South Africa
J. M. L. Baumann arrives in Durban in 1881 and joins his uncle's bakery and grocery business.
𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿……
The lease on their premise expires, and J. M. L. Baumann purchases the bakery operations from his uncle
𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟱 - 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟱, he (J.M.L) constructs a small building and starts to buy biscuit machinery, to make more “𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚢 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚜” such as, ginger nuts and marie biscuits.
𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝟭 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳….
The company starts to falter because of the anti-German riots, which leads to the bakery and shop being burnt to the ground, 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, there are massive supply disruptions across the country during the Great Depression
𝗛𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿,
a couple of things worked out in their favor.
(I) The factory manages to survive the anti-German riots of 1915, mainly because it was producing biscuits for the army, so the factory was put under government protection to prevent further damage.
(ii) the company's name changes from Baumann's (German) to 𝗕𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱, thus giving birth to the iconic brand we now know today.
The famous Baker’s mascot makes its first appearance on the packaging in 1923.

2/ The Following Chapter
The Family business is passed down from generation to generation, an epitome, of generational wealth.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻…….
In fact, he was born on a farm in Empangeni, in KwaZulu Natal.

3/ Leonard Baumann
The Warren Buffet of South Africa inherits the company from his grandfather, John Michael Leonard Baumann.
𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨……🏁
He ( Leonard Baumann ) continued to innovate the Bakers brand and led the company into its next growth phase

He created the Strawberry whirls biscuits and made investments into other bakeries during his time.
𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿,
he also ran the wimpy franchise for seven years making a significant contribution to the economy by adding hundreds of jobs in his time.

He got so good at investing and running businesses that the Monopoly Board of S.A worried he owned too many businesses,
but he was eventually excused because he generated a ton of employment for the economy
He hand picked and placed directors for each company he managed.

4/ Similarities to Warren Buffett
Just like Buffet,
> Leonard Baumann still goes into the office to work, everyday.
> He lives in the same house he bought 63 years ago
> Still uses the same car he inherited from his grandfather.

5/ Present Day
In 1984, Bakers was sold,
Bakers is now part of National Brands Limited, an FMCG company which is a subsidiary of South African holding company AVI Limited. ( $AVI )
Bakers products are now manufactured in Durban, Pretoria, and Johannesburg.

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