RECIPE LIBRARY:
From a converted garage in Cape Town to a respected multi-million Rand food company - our story reads like a fairytale in many ways. We invite you to step behind the scenes and discover some of the reasons for our success.
our team
"I can't think of any other business unit that works as well as a tight family group. Before you even start, you know each other's strengths and weaknesses and integrity and trust are an added bonus. There is something very wholesome about a family business."
Ina Paarman
our history
The early years
Inspired by her grandmother's cooking and obviously possessed of the same innate gift, Ina decided to study home economics after leaving school. She then travelled extensively, soaking up everything she could about the cuisines of other cultures. This she combined with our uniquely South African style and, after a successful teaching and lecturing career, started Ina's Kitchen, a cookery school, in a converted garage at her home in Constantia.
1982-1990
The school commenced with only 6 pupils but soon grew so popular that she ran out of time to teach. Their mailing list read like the "who's who" of Cape society. During this period, Ina developed the first of her product ranges, with the very first product ever being the Seasoned Sea Salt that she mixed up from her grandmother Anna's recipe. Besides meeting the daily challenges as proprietor of her cookery school, Ina rapidly developed a following as a respected food authority through the wearing of a number of different chefs hats. She became food editor for Femina magazine, wrote a regular column for Die Burger, hosted many TV cookery programmes and produced the first of her cookbooks, Cook with Ina Paarman, still a bestseller.
1990 on
Paarman Foods was born when Ina's son, Graham, joined the business, revamped the packaging, relocated to factory premises and aggressively expanded the product range. It wasn't long before the business managed to secure a foothold in the major retail multiples, like Pick 'n Pay and Spar. In 1995 they began exporting to UK and Australia and in 1998 they broke into the local food service arena by supplying customised products to restaurants and franchised food groups.
From what was then a rather obscure home based industry, Paarman Foods is today a significant food business servicing a wide spread of different markets with a diverse product offering.
our philosophy
"We make homemade food in a factory. It's a simple idea - but very difficult to execute. Somehow we do get it right - by investing time, energy and money into producing an authentic, natural product."Graham Paarman
Passionate perfectionists
The Paarman's would describe themselves as obsessive about quality and authenticity. Passion for what they do is the prime motivator behind their business success.
Quality upon quality
A quality assurance department, professionally staffed by a team of food technologists, monitors the entire production process from suppliers to final product. In the year 2000, the food safety and quality assurance disciplines were formally accredited and awarded the ISO 9001 quality certification - an internationally recognised quality standard.
A loyal following
Ordinary enough to find their way onto tables everyday - sophisticated enough to transform the everyday into the exceptional - and consistent enough to have earned trust. Those are the kind of exciting, home style, quality products that have turned Ina Paarman into a respected household brand - associated with good taste on every level.
our factory
"When we bought this piece of equipment, I stuck up a picture of an exotic motor vehicle along with a note that read ' this pasteuriser is the same price as a new Ferrari F355 Spyder. Please handle it with the same respect'. And they do." Graham Paarman
Situated in Diep River, Cape Town, South Africa, the Paarman Foods factory is a model of high-tech manufacturing, employing approximately 100 workers. Although ranges are produced on a large-scale commercial basis, an authentic home-style taste is the Ina Paarman trademark. This is achieved through a combination of highly trained, motivated staff and custom-built processing equipment.
