Two Centuries in the Baking: Inside Premier FMCG’s Rebuild

“Guys, you need to put R300 million on standby. I can’t make payroll at the end of the month.”

That was the call Gertenbach made to Brait in July 2011. Premier, the 200-year-old company behind Blue Ribbon, Snowflake and Iwisa, had been delisted, was losing hundreds of millions of rand a year and had largely been written off.

What followed is described in the episode’s introduction as “one of the great rebuilds in South African business”.

Gertenbach experienced the turnaround from several vantage points: first as part of the Brait team that bought the business, then as Premier’s CFO for a decade, and as its CEO since 2021.

He joins Jacques Conradie, CEO of Peregrine Capital, and co-host AJ Snyman, an investment analyst at Peregrine Capital, to reflect on that journey.

Why watch

Few CEOs speak so openly about how close their businesses have come to the brink. Gertenbach explains how Premier bought itself time in those early months and why he still likens the CFO’s role in a turnaround to the limousine driver in The Bodyguard.

He is just as direct about money.

“The biggest creator of long-term value of a CEO is his ability to do capital allocation,” he says. His lessons from Brait on putting capital to work form the heart of the episode and offer valuable insights for investors.

What you’ll hear

• Why a capital investment plan at Premier is rarely right before “Plan 38”.
• How a 120-second stop at a spaza shop, repeated tens of thousands of times a day, helped build a competitive moat that critics overlooked.
• The walk through a Pretoria warehouse that led to Premier’s first mega-bakery.
• How Premier is integrating Rhodes Food Group.
• Why forecasting is a swearword at Premier.
• The ambition Gertenbach has set himself for the next five years.
• How a flight with his son, sitting on a pillow in the pilot’s seat, inspired him to take up flying.
  

Watch the full episode youtube.com – here.

Building Conviction, Peregrine Capital’s podcast series, is also available on all leading podcast platforms, with new episodes every few weeks.

This podcast is produced by Peregrine Capital (Pty) Ltd, an authorised Financial Services Provider. Views expressed by speakers are their own at the time of recording, may change without notice, and don't necessarily reflect those of Peregrine Capital. Nothing in this podcast is an offer, solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any security; Peregrine Capital and its associated funds may hold positions in companies discussed, which listeners should bear in mind. Statements on strategy, targets or expected performance are forward-looking, involve risk and uncertainty, and actual results may differ materially. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Listening does not create a client or advisory relationship with Peregrine Capital. This episode was recorded on 12 August 2026.