SA’s leading antibiotic-free pork producer Eskort, turns 107!
As part of celebrating this (humongous- pun intended) journey that began as far back as 1917, Eskort would be embarking on various activations in their respective stores, nationally.
The company was initiated in the small town of Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal, when nine farmers started the Farmers Cooperative Bacon Factory in 1917.
It started making sausages in 1920, and they won a gold medal at annual Rand Easter Show, that year.
Today it boast more than 300 world-class pork products, ranging from high-end fresh cuts to convenience meals and staples.
“It’s not often a brand gets to celebrate a 107th birthday,” says Eskort Marketing Director Marcelle Pienaar. “And we wanted to do something epic to mark the occasion but also underpin it with a nod to who we are and where we have come from.”
When you turn 107, you definitely deserve 107 cakes. But, we didn’t just settle for ordinary cakes, says the excited Pienaar.
As South delivering quality you can trust since 1917, we took it a step further – our cakes featured pork sausages and bacon, of course, she remarked.
“Birthdays are a big family occasion, and these cakes were an expression of the family values that have sustained Eskort over the years,” says Pienaar. “Many people call us a ‘family corporate’, so celebrating our birthday with delicious cakes seemed very fitting”.
And here are 107 reasons it’s easy to love
1. We started in 1917 in the small KwaZulu-Natal town of Estcourt – and we’re still there.
2. For our 107th birthday we made 107 pork sausage and bacon cakes, we kid you not. Check them out here.
3. Today we employ more than 2,200 staff.
4. In 1954, we opened a factory in another small town, Heidelberg in Gauteng, and this year it’s celebrating its 70th birthday with a 10,000m² expansion.
5. We may have small-town roots but we also have a national footprint, supplying major retailers and our 26 stores (which will be 30 by the end of the year).
6. Partnerships with our farmers have been key to our success.
7. We’ve survived two pandemics: Spanish flu in 1918 and Covid-19 in 2020.
8. Our staff’s habit of singing while they work spawned an annual company choir competition, and at this year’s provincial competition, we captured a video of 107 memorable moments.
9. The farms that supply us are regularly audited and certified by the animal health directorate at the Department of Agriculture.
10. Our first transport ‘fleet’ consisted of eight oxen that delivered bacon to the Estcourt railway station.
11. We lean heavily on our history and heritage but boy, do we have fun! Who remembers the ‘We Eat Russians’ and Springbox campaigns?
12. You can win birthday prizes! Enter by telling us about your first memory with Eskort in up to 107 characters and stand a chance to WIN 107 Eskort Store vouchers throughout October!
13. Eskort suppliers follow the South African Pork Producers Organisation (SAPPO) ‘Pork 360’ protocols.
14. Pork chops, ribs, eisbein, gammon – we are so much more than ‘just’ bacon.
15. Our longevity is rooted in strong family values, brave leadership, and a commitment to adaptability and growth.
16. Fan of white noise? Now try fry noise! Listen to 107 seconds of our bacon sizzling on YouTube.
17. Our farmers reuse the nutrients in wastewater.
18. Our food safety system assists with a world-class approach to quality premium products and helps us set a standard for food safety in SA.
19. Eskort’s sausages won their first gold medal at the Rand Easter Show in 1920 and they’re still South Africa’s favourites.
20. Every ingredient in our 300-plus products meets stringent food safety standards.
21. Factory hygiene starts with rigorous access control measures.
22. You can cook us, fry us, braai us, bake us and roast us – and our new range of air fryer meals makes us even easier to love. Daily Maverick food editor Tony Jackman gave them a rave review.
23. Sustainable agriculture is at the heart of our farmers’ operations.
24. Running a century-old family corporate like Eskort involves balancing tradition with innovation.
25. We’re getting ready to welcome the media to one of our stores. Naturally, they’ll be there for 107 minutes.
26. Our third Liberi wines collaboration with Saronsberg Cellar recently raised R2 million for vulnerable children.
27. We helped with the UK’s bacon shortage in World War 1 and supplied a million tins of sausages for Allied troops in World War 2.
28. From one legend to many… Eskort is sending birthday hampers of iconic South Africa products to 107 storied South African personalities.
29. Our farmers are our shareholders, and that makes us the custodians of the land.
30. By analysing market trends and consumer behaviour, our product developers are always ahead of the curve.
31. Bacon biltong and bacon soup? Yes, we make them too.
32. Eskort’s website has more than 400 pork recipes, and many prioritise healthy eating.
33. Women make up 54% of our workforce.
34. Our Heidelberg factory has Africa’s largest continuous box freezer, capable of freezing 120,000kg of products every 24 hours.
35. Our 107 birthday cakes were donated to SA Harvest and Salt River High School in Cape Town.
36. All our pork is antibiotic-free.
37. Our qualities of resilience, visionary leadership, and the ability to meet challenges head-on with bravery and adaptability keep us going.
38. Through Give a Rand, Give a Hand, we team up with customers to feed underprivileged children.
39. Our factories are inspected daily by two graders, two meat inspectors, four meat examiners and a veterinarian.
40. Our vibrant packaging in the colours of the South African flag is easy to spot on the refrigerator shelves.
41. The South African Bureau of Standards made a documentary about Eskort as part of its international marketing campaign.
42. Eskort’s farmers operate ‘vulture restaurants’, providing a safe food source for the threatened birds.
43. Our products range from high-end braai-ready pork cuts to ready-to-cook meals and staples like polony.
44. Breakfast without streaky bacon? It’s unthinkable.
45. Freezer management at our Heidelberg factory is automated, data-driven and reliant on robotics.
46. Back to those birthday cakes … the savoury versions were focaccia with an onion jam base, cream cheese icing and Gold Medal pork sausage adornments. And the sweet vanilla cakes were covered in vanilla buttercream icing and dotted with bacon decorations. Yum!
47. We deliver deliciousness in every pack and provide families with products and easy-to-prepare recipes that make their lives better.
48. For us, the barometer of a good meal isn’t an Instagram shot … it’s an empty plate.
49. Auditors check the safety and quality of our animals’ feed.
50. Creamy mild peri peri, creamy black pepper or zesty citrus. That’s how we roll with our premium pork fillets.
51. After 17 years as CEO, Arnold Prinsloo is an experienced and visionary leader who prioritises quality, value for money and integrity.
52. We send our staff on taste-testing courses to help them recognise premium quality ingredients and explain them properly.
53. Each of our stores has a braai kiosk where customers can buy things like boerewors rolls, Russian rolls, prego steak rolls and our amazing rib burgers.
54. A resource planning system tracks each piece of pork throughout our factories and traces it back to the farm.
55. Ready, steady, go! Eskort’s ready meals are the answer to midweek madness.
56. Twenty-one of our stores are corporate-owned and five are owned and operated by franchisees.
57. Our pork is a great source of high-quality protein, essential for building and maintaining muscle mass.
58. We keep moving with the times and innovating technologies to improve productivity and quality. We never stop setting the standard.
59. Our stores’ new range of branded products includes braai tongs, shirts and socks.
60. We have no fewer than 23 sausages and vienna products, ranging from cheese grillers and chicken viennas to German bockwurst and smoked Russians.
61. It’s on the land where our biosecurity journey begins, and biosecurity at our farms meets the highest international standards.
62. More and more consumers are turning to Eskort pork as beef and lamb become increasingly unaffordable.
63. We have something for all South Africans, regardless of income.
64. What would Christmas be without gammon?
65. In 1946 we had a female chairperson, Mrs Lloyd. She’s one of only nine chairpersons in our 107-year history.
66. Our lean cuts like pork loin, tenderloin and sirloin are lower in fat and better for you.
67. Marketing director Marcelle Pienaar introduced a rebrand and a cultural shift that has powered Eskort’s growth.
68. Our factory extension in Heidelberg generated 200 job opportunities.
69. Our farmers promote soil health and minimise water and energy use.
70. Our premium export-quality products set the standard in South Africa.
71. We move fluidly through supply, product development, manufacturing, brand-building and retail impact.
72. Eskort antibiotic-free pork ensures healthier and safer products for consumers.
73. Eskort factories are audited annually for international Food Safety Security Certification.
74. You can trim visible fat, and grill, bake or roast our pork products to reduce their overall fat content.
75. Each of our stores employs 30 young locals.
76. By nurturing ecological relationships on our farms, we reinforce the connection between agriculture and nature.
77. A lekker braai needs more than just meat. Our stores have everything you need.
78. We’re an active participant in the communities where we operate.
79. Part of our secret sauce is … sauce. From prego to pepper and mustard to mayo, we have the sauce to make your Eskort pork even easier to love.
80. Our factories are just as obsessed with biosecurity as our farmers.
81. Eskort pork is endlessly versatile. Whether you prefer it smoked, marinated, pickled or fresh, there’s a product for you.
82. Our Heidelberg factory’s four generators produce enough electricity to power 800 houses.
83. The S.A.F.E protocols our farmers follow address food safety, traceability, animal welfare and environmental stewardship.
84. We’re laser-focused on the retail experience, which includes the way our stores and staff look, as well as excellent service.
85. Hygiene practices for factory staff include handwashing and head-to-toe PPE, and they receive regular training on biosecurity.
86. Whether it’s shoulder, back, round cut, minced, diced or streaky, Eskort bacon will add sizzle to your life.
87. Eskort’s #IloveEatingRussians is a nominee for social media brand campaign of the year at the 4th annual South African Social Media Awards.
88. Under CEO Arnold Prinsloo, Eskort has enjoyed sustainable double-digit annual growth and unlocked its potential as an iconic brand.
89. All our products bear the gold medal stamp. It’s our promise to customers that we value the trust we’ve earned over more than a century.
90. Our farming practices align with the highest standards of animal welfare.
91. Our Gold Medal sausages are enjoyed all over the country and are more popular than ever.
92. We’re often described as a ‘family corporate’ because of the values we embody – things like resilience, integrity and respect.
93. Eskort stores can be found in seven provinces and by the end of the year it will be eight (our new George store will be the first in the Western Cape).
94. Eskort has an incredible range of succulent ribs, including a precooked selection.
95. Every piece of equipment and surface in our factories is regularly and rigorously cleaned and disinfected, and records are kept of all biosecurity activities.
96. Eskort pork contains essential vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, selenium and B vitamins.
97. We designed our own typefaces for Eskort packaging. They’re called Barber and Spaza.
98. At the height of load-shedding, the EskomSePush app was rebranded to EskortSePush and we sent people meal suggestions based on what stage of load-shedding they were experiencing at the time.
99. A year-long LinkedIn campaign this year emphasises Eskort’s heritage by telling stories about the company’s 107-year history.
100. Eskort’s commitment to quality means our pork products are SOW-friendly.
101. Some of our stores now have walk-in chillers for the hampers sold at a significant discount to informal traders. They resell the contents at a profit in nearby communities.
102. When hundreds of people in Komani fled floods in February, Eskort’s store in the Eastern Cape town teamed up with Gift of the Givers to distribute 2,000 hotdogs.
103. Marketing Director Marcelle Pienaar was a finalist in the heritage category at this year’s Food XX Awards.
104. If you love eisbein, you’ve come to the right place. Whether it’s smoked, pickled, mini or jumbo, Eskort has you covered.
105. We sank 10 boreholes in Heidelberg and two in Estcourt to support sustainable water sourcing.
106. By the end of 2025, we aim to be one of South Africa’s top five food brands.
107. Eskort: Quality you can trust since 1917.
Top image SLM (Eskort Marketing Director Marcelle Pienaar, recorded at one of their activation stores in Meadowdale, as part of 107 celebrations).
