Birthed from humble beginnings within the Eastern Cape, Dynamic Brands Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd began its journey when current CEO, John Kew, identified a unique gap in the dilutable dairy blend market. Like many great entrepreneurial minds before him, John believed in the power of ideas that at first may not make sense.
Fueled by this belief, leveraging off his years within the dairy industry and armed with R20 000,00 in seed capital, John formed the Dynamic Brands Trust in 1999 and launched operations from a garage in Komga. From here Dynamic Brands soon outgrew its modest workspace, moving to East London in 2002.
In 2007, after several years of tireless work, John and his dedicated team found the formula to success in the product we now know to be Fusion Dairy Blend. However, Dynamic Brands soon realized that they couldn’t simply enter the market, going head-to-head with established and listed competitors, and seek growth. What that they needed at that stage was a strategy that would unlock growth and solidify their presence as a contender within the dilutes category.
The plan that was subsequently put into place signified the first innovative solution developed by Dynamic Brands. The business had realized that if they had any hope of gaining traction within the market, they needed to disrupt it… and this disruption occurred when Dynamic Brands took the bold step of passing a 40% discount to the market leader at the time. Through this, the business succeeded in triggering an unprecedented shift in product affordability. What resulted was a previously aspirational product for South Africa’s lower LSM’s becoming affordable – driving sought after growth within the dilutes category.
As anticipated, the increase in volumes allowed for pre-negotiated discounts to be unlocked with Dynamic Brand’s suppliers, and from here the business gradually achieved profitability as their plan had intended. However, ever-increasing shipping costs and commodity prices soon posed a serious threat to Dynamic Brand’s ability to sustain their position.
Cue the next step in innovation… reverse integration.
In order to remain profitable, whilst simultaneously maintaining affordability to the consumer, Dynamic Brands chose to invest in their supply chain… and it was in 2009 that the business began its journey into reverse integration. Now in 2021, Dynamic Brands has successfully harnessed each step of the manufacturing process, from pellet to pallet. Through gradually taking hold of every aspect of the production process, Dynamic Brand’s succeeded in sustaining their position within the market and maintaining profitability as business.
Having begun its journey as a humble beverage business, Dynamic Brands now not only possesses the ability to manufacture a product of excellent quality but the full suite of capabilities along the product’s manufacturing process. The business boasts its own Plastic Division, where closures, handles and preforms are manufactured. Followed by the equipment and technical skill necessary for the preforms to be blown into the bottles within which the products are supplied.
Throughout its tenure, Dynamic Brand’s unwavering commitment to remaining at the forefront of innovation – for both its consumers and the business itself – has been fundamental to its success. With the ability to demonstrate resilience and reinvention no matter the circumstance, the business has weathered longstanding competition, never before seen shipping and commodity prices, and now in 2021 – a global pandemic. So, the question one should now ask themselves is, where to from here for Dynamic Brands and what will the next step in innovation be?