ButtaNutt Founder Shares Lessons On Scaling A South African Plant Based Food Brand

ButtaNutt founder and CEO, Antoine van Heerde, shares five lessons on building a South African food brand at scale (Image supplied)

That growth, coupled with a bold move to cut plant-based milk prices by 25% during a high inflation period, has positioned ButtaNutt as a serious challenger in a category still in its infancy locally.

Plant- based milk currently makes up an estimated 1.5% of dairy consumption in South Africa, but is growing steadily as consumers shift towards more health-conscious and environmentally friendly choices.

For founder and CEO, Antoine van Heerden, scaling a niche category hasn’t come easy. “From access to capital, a talent pipeline, and needing to strike a balance between a high-quality product and affordability – the learnings have come thick and fast,” he says.

From student digs kitchen to strategic partnership

He started the company during his final year of Mechanical Engineering at Stellenbosch University, where he began roasting and blending nut butters for sale at local markets.

As demand grew, ButtaNutt transitioned from campus-based incubation at the LaunchLab to full-scale production facilities, first in Worcester, then Cape Town, and now in Paarl, in the Cape Winelands.

In 2025, ButtaNutt entered a strategic partnership with investment group PSG Group, accelerating its growth while maintaining its founding principles of ethical sourcing, real food, and support for South African agriculture.

Today, the business is co-owned by Dan Hugo, the company’s chief marketing officer, who has played a central role in expanding ButtaNutt’s footprint and shaping its health-first brand identity.

5 lessons

Here, he shares five lessons from building a South African food brand at scale.

1. 1. Purpose before product leads to production wins

      Having a clear vision for the future ButtaNutt brand from the start has been a powerful inspiration and motivator for growth.

      “What began as a student project was always rooted in something bigger,” says van Heerden, whose family background in macadamia farming shaped the brand early on.

      “We are not just selling products. We are building a brand that supports local agriculture, better nutrition, and long-term sustainability. That clarity of purpose carries through everything we do, and customers feel it.”

1. 1. Build a brand you actually believe in

      For van Heerden, credibility comes from use, not slogans. "We drink our own milk every morning. If it's not good enough for our kitchen table, it doesn't go on the shelf," he says.

      That daily test shapes everything from ingredient sourcing to packaging decisions and keeps product development grounded in real-world performance rather than claims.

1. 1. Risk vs. reward is carefully balanced

      While risks need to be calculated, they also require a leap of faith – which can pay off.

      “A defining moment came with the commissioning of our purpose-built plant-based UHT Milks facility, a three-year investment process that enabled us to significantly reduce prices.

      "We decreased our 1L milk prices by 25% during a tough inflationary period. It was a close-our-eyes-and-jump moment for the brand, but it allowed us to make plant-based products more accessible at a time when consumers needed it most,” explains van Heerden.

1. 1. Use partnerships to shift the market

      For van Heerden, tapping into partnership networks is critical for scale. He points to the example of ButtaNutt’s partnership with local coffee shops and café chains, where consumers were being charged a significant premium for imported plant-based milk alternatives.

      “Our relationships in the coffee shop sector have supported the effort to reset the plant-based surcharge in the café environment.

      "There is no longer any justification to serve imported products and charge a R10 surcharge for the swap.

      "We have fantastic partners who have already reset their pricing, highlighted by Kauai, who have a permanent free-swap-out, but we still have a way to go,” says van Heerden.

1. Global expansion must be underpinned by local roots and heritage

   Despite having a strong export market in Mauritius and setting up a UK operation to explore offshore opportunities, van Heerden believes that staying true to your beginnings as you scale is crucial for sustained growth.

   “Despite offshore growth objectives, we are proudly South African, and we see immense potential here. Our primary focus will always remain on the South African consumer. Anything abroad is secondary to that.”

With the Paarl facility now at full capacity and products listed in more than 1,500 stores nationwide, the next phase centres on deepening local nut supply chains, expanding the affordable milk range, and supporting café partners to remove the plant-based surcharge.