[Originally published in 2013] When Elizabeth Anne Greyvensteyn first started selling rusks to her local community over seventy years ago, it would have been hard to imagine that her humble business would grow to become one of South Africa’s most iconic brands. Now employing over 250 people, the Ouma Rusks factory in Molteno is the lifeblood of the town’s small economy, owned by South Africa’s third largest food producer Foodcorp.
Founded in a community struggling to combat the effects of the Great Depression in the late 1930’s, now the stuff of legend, Ouma Greyvensteyn and her friends each invested half a crown to help fund local mission work. Greyvensteyn put her renowned baking talents to good use, selling rusks to the community. Soon, the demand for her delicious biscuits outweighed her ability to supply them, kick-starting what would eventually become a formal family business venture.
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Oom Sam Prinsloo, (94), fondly recalls: “I will never forget – the Greyvensteyn family bought a small motor car – a Singer – which they modified to deliver biscuits to the town and the train station, to be sent to places like Queenstown or wherever they got orders from. It started giving them hassles in the end and they had to get a little van which was extremely primitive and then they eventually started to expand the business with larger trucks. They started out...
