Success Stories
Initially, 'typical German goods' are the focus
We supply customers all over the world, from kiosk operators to retail chains. This makes us part of their success. Many trusting business relationships have developed over the decades.
Of course, the focus is often on 'typical German goods,' but also on European products - food and non-food items that we assemble and deliver individually according to the wishes of our partners.
We are particularly pleased when we receive success stories like that of Ria from Johannesburg, who shared her very personal story with ups and (Covid) downs.
'Treasures4u' in Johannesburg, South Africa - German, Belgian and Dutch food
When Ria came to Johannesburg as a young Belgian in the 80s to live and work, she enjoyed the foreign environment and the South African food - and that is still the case today. But when you live abroad for a long time, you also want something that reminds you of your old home - and that is almost always food that you can't get locally. At that time, there was already a baker in Johannesburg who baked different types of German bread. For Ria and her German partner, this was a delicacy.
After the end of apartheid, there was a real boom of Germans who emigrated to South Africa or came to work and stayed permanently. The community met at festivals organized by German companies. Popular German specialties were also served at these buffets. Food was a topic that concerned everyone, and the idea of importing specialties from Belgium and Germany took more and more shape for Ria. In Flemish Belgium, Ria's parents had a large retail business, so she was familiar with the food trade from an early age, and in South Africa, she worked in the transport and logistics sector for a long time, bringing know-how in both areas.
What do Germans like to drink? Coffee! But Tchibo does not only sell coffee in Germany. The Tchibo shop offers quality goods at fair prices with changing offers.
From 2005, Ria imported Tchibo goods and opened her first Treasures4u stores in five shopping malls in Johannesburg. In addition to non-food items, she imported selected durable foods. The German community now meets in her stores, exchanges news, and no longer feels so far from home. The demand for more German goods increases, and Ria adjusts her offerings accordingly. Thus, the little treasure chest gradually becomes a real treasure chest: pudding powder, pickles, red cabbage in a jar, rye flour, Maggi seasoning, spaetzle, Maultaschen, and more.
This is joined by Belgian waffles and Dutch licorice. The brands are not only well known to expatriates, but they also often contain less sugar and fat than similar products from South Africa.
The non-food offering gradually thins out as more and more stores open over time offering similar goods. Then, in 2019, Covid hits, dangerous not only for people but also sometimes deadly for the economy and retail. In late summer 2019, South Africa is in lockdown for weeks, and people are only allowed to buy the bare essentials. Ria reluctantly gives up her shops in the malls and now offers her quality goods exclusively wholesale and online - with great success!
Not least because Africans, of course, have long been interested in online shopping and German food.
