Keanu Ferreira
Interview with Keanu Ferreira
FOUNDER, FERREIRA FRESH
Lives in: Johannesburg, South Africa
Keanu Ferreira launched Ferreira Fresh, a South African fruit and vegetable supplier, in 2016 from the back of a hotel kitchen in Johannesburg. What started as a small operation has grown into a major distributor serving restaurants, retailers, and corporate clients. How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz spoke to him about the challenges of building the business, the lessons learned along the way, and his plans for expansion.
Topics discussed during the interview include:
- Launching the business from a hotel kitchen in Johannesburg
- The strategies behind securing clients
- Sourcing fresh produce: Balancing direct farmer relationships and market purchases
- How Ferreira Fresh approaches branding and marketing
- Insights gained from building and scaling the business
Watch the full interview below: (only available on howwemadeitinafrica.com)
Interview summary
After finishing school, Keanu Ferreira aspired to become a professional golfer. However, his father, a seasoned entrepreneur in the fresh produce industry, encouraged him to either pursue further education or get a job. Keanu briefly studied commerce but after a few months realised it wasn’t for him. “I’d rather have money in my pocket than a degree,” he thought at the time.
Keanu’s first job was at his uncle’s restaurant, where he worked as a kitchen hand, waiter, and eventually a floor manager. After a year, he sought a new challenge and approached his father about joining his business, Fruitspot, a wholesaler, processor, and distributor of fresh fruit and vegetables.
His father had co-founded Fruitspot more than two decades earlier before selling it to Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed retailer Massmart. Although his father was still managing director, the company was already under its new owners, which meant Keanu had to apply just like everybody else. Starting from the ground up, he delivered orders, loaded trucks, and visited some customers. However, perceptions of nepotism among colleagues prompted him to leave and forge his own path.
Striking out on his own
Keanu knew his future lay in the fruit and vegetable industry. “It was always in my blood,” he says, recalling school holidays spent working at Fruitspot. He identified an opportunity to bring new energy and better service to an industry dominated by older players.
In 2016, he launched Ferreira Fresh with his cousin Mark. They started in a friend’s hotel kitchen, where they were given three months of free rent, and began by supplying fruit boxes to offices. The work was far from glamorous. “Waking up early – 4 o’clock in the morning – going to the market, buying this stuff, coming back, packing this stuff in the box, going out to deliver to your client that you had, finding the new clients … So it was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it. It was all learning at the same time,” Keanu remembers.
Their first customer was a friend’s father, and they soon began pitching to nearby businesses. The first month saw a turnover of R15,000 (about $806), but Keanu quickly realised that selling individual fruit boxes to offices wouldn’t sustain the business. The company then shifted its focus to restaurants, with his uncle’s establishment – where Ferreira had first worked – becoming its first client. From there it started supplying restaurants like Teta Mari and Rockets, which helped build momentum.
Ferreira Fresh’s warehouse facility
Scaling up
As the business grew, so did its need for space. The small fridge at the back of the hotel kitchen was no longer sufficient, prompting a move to a larger facility in Linbro Park, Johannesburg. By this time, Keanu’s father, who had retired from Fruitspot, joined the business, bringing decades of industry expertise. His cousin, Mark, however, had another business in the furniture industry, and decided to leave Ferreira Fresh. “So then it just became me and my dad,” Keanu says.
When reflecting on how the company expanded its client base beyond family and friends, Keanu points to two key factors: quality and service. “Everybody looks at price because everybody wants to save money. But my approach wasn’t price. Price came last in my opinion. First it was the quality and then it was the service. So I would go to whoever I wanted to get and I would promise them that my service will be the best that they’ve ever seen.”
Word of mouth played a crucial role in expansion. Today, Ferreira Fresh supplies restaurants, canteens, retail stores, and even companies that source from them to supply major retailers like Woolworths.
The company’s fleet of over 60 branded trucks serves as mobile advertisements. Each vehicle features unique, playful designs that capture attention on the road.
The daily hunt for fresh produce
Ferreira Fresh sources its stock through a mix of direct farmer relationships and the fresh produce market. Around 200 tonnes of fruit and vegetables move through its facility daily. With his father’s industry connections, the company has built strong partnerships with farmers, but daily market trips remain essential. “A lot of different small farmers send to the market and every day you got to go there. So I’m there every day Monday to Saturday from like four in the morning because if you don’t go there early, you won’t get the stuff that you need,” Keanu explains.
Sourcing fresh produce, however, comes with its challenges. Seasonal shortages and fluctuating prices are constant realities. One day, avocados might be difficult to source; the next day, it could be potatoes. “It makes it exciting. It’s like the stock exchange. One day you could buy tomatoes for 50 bucks, the next day it’s 80 bucks, the next day it’s 110. It’s what we love. We wake up every day and we’re excited to go to work.”
Securing an investor
In 2024, Ferreira Fresh secured investment from Vuna Partners, a private equity firm. Although the company wasn’t actively looking for an investor, the partnership proved mutually beneficial. “They’ve been amazing. They’ve helped us. They’re also level one BEE, which helps because a lot of people are putting pressure on BEE levels and that will help us,” Keanu notes.
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is a government policy aimed at increasing economic participation for historically disadvantaged groups in South Africa. For companies like Ferreira Fresh, having a BEE-compliant investor enhances access to contracts with government-linked entities and large corporate clients that prioritise BEE ratings.
What’s next?
Ferreira Fresh, which now employs around 350 people, is largely concentrated in Gauteng but is eyeing expansion to Cape Town or Durban. This move would require setting up warehouses and fleets in those regions. “A lot of our clients in Joburg, they’re also based in Cape Town,” Keanu says. “And they’re dying for us to go there. So we’re looking into it and hopefully soon we can do that.”
Entrepreneurship lessons
“Don’t do tomorrow what you can do today,” is one of Keanu’s entrepreneurship tips. He also emphasises persistence. “It won’t always work the first time, but if you carry on, being persistent, most likely you’ll come right. And things don’t happen overnight. It’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of dedication.”
