New name and logo for the Market

It's official: the world’s largest fruit and vegetable establishment, the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market, is now known as the Joburg Market.

The new name and logo were unveiled at the market in a ceremony in which the entity also forged an innovative relationship with football legends.

Speaking at the renaming, Joburg Market's chief executive officer, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, said the market had been highly successful and a leading player in the local fresh produce industry. "But to compete on a global platform, we needed to enhance our brand and offering," he said.

At present trading only in fruit and vegetables, the name change is made with a view of becoming a food hub selling a wide range of food, including meat, poultry and fish. With the new name and logo, it also hopes to extend its reach even further, into the continent and worldwide.

"Our new positioning as a food hub and our African growth strategy will open up a host of new opportunities, including access to new markets to advance the interest of farmers and the guarantee of quality food security and affordability to consumers. However, our customer focus remains at the core of our business," said Ramokgopa.

Food security

As the biggest fresh produce market in the world - turning over a million tons of foodstuff a year - the market had to play a much larger role in ensuring food security in the country, he added.

"We need to ensure that poor people have access to fresh produce and we must ensure food prices remain affordable. As the market, we offer food direct to the public at affordable prices."

Explaining the new logo, which is set against a black background and shows a world map on top of which is perched two leaves, the marketing manager, Thomas Mawasha, said choosing a suitable logo "comes very far".

"We did surveys because people referred to the market by various names, including City Deep, the market, fresh produce market and so forth. We asked people to submit new names for the market and the list included names like Jozi Market. Top of the list was Joburg Market, a name that we liked because it strikes a resonance."

The globe denoted it as a player in the world market, according to Mawasha.

"The leafy part on top of the globe serves to reflect the market's fresh produce offering, of which fruits and vegetables play a significant part. The gold horizon underpins the rich gold history of the city," he said.

Because of Joburg Market's expanding component, the company is now working towards a 2010 vision, centred on creating a "Market of the Future". To this end, it is making huge investments in the refurbishment of warehouse trading facilities and infrastructure to bolster produce safety and standards.

The future

"The Market of the Future is a positive development that will work to address a number of key issues, including transforming the way we interact with stakeholders through technology to make our business far more efficient," said Ramokgopa.

In one of the steps towards the success, the Market has revamped its website.

"The new website has enhanced functionality, bringing it more in line with current online trends. One can register for an online newsletter and also lodge grievances. The future enhanced look of the website will include a FarmLink 24, which is a fresh produce tracking system that will provide farmers with detailed information about the arrival of produce at the market and their sales status," said Mawasha.

And, with Johannesburg set to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, the Joburg Market is playing a part to ensure the football tournament is promoted. In partnership with the City's 2010 Unit, it is providing healthy nutrition in the form of fruit to some 22 football legends as part of the drive to promote healthy lifestyles.

"We have never sufficiently acknowledged the contribution of legends to our soccer. We live with the sad but real challenge of today's hustle and bustle of high stress and pressured environment that sees many people drifting from the basics of healthy living to a global fast food culture," Ramokgopa said.

The 22 soccer legends were selected to represent the City at various functions leading up to the World Cup. These include soccer clinics, media briefings, marketing campaigns and unveiling of 2010 projects.

Speaking on behalf of the players, Patrick Molala said the partnership with the market would go a long way in developing the game of soccer in Johannesburg.

"As soccer legends we seek to ensure that what was built in the past is pulled together to develop the country and soccer at large. We wish that this partnership will help other footballers live a healthy lifestyle," he said.