Business Journey -The People behind the name
Victor & Nadine Wilkens , Started Nade 2015.
Victor, an avid ornithologist, loves to spend his time in nature and on the Timbavati farm. Born and raised in the Lowveld , he is a proud scholar of Uplands and matriculated in Nelspruit Hoër in 2004. After studding at the Northwest University , Potchefstroom, he moved to the city to explore his options and career routes but his heart was back in the Lowveld. After convincing Nadine to marry him and join the slowveld life, they move to White River. Victor went back to his love of the great outdoors and worked in the forest harvesting industry.
Nadine has worked in the graphic and design industry for the past 9 years. After completing her studies at the Northwest University, Potchefstroom, also the beautiful town where she met Victor, she moved to Pretoria and started to work for the university on an EU funded HIV campaign, this gave rise to a passion for business and the rush of the marketing & communication industry. Fast forward a few years and the need to do and achieve more, driven by a passion for innovation, Chocolate and love of the kitchen; it was easy to see the road into the food industry.
Victor and Nadine travelled and explored the technologically driven world of the confectionary industry. Tasted, loved, cringed and laughed at the great unknown world of compound and couverture chocolate. Many conversations over the love of red wine, chocolate and tappas styled food, they decided to partake on a journey and road less travelled. Accompanied by some good wine and load of enthusiasm, they haven’t looked back.
Their beautiful daughter, Eike was born in 2015. Her name is inspired by the Oak tree lanes of Potch, Oak in Afrikaans is Eike.
After learning the tricks and delicious trades of the chocolate industry, many late nights, failures and frustration later, the Nåde brand came in to be.
The Company in overview
Nåde, pronounced Na-ode – is a Norwegian word for Grace! In 2015 the company was registered and officially started to trade on a commercial level, supplying bulk yogurt coating chocolate and dark cacao coating to the local market. Located in the beautiful Lowveld of Mpumalanga the newly renovated factory looks over farm and hills! The 700m² Facility boasts a newly imported 18 meter moulding line with a daily production capacity of 1.3 tonne per 8 hour shift. (46 000 bars per shift, Excluding Bulk block production) Finding the golden high way between bitter and sweet but never compromising on quality, the adventure of being a company of excellence has only started!
The Mission
We strive to be a company of excellence, providing top quality products to a growing health-conscious market, adapting and evolving in time to a multi-national organization supplying a global demand of sugar- free and reduced sugar products.
Values • Be honest in our ways of business and production • Never compromise on quality • Honour and uplift our staff • Never tolerate mediocrity • Always be on time
The Commitment
Our People - Treat our People with care, dignity and respect - Uplift, develop and empower our People through training and education - Always reward Excellence - Promote Lateral thinking and innovation Our Customers - We strive to maintain the highest quality and standards - Always produce high quality products, sourced from the best ingredients - Stay in touch with customer needs and preference - Always treat any inquiry with the utmost importance and respect Our Performance - Never compromise on quality - Always deliver on time - Uplift and adhere to all safety and quality procedures - Always act with integrity
Products
A brief Chocolate journey
Where does this delicious treat start its journey? The answer is simple; chocolate is made from cacao that has been cultivated by many cultures for at least three millennia in Mesoamerica. The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste and must be fermented to develop the flavour. After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, and roasted. The shell is removed to produce cacao nibs, which are then ground to cocoa mass, pure chocolate in rough form.
Because the cocoa mass is usually liquefied before being moulded with or without other ingredients, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor also may be processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Unsweetened baking chocolate (bitter chocolate) contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, a combination of cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk, but no cocoa solids. Chocolate has become one of the most popular food types and flavours in the world, and a vast number of foodstuffs involving chocolate have been created. Although cocoa originated in the Americas, today Western Africa produces almost two-thirds of the world's cocoa, with Ivory Coast growing almost half of it.
Our Proud Products
Bulk Manufacturing of 5 key products forms the foundation of the business profile:
Sugar-Free Dark Cocoa Coating
Sweet Chocolate Coating
White Chocolate Coating
Yogurt Coating and Sugar free Yogurt Coating
The above-mentioned products are produced in 2.5kg blocks and packed in boxes of 10 kg each, with an average of 10 Tones production per month across the range of bulk products.
The Nåde Sugar free chocolate bar range is a sophisticated blend of rich Valencia & Grenada Cacao, infused with vanilla, set against a background of delicate aromatics and Mild Soft flavour. The recipe was developed with diabetics in mind and the growing need for healthy alternatives in the market, without compromising taste and experience! A combination or Erythritol and Stevia are used to add sweetness to the product. Both these products are natural plant extracts and contains zero calories. The Nåde Range includes 5 exciting combinations: Roasted & Salted Pumpkin Seed in a 59% cacao chocolate, Desiccated Coconut in Mint Flavoured Dark Chocolate, the range also includes a roasted hazelnut option. For the serious Dark Chocolate lover Cacao Nibs set in 59% Dark Chocolate or the 67% Cacao Plain Chocolate is a must!
New exited ranges have been developed and will soon be featured on the product list!
More about our Cocoa
Our cocoa derivatives -namely cocoa powder, cocoa butter & cocoa mass are made from cocoa beans whose main origins are from West Africa (Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana). It is a blend of High-quality beans that infuses earthy flavours. We import our product from a company with an international presence and a commitment to environmental sustainability and fair trade regulations.
Why use Stevia & Erithritol The goodness of stevia starts with the leaf. Because the leaf is 200-350 times sweeter than sugar, a little goes a long way. This means that you only need 1/5th of the land to provide the same amount of sweetness as you would with other natural sweeteners made from sugar cane or corn. Less land means less water and less energy. Both Stevia and Erythritol have a negligible effect on blood glucose, which makes it attractive to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets with the added benefit of having almost zero diuretic effects.
