A new Deep Catch frozen goods warehouse is being built in the Zambian capital of Lusaka to add to the facilities in Walvis Bay, Windhoek, and Cape Town.It is another link in a network of modern frozen goods warehouses serving the Southern African Development Community (SA DC), according to group chief executive officer and co-founder Lew ton Geyser.Established in 2007 by Lewton’s son Jared, the Deep Catch group is one of the leading suppliers and distributors of perishable foods in the SADC.It supplies frozen goods into Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mozambique.The group is the agent and regional distributor for several international brands.It is a leading importer of meat and poultry products via Walvis Bay, Cape Town and Durban. Deep Catch Trading also exports Namibian fish and South African food products for wholesale distribution throughout the SADC region.The distribution network includes a barge which delivers supplies to houseboats and lodges on the Zambezi River.Customers include commodity food chains, institutional caterers, and meat and sausage production factories.Lusaka was selected for the next warehouse because of its central location. It will serve the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Zambian Copperbelt and the Tete region of Mozambique, according to Geyser.The first phase of the warehouse will be able to accommodate 5 000 tons of frozen goods, but there is room for expansion.It will be constructed from modular “refrigeration pods” which were designed by Deep Catch engineers and are made in Cape Town.“Feedback from the market tells us that it will grow quickly,” he adds.Further expansion will be facilitated through the Imperial group, which acquired 100% of Deep Catch Namibia Holdings in June 2021.In a media release issued at the time, Imperial Group CEO Mohammed Akoojee said: “Imperial is excited about this acquisition which is in line with our ‘Gateway to Africa’ strategy.“It provides our Market Access business with the opportunity to increase our reach into the consumer market and expand our footprint with new capabilities on the African continent.Through the expansive cold chain capability and extensive network acquired through Deep Catch, Imperial’s Market Access will be positioned to enter and build its cold chain capability and product category expansion in its existing markets of operation in Sub-Saharan Africa (mainly South Africa, Mozambique, Ghana and Nigeria), where there is substantial demand for affordable protein products.”
