A Cape Town company that turned the ordinary cooler box into an essential status symbol has topped a new list of South Africa's fastest growing companies.
For the third consecutive year, international data company Statista and News24 have released South Africa's Development ChampionSome of the country's fastest-growing companies, based on revenue growth between 2021 and 2024.
Companies that generated revenues of at least $100 000* in 2021 (approximately R1.5 million at the prevailing exchange rate in 2021) and revenues of at least $1.5 million (R27.5 million) by 2024 were considered for the project. Revenue growth should be primarily organic (in other words, “internally” stimulated).
Entrants must be independent businesses, not any type of subsidiary or branch office. Their operational headquarters were to be in South Africa. Both JSE-listed and privately held companies were considered, and entrants to the Financial Times survey of top-growing companies from across the continent were also presented.
last year, More than 50 South African companies were included in the Financial Times one of its top 130 Africa's fastest growing companies List.
Topping the rankings this year was Fieldbar, with an average annual revenue growth (compound annual growth rate) of approximately 162%.
The company was founded by chartered accountant Lee Hartman and industrial designer Corban Warrington, who saw a gap in the cooler box market for a more luxurious product.
After selling his software business to Telkom, Hartman founded Fieldbar in 2020 with Warrington, who designed the company's first product, The Drinks Box.
With minimalist designs in dark colours, the locally manufactured cooler box quickly gained popularity in South Africa. Made from scratch-resistant and durable plastic, the cooler box has a five-year warranty, with each 10-litre product retailing for around R2 700.
Fieldbar's Espresso Martini Cooler Box range.
Fieldbar products are now sold in over 200 stores in Australia, Europe, the UK and the US, including high-end shops such as Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Williams-Sonoma and Anthropologie.
Warrington told News24 that around 30% of the group's revenue is now earned overseas, with plans to increase this – particularly in the US.
“It's a very interesting market for us, and it's growing really fast.”
The group has also been developing a new “soft” cooler made of more flexible materials over the past two years.
Remgro's venture capital firm Invenfin has a stake in Fieldbar.
Read | SA start-up Fieldbar has doubled its cooler box production, but still can't keep up
Other fast-growing companies in the top ten include international money transfer platform Future Forex, JSE-listed Nedbank, construction group Altacon Projects and GoTime, which rebranded from TimeBank earlier this year. Since its launch in 2019, the bank now serves 12 million customers.
The top ten also includes last year's winner: Paymeno, a platform that gives employees instant access to pay they've already earned. The Stellenbosch-headquartered company was co-founded in 2019 by former Springbok rugby player Brian Habana.
*Revenues are expressed in US dollars using the exchange rate at the end of the relevant fiscal year.