Snacks to sips: seven pantry staples ingrained in our ‘South Africanness’

Nestlé wants you to take a trip down memory lane and reflect on your favourite memories featuring some of its brands this Heritage Month.
Image: Nestlé

A kitchen pantry is a reflection of our personal tastes and preferences that we remain committed to. The items we choose become an instant part of our daily lives, shaping culinary experiences. When we reflect decades later, there’s never a time we can truly remember when that beloved food or snack was not a part of our lives. From lunch box staples to morning essentials and Christmas lunch specials, our favourite foods are a part of us, and therefore, a part of our heritage. 

This Heritage Month, Nestlé wants you to take a trip down memory lane and reflect on those brands that have been part of your home for decades and will be for many more to come. These are the Nestlé brands that are ingrained in our “South Africanness”; the brands that we smile when we see, whose catchy advertisements and packaging we remember vividly from when we were young, and sometimes even resist, when they evolve. 

Whether it's sneaking a teaspoon of Milo out of the tin when nobody is watching, or drinking your first cup of Nescafé or Ricoffy before a family celebration, Nestlé knows that everyone has a story to tell when it comes to its brands. It invites you to share your fondest memory featuring one of the seven Nestlé brands listed below on its Facebook post during Heritage Month for the chance to win one of 50 hampers packed with Nestlé favourites worth R550. Ts & Cs apply.

Seven of SA’s favourite Nestlé brands

KitKat

Nestlé KitKat is one of the easiest and most delicious treats to share between friends.

Nestlé KitKat.
Image: Nestlé

First marketed as a chocolate that could be consumed on the go without creating a mess, it's cemented its status as a heritage brand in SA since the 1950s.

Its tagline “Have a break, Have a KitKat” embeds this iconic brand in our memories, even more so through the advert with the dancing window-washer at the red light, and the wrapper being translated into 11 of SA’s official languages in 2019.

In 2023, the “How To Eat A KitKat” campaign went viral on social media with consumers showcasing their own unique way of how they enjoy the chocolate bar. 

Nestlé Bar One.
Image: Nestlé

Bar One

Providing you with a “25-hour day”, Nestlé Bar One was first created in SA in 1965. This locally manufactured, famous chocolate bar is filled with malted nougat and caramel, and enrobed with indulgent milk chocolate.

A firm favourite in South African households, the Nestlé Bar One promise is that extra boost of energy to see you through the day — just like that infamous, enthusiastic firefighter who barged through the family’s front door to put out a fire that wasn’t even there thanks to Nestlé Bar One giving him supernatural strength.

Labelled as “the nation’s wingman”, Nestlé Bar One energises and encourages us to live our best lives, every hour ... including the extra hours ... and beyond.

Nestlé Milo.
Image: Nestlé

Milo

First launched in 1939, Nestlé Milo is one of SA’s favourite malt drinks, teaching us that “sharing is just as important as winning” through its emotive local television commercial.

To date, over 1,000 South African primary schools have benefited from Nestlé Milo's grassroots programmes. The brand continues its commitment to get school-going children to be physically active by being involved in sport. This not only has a positive impact on how well they do in the classroom, but also they are able to apply the lessons learnt in sport throughout their chosen career paths in their adult lives.

Maggi 2-Minute Noodles.
Image: Nestlé

Maggi 2-Minute Noodles

Launched in 1982, Maggi 2-Minute Noodles is the perfect, easy-to-make meal, making everyone “giggle when they wiggle” as per their catchy South African advertisement of yesteryear.

Loved by the whole family, these instant noodles are packed with fibre and essential nutrients, making them a go-to crowd-pleaser. Whether they are consumed as a snack after school, as a lunchtime meal, in between late-night studying sessions or even at dinnertime, Maggi 2-Minute Noodles is a staple in many households. These instant noodles are convenient, come in seven delicious flavours and can be enjoyed on their own or incorporated into larger meal by adding vegetables and protein to them.

Maggi 2-Minute Noodles truly is a quintessential part of South African households and have been loved by both young and old for over four decades.

Nescafé.
Image: Nestlé 

Nescafé

Nescafé has a rich presence in SA, offering a variety of coffee experiences. Known for its superior taste, Nescafé is one of the top five most popular coffee brands in the country as voted for by Foodie Magazine last year.

In 2023, on Mandela Day, Nestlé SA opened its first local coffee mixes manufacturing plant in Hammanskraal, Babelegi. This once again showcases the brand’s dedication to employment creation, community upliftment and economic development.

Ricoffy

Nestlé Ricoffy can be traced back as far as the French Huguenots — the first people to introduce chicory-based coffee to SA.

Nestlé Ricoffy.
Image: Nestlé

A truly iconic, household name, the brand was first sold under the name Ricory in 1952, one of the first instant coffees to be developed. In 1970, Ricory was named Ricoffy and in 2002, joined the Nescafé stable.

Made from the finest coffee and chicory blend, Ricoffy is a proudly South African brand that is smooth, instant and has stood the test of time.

A staple in households across the country, Ricoffy celebrated 50 years in SA in 2021 by releasing a limited-edition heritage tin designed by a celebrated local designer.

Nestlé Nespray.
Image: Nestlé

Nespray

With more than 70 years of expertise packed into the goodness of one product, Nestlé Nespray — proudly manufactured in Mossel Bay, — fully understands the different needs of childhood development.

One of the farms that supply milk to manufacture Nestlé Nespray is Skimmelkrans Farm in George. This farm is a pilot project that is dedicated to low-carbon, regenerative agriculture and has been rolled out to 96 dairy farms along the garden route. This underscores Nestlé’s commitment to not only innovation and sustainability, but also to job creation within the communities which it serves. 

This article was sponsored by Nestle.