From supplying every single piece of chocolate for Woolworths 20 years ago to liquidation 

Former Woolworths supplier Beyers Chocolates has filed for liquidation after what its founder, Kees Beyers, calls an abuse of power from the South African retailer. 

Woolworths has denied that it acted unfairly in its dealings with Beyers, saying its relationship with the company officially ended in January 2025 after sharing its intentions with it in September 2024. 

The retailer has also made it clear that it was not Beyers’ only client and that it cannot be responsible for the actions of a business that it has been separated from for over a year. 

Nonetheless, Beyers Chocolates is shutting down after 39 years of operation and over 3 decades as a supplier to Woolworths. 

This closure is expected to affect 700 people who worked at Beyers, who recently lost their jobs after the company expanded its operations to serve other clients. 

The expansion to serve clients other than Woolworths led the retailer to end its agreement with Beyers, which had been based on exclusivity. 

Kees Beyers explained to 702 that it was almost impossible for the company to keep operating after it lost a customer that provided around 50% of its turnover. 

Beyers was born and raised in Belgium, after which he moved to South Africa in 1985 and launched his chocolate company in 1987. 

The company grew quickly and became a supplier to Woolworths in 1990, which marked the beginning of a 34-year partnership with the retailer.

“Everything went well for many, many years. We supplied Woolworths for 34 years, and it grew to the point where we were voted the supplier of the year at least once,” Beyers said. 

“20 years ago, if you had bought any chocolate product at Woolworths, it would have come out of our Beyers factory.” 

Beyers had an exclusivity agreement with Woolworths in the retailer’s favour, meaning that the chocolate company could only supply its products to the retailer and not any competitors. 

This is a common agreement Woolworths has with its suppliers, with various product variants being exclusive to the retailer and some entire product lines being exclusive. 

However, the agreement in this case would prove to be the point of contention between Beyers and Woolworths that would see the relationship end. 

Exclusivity battle

According to Beyers, the problems began when Woolworths introduced new chocolate suppliers to its stores alongside its own products. 

“About 15 years ago, Woolworths started introducing brands onto its shelves, and they had said they would only have one brand on the shelf at that time,” Beyers said. 

“At the moment, Woolworths has about seven brands on the shelf. Obviously, this did affect our business, and we were dependent on them.”

Beyers said that Woolworths made up around 50% of the company’s total turnover, which naturally heavily exposed it to the retailers’ whims. 

“They became quite aggressive in some of their dealings with us, and so we felt that we needed to diversify a little bit at that point,” Beyers said. 

Another chocolate factory near the Beyers production facility came up for sale at the time, providing it with the opportunity to expand. 

Beyers purchased this factory and kept it separate from the production facilities it used to supply Woolworths to maintain the exclusivity agreement. 

As such, the other factory would supply Beyers’ other customers and new ones, such as Checkers and Pick n Pay, out of that facility. 

“Woolworths got wind of that and then asked us why we were doing this and said that we were stabbing them in the back,” Beyers said. 

“I responded by saying that we were not stabbing them in the back and were maintaining product exclusivity, with very different products being made for other customers.” 

Beyers said Woolworths told the company that it had to choose between losing its supplier agreement with the retailer or shutting down its other factory. 

“I told them that it was unrealistic. We had bought the other factory and employed a separate team there. It became very personal, and over a short period of time, they cut all the business they were doing with them,” Beyers said. 

“In the process, it is a sad story, 700 South Africans lost their jobs, and Woolworths said that it is entirely on us.” 

Woolworths responded to Beyers’ claims on the radio, saying that it is deeply saddened to learn that the company is facing liquidation. 

“This is an outcome that is extremely unfortunate but one for which Beyers, and Beyers alone, will need to take full responsibility,” the retailer said.

It said no Beyers chocolate has been sold in Woolworths for over a year and that the retailer is not the company’s only client. 

Woolworths responds

Woolworths has responded to Beyers’ allegations regarding the supply of chocolate to the retailer, particularly regarding the scale of the partnership.

“While Woolworths would ordinarily not comment publicly on supplier relationships, we believe it is important to set the record straight for our customers and stakeholders,” the retailer said in a statement.

Woolworths said that, in 2019, the parties entered into an exclusivity agreement relating to certain Woolworths chocolate products and formulations.

“During 2023, Woolworths became aware that products materially similar to Woolworths-exclusive offerings were being supplied to competitors.”

“This was not disclosed to Woolworths and only became apparent once similar products appeared more broadly in the market. This went against the intent of our agreement and raised concerns regarding both the future of the commercial relationship and the supplier’s commitment to the existing contract.”

Ultimatley, the parties were ultimately unable to align on the conditions required to continue the relationship. Woolworths then decided to transition its chocolate supply to alternative manufacturers to protect its proprietary product development, brand differentiation, and long-term commercial interests.

By January 2025, Woolworths chocolate products were no longer being manufactured by Beyers. This was not a decision taken lightly, but it was the right one for our business and our customers.

Between 2018 and 2023, Woolworths said that it more than doubled its business with Beyers, reflecting our long-standing commitment to the partnership.

At the same time, Beyers continued supplying a broad range of retailers both during and after the conclusion of our relationship.

“Accordingly, statements suggesting Woolworths was responsible for Beyers’ liquidation are inaccurate and do not reflect the facts.”

“On this matter, we are confident that we have acted fairly and in the best interests of our customers, our business, and the long-term strength of the Woolworths brand.”