Nicola Mawson|Published
For generations of South Africans, Black Cat peanut butter has been part of school lunchboxes, breakfast tables and the familiar combination of peanut butter and syrup on a slice of bread.
This year, the brand marks its centenary, having started life in 1926 in Potgietersrus, the Limpopo town now known as Mokopane.
What began as a locally produced peanut butter has survived a century of changing shopping habits, economic upheaval and increasingly competitive supermarket shelves to become one of the country's recognisable household brands.
Its history also traces the development of South Africa's food manufacturing industry, from small-scale production to modern facilities capable of producing millions of jars a year.
A million jars
Black Cat was acquired by Tiger Oats in 1946, according to Tiger Brands' corporate history, placing it within the business that would eventually become one of South Africa's largest food manufacturers.
The acquisition helped establish the brand within a growing national food distribution network, bringing peanut butter to households well beyond its original market.
But while the product has been around for 100 years, the business behind it has continued to invest in its future. In 2024, Tiger Brands opened a R300 million peanut butter manufacturing facility in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, following the relocation of production from its previous Randfontein facility.
The facility was designed with the capacity to produce approximately one million jars of peanut butter a month, supplying Black Cat and other peanut butter products.
Locally sourced
The investment also reflected the importance of the domestic groundnut industry to the product.
At the time of the factory's opening, Tiger Brands indicated that approximately 70% of the groundnuts that it used were sourced locally, linking the familiar jar on supermarket shelves to South African farmers and agricultural supply chains.
That connection matters in a country where food producers face pressure from rising input costs, volatile agricultural production and consumers increasingly watching what they spend.
Peanut butter remains a relatively versatile pantry product, used in sandwiches, porridge, baking and cooking, and valued for its protein and fat content.
Not just peanuts
Yet Black Cat's longevity is about more than the product itself.
Few grocery brands remain familiar across several generations, particularly in a market where private-label alternatives and changing household budgets constantly challenge established names.
A century after its beginnings in Potgietersrus, the brand's story is still being written in South Africa, with locally sourced ingredients, domestic manufacturing and a place on grocery shelves.
And that is a considerable journey for something that usually ends up between two slices of bread.
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