Oake, Woods & Co. (Pty) Ltd: Limitless

Our Story

Eben’s journey began years earlier in Nigeria, where he worked on a major project for SPAR. He was no stranger to big ideas. As the initiator behind the Woodys concept, he had helped build a bacon plant that by 2018 was producing 15,000 kg of bacon every day. After years of study and experimentation, it became clear to him that something new was needed, a venture that could go further and supersede what he had already achieved with Woodys.

It was during this time of searching and building that he met Kristi Berger. Their connection was immediate, rooted not only in a shared passion for anthropology but also in their love for life, challenge, and adventure. Their partnership grew beyond the personal into the professional, bound by a spirit of creativity and a determination to reimagine what was possible. On 23 August 2025, they were married in Hermanus, South Africa, sealing a love story that had already begun to shape their work together.

Kristi joined Eben’s consultancy, Origins Global Meats, where their conversations became the heartbeat of the company. Their boardroom was often nothing more than hours of sitting together, dreaming aloud like children in a tree, sketching out what they would do when the chance came. Those long talks became the roots of what would later grow into the Oake Woods brand. From the beginning, the products were made through carefully chosen partners, ensuring quality, authenticity, and scalability.

As their vision expanded, they began building a relationship with Almi, the Austrian spice and technology supplier. At the same time, Eben revisited his earlier ideas of Woody’s, reshaping and reworking them into something entirely new. With Kristi by his side, those scattered ideas and past experiences were transformed into a single, dynamic project.

What follows is the story of how that plan was conceived.

Oake Woods – Overall Strategy Southern Africa & Africa at Large

Our story set the foundation for what became Oake Woods. We create unique products with a top R&D partner in Almi, we partner with a local world-class producer who manufactures and distributes, we do the marketing and drive the products through all channels to the point where the consumers enjoy the delicious fruit of our labour. On top of this, we project manage all of this. Every step of the way!

Eben & Kristi remain in control and responsible for the seamless integration of every aspect of the strategy. We measure our results based on only one thing: The revenue which we deliver to stakeholders every month and the uncompromised satisfaction we give consumers through our world-class products at affordable prices.

The Oake Woods brand means something:
• Consumers experience it as an authentic, premium yet affordable brand. And as delicious!
• Partners like Almi and licensed producers experience it as immensely profitable and secure.

The concept was born within Origins Global Meats, owned and run by Eben and Kristi. Under this umbrella, they created a model where Oake Woods is the brand and execution hub, Almi provides the spice and technology backbone, and producers in different regions form the manufacturing partners. This triangle of strength ensures that the system remains stable, scalable, and growth-ready.

The principle is channel control. Managed by Eben and Kristi. Oake Woods does not seek clients in a traditional sense. Instead, it establishes exclusive trade channels where all stakeholders trade and collaborate. This secures predictability, guarantees quality, and creates space for innovation. The implementation of the Oake Woods brand is managed through Oake Woods & Co (Pty) Ltd.

For a detailed treatment of the Oake Woods Brand Strategy, see Oake Woods Logo and Brand Positioning

Strategic Foundation

The triangle of strength defines the core structure of Oake Woods

  • Oake Woods: Execution company focusing on brand building, storytelling, and delivery, driven by Eben, Kristi, and a local team. In South Africa, this team includes Elmar and Juanita.
    • Origins Global Meats: Strategic umbrella, vision, brand leadership, partnerships, and long-term expansion. Origins creates execution entities such as Oake Woods and ReEquip Global.
    • ReEquip Global: Supporting platform using technology and AI for marketing, social media, and digital strategies.
  • Producers: Independent, licensed manufacturing partners anchored in their regions, scalable, and flexible.
  • Almi: Austria and South Africa together as the backbone for flavour, technology, consistency, and innovation.

The System and Channels

The system is not a traditional supply chain but an integrated platform. Its unique power lies in creating exclusive distribution channels that

  • Owns the Oake Woods brand
  • Are assigned to specific producers
  • Can be expanded step by step from bacon to hams, sausages, beef, and biltong
  • Bind Almi products exclusively through codes and recipes

Scaling begins with the Western Cape and a second carefully selected territory in Southern Africa, and then expands across Africa. Each new producer means a new channel, multiplying the reach of both Oake Woods and Almi.

The Oake Woods Portfolio

Origins has developed a range of products that fit into the Oake Woods story

  • Chicken Bacon Style Rashers, a hybrid product with 30 percent extension, affordable yet tasty, positioned as tasty first and affordable second
  • Pork Bacon Style Rashers in braai and breakfast ranges, premium and enriched with vitamins and nitric oxide boosters, aimed at sports and performance markets, supported by in-store promoters
  • Hybrid Bacon from pork shoulder and legs, targeted at catering and mid to low income retail, price-driven and competitive using Gluckman raw materials and injection technology
  • Fat Injected Beef, branded as Oake Woods Marbled Meat, creates Wagyu-like marbling at an affordable price, opening opportunities in retail and foodservice
  • Oake Woods Sausage Range, branded as Power Sausage, developed with collagen technology to replace MDM, offering cost savings without losing flavour or bite, suitable for catering to retail packs
  • Special Biltong Range, evolved from the bacon formats, premium and ready for both local and export markets

A list of product concepts we are working on is found at: Oake Woods Product Concepts

The product concepts can be viewed here: Oake Woods Product Concepts

Value and Impact

The system creates clear benefits for each stakeholder

For producers

  • Exclusive channels with guaranteed offtake, such as 30 tonnes per month of bacon from 2026
  • Predictable growth and portfolio expansion
  • Access to Almi technology and global storytelling power
  • Role as active co-creators rather than suppliers

For Almi

  • Long term raw material binding through exclusive codes
  • Channels that multiply sales opportunities
  • Break-even and repayment secured from Q4 2026
  • Positioned as a driver of meat innovation in Africa

For Origins and Oake Woods

  • Control over brand and storytelling
  • Flexibility through independent, scalable producers
  • Enhanced reach and visibility through ReEquip Global’s digital and AI tools

For the market

  • A differentiated brand with authentic storytelling
  • Guaranteed quality and continuous innovation
  • Affordable premium products across the spectrum from high to low-income households
  • Exceptionally safe and nutritious processed meat

Overall Strategic Impact

Together, Origins Global Meats, Oake Woods, Almi, and their producers form a family-driven system that uses innovation to redefine bacon, sausages, beef, and biltong for South Africa and beyond. ReEquip Global provides the digital and technological support to make the system both modern and scalable.

Oake Woods is not a short-term initiative. It is a platform built on exclusive channels that secure long-term growth, profitability, and innovation. It creates stability for producers, sustainable sales for Almi, and trusted products for consumers.

List of Related Articles

The Inspiration of the Name: Oake Woods

The question arises about the origin of the name Oak Woods. Kristi beautifully reinterpreted it in Oake Woods Logo and Brand Positioning. Originally, it was surnames, and the story behind it is remarkable.

The inspiration originally came from the legendary Oake, Woods & Co from Gillingham in the UK. William Oake was the son of the man who created the earliest industrialised bacon processing system called Mild Cured Bacon. The father was also William Oake. So, William Oake invented the famous Mild Cured bacon curing system, which would become known as the Wiltshire Cure system. His son, William Oake of Oake, Woods & Co., progressed the thinking and developed the Auto Curing System.

The following chapters in Bacon & the Art of Living tell this story and show the progression of the first William Oakes’ invention of Mild Cured Bacon to Auto Cured Bacon of his son and later Wiltshire Bacon. In highlighting the international impact of the Oakes’ combined work, I also list chapters that highlight the Vecht Curing System, which relies on Oakes’ invention but expanded it internationally, to more territories than any other single person ever did.

  • William Oakes Mild-Cured Bacon: William Oake developed the Mild Cured system, which became the foundation for industrialised bacon production.
  • Mild-Cured Bacon and the Curers of Wiltshire: What would later be called Wiltshire cure started as Mild Curing, invented by William Oake.
  • Oake-Woods & Co., Ltd., Rapid, and Auto-Cured Bacon: Oake’s son, also called William, progressed the idea of mild curing to auto-curing. His method, relying on specialised equipment, makes it possible to expand the system internationally. An anecdotal story has it that the company offered the father of a lady who contacted me with the account a position at their factory in South Africa. I have no record of such a factory ever having existed, but the account indicates that they at least seriously considered opening a factory in South Africa. The Oake family is one of the most important in the history of meat curing, and inspired by this story and the contribution of the father and son to the trade, we used their name for our company. In a way, we complete the idea that existed in the minds of the Oake-Woods family so many years ago by creating international brands with a solid foot in South Africa!
  • The Jewish Master Curer and the Prince of Ireland, and What was the Vecht Curing method? Tells the riveting story of how the master curer from Holland, Aron Vecht, utilised a progression of the system developed by William Oake to create his unique process. Vecht was quite possibly the biggest bacon curer by territories covered in history.

Over the years, more background information on this remarkable man came to light. I share it in the following works:

Meeting Aron Vecht’s Grandson

It was on a trip to London that I met Dr Romeo Vecht at his London home. He is the grandson of the biggest meat curer who ever lived, Aron Vecht. For us, it was spiritually significant that we established a direct link with one of the most innovative curers and by far the largest by volume produced to have ever lived.

Aron Vecht

Aron Vecht is so important to the story of Oake, Woods & Co. that I include a video I did from Buckingham Palace during our 2023 trip and links to all the work I’ve done on this remarkable man.

Introduction to Aron Vecht from outside Buckingham Palace.

Articles on Aron Vecht

Here is a list with links to my full work on Aron Vecht.