Rusks are one of South Africa’s great foods. They occupy generous sections of our grocery store shelves, but the best discoveries are often waiting in delis, farm stalls and speciality food shops. These are usually the rusks made by somebody with a closely guarded recipe and a considerable amount of pride in what comes out of their oven.
For many South Africans, buying a packet from these shops and trying new tastes and flavours is something of a hobby. A stop for milk and bread becomes an investigation into somebody’s grandmother’s buttermilk recipe. Add an unfamiliar ingredient to the label and there is every reason to take another packet home. Research, obviously.
Kraak wins the RSG & Virseker Bakgat Beskuit Kompetisie
But did you know there is a competition for these proud bakers? The RSG & Virseker Bakgat Beskuit Kompetisie gives rusk makers the opportunity to put their recipes to the test. Winning is a major achievement, particularly when your competition includes more than 1,500 entries.
That is precisely where KRAAK Beskuit enters the story. On 13 November 2024, Marthlé Smith’s Muesli, Cranberry & White Chocolate recipe won the inaugural competition. A family baking tradition had earned itself a rather impressive endorsement, with Marthlé’s own creativity at the heart of the achievement.
From a grandmother’s recipe to a family business
Like many good food businesses, Kraak began with something much smaller than an ambition to win awards.
In 2019, 15-year-old Esté started baking her grandmother’s rusks for pocket money. With support from her family, the venture developed a local following. By her matric year, she handed the business over to her parents. Her father’s reasoning was admirably practical: “You never close a profitable business.”
There is something very South African about that progression. A family recipe, a teenager earning some money and parents recognising that there might be more to this than keeping the rusk tin full.
Esté’s mother, Marthlé Smith, continued the tradition, bringing her own ideas to the baking. In 2023, she developed the Muesli, Cranberry & White Chocolate recipe, building on the family’s baking heritage to create something distinctly her own. The combination of ingredients was Marthlé’s contribution to the story, and it was her recipe that would go on to win the 2024 competition. Friends encouraged her to enter. It proved to be excellent advice.
That pocket-money venture has since grown into an established proudly South African rusk brand. KRAAK now supplies more than 60 selected delis, coffee shops, speciality retailers and other outlets across the country. Somewhere along the way, keeping the family rusk tin full became keeping rather a lot of other people’s shelves stocked.
Eight distinctive handmade rusk flavours
The winning combination gives a familiar food an interesting twist. KRAAK describes these rusks as bringing together crunchy muesli, tangy cranberries and the distinctive, rich malt flavour of white chocolate. Across its eight distinctive flavours, the emphasis is on handmade quality, generous ingredients and combinations that give each variety its own character. These are rusks with plenty of ideas beyond the traditional buttermilk recipe.
The range also provides plenty of scope for those who regard rusk shopping as an ongoing exploration. Alongside homestyle buttermilk are combinations such as muesli, pecan nut and roasted seeds; muesli, citrus and almond; and muesli, ginger and honey.
There are Biscoff rusks too, while muesli, dark chocolate and espresso sounds particularly well suited to anyone who takes their morning coffee seriously. A reduced-sugar muesli and cranberry option adds another choice.
Choosing a favourite could take a little work. Fortunately, the Kraak online shop offers mixed boxes that allow customers to select different flavours. That seems a sensible arrangement for a household where everyone has an opinion about what belongs beside the kettle.
Rusks for guesthouses, boutique hotels and coffee shops
For accommodation owners, a good rusk has several useful places to be: beside the breakfast coffee, at an in-room coffee station or tucked into a welcome hamper. It is a small touch, but one that fits comfortably into a South African stay, whether your guests are setting off on safari or enjoying a slow morning at a guesthouse.
KRAAK supplies individually packaged snack packs that could be particularly useful for guest rooms and welcome hampers. Guesthouses, boutique hotels, lodges and coffee shops can also enquire about bulk-buying options. The business is VAT registered, making it a supplier worth considering for establishments looking to offer handmade rusks with a story behind them.
Visit Kraak’s Newton Park bakery and shop
KRAAK has recently moved into its own bakery and retail shop at 24D Newton Street, Newton Park, Gqeberha. The new premises mark another step in the family business’s growth and give visitors a place to buy directly from the producer.
It makes a convenient stop for something to take home, pack for the journey or even a corporate gift with a difference.
Order Kraak rusks online with nationwide delivery
If your next Eastern Cape trip is still some way off, you can buy KRAAK rusks online from anywhere in South Africa, with nationwide delivery bringing your selection to your door. The online shop makes it easy to try a new flavour, replenish a favourite or send a thoughtful taste of home to somebody elsewhere in the country. You can even send a personal message which they include on a card in your order.
What appeals about Kraak’s story is the thread running through it: a grandmother’s recipe, a daughter’s pocket-money business and a mother’s winning variation. There is room for invention without losing the family connection.
It is also a good reason to keep looking closely at the rusks in those little speciality shops. Somewhere between the familiar buttermilk and the unexpected white chocolate, you may find your next favourite. Just make sure there is coffee in the house.
Contact Kraak Rusks
Bakery and shop: 24D Newton Street, Newton Park, Gqeberha, South Africa
Telephone and WhatsApp: +27 82 964 4693
Email: hello@kraakrusks.co.za
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00; Saturday, 09:00–13:00
Website: Kraak Rusks
Online orders: Shop the Kraak range
