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World is Ocean Basket's oyster

Cape Town - Grace Harding, the dynamic company leader of Ocean Basket can’t wait to introduce the new menu into all the group’s restaurants later this month.

That’s not just because the menu will add new choices to the trusted favourites. More important to Harding is that the menu will, from now on, provide transparent information about which fish are fresh water farmed, as opposed to ocean fished.

“We are determined to improve our communication around sustainability – and to inform customers which fish are fresh water farmed. We want to share information on Basa, the fresh water farmed fish which is a favourite choice of a huge number of our customers,” Harding told Fin24.

When we met, Harding had just returned from Egypt, where the first of several Ocean Basket restaurants will open in May. The company turns 20 years old this year – and, said Harding, the brand just keeps growing.

The commitment to transparency is a big nod to the growing number of discerning customers who want to know what they are consuming.

Ocean Basket hastily pledged to change the company’s menu to describe the Basa as a fresh water farmed and not an ocean caught fish, following a customer complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority of SA (ASA) last year.

READ: Ocean Basket to change its menus after complaint

Lisanne Brits complained that the menu was misleading because the restaurant served a Pangasius fish (also known as “Basa”) which was harvested from fresh water, instead of seafood, as expected.

Ironically Ocean Basket had already stated its commitment to sustainable fishing and has been working closely with Sassi (the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Institute) to ensure they only serve fish products sourced from responsible fisheries.

Sources of hake, once the most popular economy fish are seriously depleted and at risk. Basa appeals to similar tastes and is a sustainable resource.

But for Harding, the controversy was a welcome wake-up call on the crucial need for clear communication with customers. “Our biggest lesson was that we needed to publicise our commitment to fishing sustainability,” she said.

While Ocean Basket scours the world looking for responsible sources of fish and seafood, Harding pointed out that all seafood companies would have to incorporate aqua-farming into their businesses.

Harding welcomed the complaint. “We love feedback. This issue is a talking point and we need to engage. I’m happy to be bombarded with questions. “Ocean Basket is a brand that’s driven by the happiness of people and we do it through food.”

'Everyone was running away'

It was this philosophy that drew Harding to the company when she joined three years ago. She had been running her own employee engagement company for 15 years when Fats Lazarides, one of the founders of Ocean Basket, recruited her: “His first brief was, ‘how do we make people fall in love and stay in love with us,” she said.

“I said, which people, Fats?” He said, “all the people, Grace.”

Lazarides and partners started the business after the 1994 elections “when everyone was running away”, to bring affordable seafood to South Africans. Their formula of “simplicity, generosity, value, a touch of madness – and delicious seafood served piping hot in the pan”, appealed to Harding.

“That was the only reason I was prepared to give up my business. I mean, I was my own boss,” said Harding, who described herself as a food-obsessed, proudly South African workaholic.

Harding grew up in Johannesburg and matriculated at North View High School. Her mother was born in Egypt and her father was originally from Lithuania. The couple lived in Johannesburg where Harding’s father ran a general dealer’s shop in Troye Street.

“They sold paraffin, sunlight soap and matches. I started working in the shop aged 12.

“My father imported goods from Hong Kong which he sold to traders. My best school holidays were spent with him on those trips around the countryside. Retail is in my blood. I’m a smous!”

Harding started working at Garlicks straight after school, while studying personnel management part time at Wits Technikon.

She then worked in marketing for the Sales House and Edgars brands from 1991 – 1998 before setting up her own consultancy.

Magic in a bottle

She joined Ocean Basket in 2012, tasked with helping them "transition" from "small entrepreneurial, crazy brand to small entrepreneurial crazy, professional brand”.

“They realized what they’d done in creating this “home from home” environment needed to be “bottled” – or transportable from town to town and country to country.

“I was called in to bottle the magic - the focus on seafood, the simplicity of the business model, and the absolute focus on people - and not mess with the recipe. For instance, Ocean Basket’s creamy lemon sauce tastes the same as it did in 1995. It’s easy to fiddle with something and then lose the taste.”

For Harding, Ocean Basket is an amazing story. “Today there are 189, of which 166 are in South Africa. The others are in Zambia (2), Namibia (2), Swaziland (2), Botswana (1), Zimbabwe (1), Kenya (1), Nigeria (1) and Lesotho (1). There are also branches in Mauritius (2) Greece (1), Cyprus (7) and Dubai (2).

This year, Ocean Basket will open 11 more restaurants outside SA, including in Egypt (two this year), Saudi Arabia (1) and Malta (1), with more opening in Greece (1), Cyprus (1), Mauritius (1), Nigeria (1) and Dubai (1).

On future strategy: “The winning trick is definitely the people trick,” said Harding. “I don’t want to do anything new …  too many companies are trying to do something new.”

She’s also determined to keep employees happy.

“This year we’ll focus on developing a 'conversation recipe' for all branches. The same rigour which ensures that our creamy lemon sauce remains delicious must be applied to the care of our grillers and waiters.

“If we crack that, we’ll get it right.”

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