“How Much Do You Want?”: UK-Based Expat Offers to Buy Original Recipe From PepsiCo
- PepsiCo discontinued ProNutro after 64 years on South African shelves, citing outdated machinery and a failed recipe relaunch
- UK-based South African food company Biltong & Bangers made a formal offer to buy the original recipe, IP and old production equipment
- South Africans rallied behind the bold bid, with many calling on the community to help save the beloved breakfast staple
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Source: Facebook
A UK-based South African food company has stepped up to try to save one of Mzansi's most beloved breakfast cereals. Biltong & Bangers, which runs South African food shops in the United Kingdom, posted a public offer on 24 September 2026 directed at PepsiCo, formally expressing interest in buying the ProNutro brand before it disappears for good.
The post landed on Heritage Day, and the timing felt deliberate. The company called on PepsiCo to sell them the original recipe, the intellectual property, the production know-how, and even the old manufacturing equipment, with the aim of keeping ProNutro alive and South African.
Why ProNutro is disappearing
PepsiCo discontinued ProNutro after 64 years, citing the collapse of the legacy roller-drying machinery that had produced the high-protein cereal since 1962. The equipment became too outdated and too costly to maintain or replace. In April 2026, the company tried to bridge the gap by launching a reformulated version, but South African consumers rejected it overwhelmingly, saying it lost the original taste, texture, and mixability that made the cereal iconic. PepsiCo ultimately admitted it could not recreate the original formula using modern machinery and chose to pull the plug entirely. Whatever stock remains on supermarket shelves is the very last of it.
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A Heritage Day bid to bring it back
Biltong & Bangers acknowledged they are not cereal manufacturers. The company's expertise lies in biltong, boerewors, and running South African shops in the UK, where they have also been retailing ProNutro for 18 years. But they argued that enough skilled, capable people exist in South Africa to get the old production lines working again, create local jobs, and bring back the original formulation.
They even joked that they did not need Elon Musk for this one, though they welcomed him to join if he happened to miss ProNutro too.
Anyone at PepsiCo ready to negotiate can reach them at hello@biltongbangers.com.
Read the original post that started the conversation:
South Africans back the bold move
The post on the Facebook page drew an outpouring of support from South Africans who felt the loss deeply:
@Hester Kleynhans said:
"Yes!! Buy it! We can start a back-a-buddy fund, and SA can save ProNutro."
@Lisa Moretti Massyn added:
"And Bokomo got rid of Maltabella porridge a while ago, and now Pronutro joins the list. Whats next?? Biltong & Bangers, go for it, great idea, and get the Maltabella recipe while you are at it and bring that back too."
@Tebogo Lesufi offered practical help:
"Don't worry, we have plenty of people with knowledge of grinding, extrusion and packaging. We are also familiar with sourcing raw material. They must tell us who do they source from Russelstone, Cargill, Afgri, BASF, Pride Milling, etc. We can get a plant going."
@Karen Bowden Howard added a promising detail:
"The original factory is still in Lindley in the Free State! Would be amazing to go back to where it started!"
@Nazrana Khan Ismail captured the sentiment of many:
"The end of an era… and the beginning of hungry mornings! Pronutro, you were more than breakfast… You were family."
@Angelique McFarlane Van Bart said:
"PepsiCo knew what they were doing; maybe it's time for the 'Never say die' SA spirit to teach them a few business lessons."
No deal has been confirmed yet between Biltong & Bangers and PepsiCo.
More on SA food and grocery prices
- Briefly News recently reported on a Zimbabwean man comparing food prices at Food Lovers Market, with viewers weighing in on the cost of groceries.
- A South African woman impressed Mzansi after turning a R2,500 Shoprite Red Sale haul into more than R1,000 in savings.
- A man shared factory shops where South Africans can buy products linked to major retailers directly from local manufacturers.
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Source: Briefly News
