Privacy Policy

01 Who we are

HORECA ("we", "us", "our") is a foodservice sales and brand representation agency operating in South Africa. We represent manufacturers within the South African foodservice, hospitality and distribution markets.

For the purposes of POPIA we are the responsible party for the personal information described in this policy. Any question about this policy, or any request relating to your personal information, can be sent to Donnovin@horeca.net.za, and it will be directed to the person responsible for information matters at HORECA.

02 What information we collect

We collect only what we need in order to respond to you and to represent brands in the market.

Information you give us

• Your name and surname
• Your company or brand name, and your role there
• Your work email address and, where you provide it, your telephone number
• Details about your products, target channels and current market footprint that you choose to include in an enquiry
• Any other information contained in emails or messages you send us

Information collected automatically

• Technical information such as your IP address, browser type and device type
• Basic usage information such as which pages were visited and for how long

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, and we do not ask for special personal information such as health, biometric, financial or religious data through this website.

03 Why we process your information

• To respond to your enquiry and discuss representing your brand
• To provide sales representation, route-to-market and key account management services
• To introduce the brands we represent to distributors, wholesalers and foodservice operators
• To manage our commercial relationship, including administration, reporting and invoicing
• To send business communications relevant to an existing or prospective relationship
• To comply with our legal, tax and regulatory obligations
• To keep our website secure and working properly

We do not sell your personal information to anyone.

04 Our lawful basis for processing

We process personal information where at least one of the following applies under POPIA: you have consented to the processing; the processing is necessary to conclude or perform a contract with you; the processing is required by law; the processing protects a legitimate interest of yours; or the processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of HORECA or a third party, weighed against your rights and freedoms.

Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time by contacting us.

05 Who we share information with

Representation work involves introducing brands to the market, so information may be shared as follows:

• Distributors, wholesalers and foodservice operators — where we represent your brand and disclosure is necessary to pursue listings, market access or sales opportunities on your behalf
• Service providers — email, hosting, and IT providers who process information on our behalf and only on our instructions
• Professional advisers — accountants, auditors or attorneys, where necessary
• Authorities — where we are required by law to disclose information

Where a third party processes personal information on our behalf, we require them to keep it confidential and to apply appropriate security measures, as POPIA requires.

06 How long we keep it

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purpose it was collected, or for as long as the law requires us to keep it. Enquiry correspondence that does not lead to a commercial relationship is kept only as long as it remains useful for follow-up. Records relating to commercial agreements, invoicing and tax are kept for the periods required by South African tax and company law. Once information is no longer needed, we delete it or remove anything that identifies you.

07 How we protect it

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect personal information against loss, damage, unauthorised access and misuse. These include limiting access to those who need it, using reputable email and hosting providers, and keeping our systems up to date.

No system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a security compromise affecting your personal information occurs, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as soon as reasonably possible, as POPIA requires.

08 Your rights

Under POPIA you have the right to:

• Ask us to confirm what personal information we hold about you, and to request a copy of it
• Ask us to correct or delete information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, misleading or out of date
• Object, on reasonable grounds, to our processing of your information
• Withdraw your consent where our processing is based on consent
• Ask us not to send you direct marketing
• Complain to the Information Regulator

To exercise any of these rights, email Donnovin@horeca.net.za. We may need to confirm your identity before we act on a request, and we will respond within a reasonable time.

09 Cookies

Our website may use cookies or similar technologies to keep the site working correctly and to understand in general terms how visitors use it. Cookies are small files stored by your browser.

You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time. Some parts of the site may not work as intended if you do. We do not use cookies to build advertising profiles about you.

10 Information sent outside South Africa

Some of the service providers we use — for example email and website hosting — may store information on servers outside South Africa. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient is subject to laws, binding rules or agreements that provide an adequate level of protection, in line with section 72 of POPIA.

11 Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in how we work or in the law. The version published on this page is the version that applies. Where changes are material, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to your attention.

12 Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we can try to put it right. You also have the right to lodge a complaint directly with the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforegulator.org.za.