Client snapshot
- Founded: 1954 (privatised in 1993)
- Location: Clanwilliam, Western Cape Province, South Africa
- Machines in operation: 1 × Roff-designed Rosehip processing plant
- Current capacity: ~1,500 kilograms per hour
- Brand: Rooibos Limited (certified supplier of herbal tea ingredients)
From Rooibos pioneer to herbal tea innovator
Rooibos Limited is a well-known name in the South African agricultural landscape, originally established as a cooperative in 1954 and later privatised in 1993. With a strong foothold in the global Rooibos tea market, the company has consistently evolved to meet international food safety standards and customer demand for certified, traceable ingredients.
In response to growing interest in herbal wellness products, Rooibos Limited expanded its offering to include Green Rooibos, Honeybush, and most recently, Rosehip—a natural fit for its established client base of large food brands.
The challenge — new crop, complex processing, different supply chain
Unlike Rooibos, Rosehip is not native to South Africa and is classified as an invasive species. Rooibos Limited began sourcing Rosehip berries from Lesotho, where they are hand-harvested by over 10,000 individuals, dried, and imported to South Africa. But processing Rosehip requires a completely different approach.
Rosehip berries contain three components—flesh (for tea), seed (for oil), and hair (a waste by-product). During processing, some of the flesh breaks into small particles that closely resemble the seeds, making it difficult to achieve clean separation. This proved to be one of the most complex challenges for the team. Rooibos Limited needed a custom-designed processing solution to handle this delicate and unfamiliar raw material with precision.
The turning point — partnering with Roff
To solve the technical challenges, Rooibos Limited partnered with a company experienced in upstream Rosehip handling and turned to Roff to design and build the downstream processing plant. Although Roff is best known for its maize milling equipment, the team embraced the challenge and committed to developing a robust solution tailored to Rosehip.
From left to right: Processed Rosehip flesh in 3 sizes, Rosehip seeds on the right
“Roff was open to learning, honest, and direct throughout the process. Their team stood behind their product and helped us achieve a high-quality result quickly.”
Olof Bergh
Operations Manager, Rooibos Limited
The solution — a turnkey Rosehip processing plant from Roff
The supply chain begins with the hand-harvesting of wet Rosehip berries by approximately 10,000 individuals in Lesotho. The berries are then dried in Lesotho using tray dryers before being sent to Rooibos Limited as dry berries.
The Roff-installed plant, located at Rooibos Limited's site near Clanwilliam, is a turnkey solution for separating the dry berries. It separates the berry into flesh, seed, and hair components, further sorting them into various sizes of flesh and seed. The flesh, which is the herbal tea component, may then undergo a milling process if clients require a smaller particle size.
Key benefits of the Roff-built plant:
- Separation accuracy – Meets the quality requirements of global herbal tea clients
- Turnkey design – End-to-end integration with existing processing workflows
- Oversized capacity – Designed for scalability as demand for Rosehip grows
- Process flexibility – Optional milling step if a finer cut is required by clients
The plant operates at a sweet spot of 1,500 kg/h, running for about one-third of the year to meet current demand.
“Getting the seed separated from the smaller bits of flesh was a real challenge. We had to make small adjustments throughout the process to get it right. But in the end, we’re confident that we’re producing a top-quality product that can stand alongside anything else on the market.”
Olof Bergh
Operations Manager, Rooibos Limited
Results that speak volumes
Rooibos Limited successfully launched its Rosehip offering, backed by high processing standards and global certifications. The investment in Roff technology helped them:
- Deliver a high-quality, food-safe Rosehip product
- Expand their range beyond Rooibos into certified herbal teas
- Meet client demand for broader, bulk-supplied ingredients
- Enter a new value chain with confidence and technical excellence
Strong partnership: Rooibos Limited found the Roff team extremely helpful during the commissioning process. Roff was open to learning, honest, and direct, which facilitated overcoming challenges and achieving a high-quality end product quickly. Roff stood behind their product and collectively addressed challenges, guiding Rooibos Limited on the machine's capabilities. Rooibos Limited would recommend Roff based on this experience.
Business expansion: The Rosehip offering allows Rooibos Limited to meet client demand for a broader basket of certified herbal teas, strengthening their position as a bulk supplier.
Why it matters for agri-processors
The Rooibos Limited project shows how agri-processors can innovate through strategic partnerships:
- Custom processing is achievable — even for non-traditional crops
- Roff adapts across industries — from maize to tea, we build tailored solutions
- Capacity planning pays off — investing in future-ready infrastructure enables growth
Supporting sustainable herbal tea production in Africa
With decades of food safety experience and a scalable plant in place, Rooibos Limited is now positioned to lead in the certified Rosehip supply market. Their partnership with Roff reflects what’s possible when technical capability meets entrepreneurial vision.
Thinking of expanding your product line?
If you’re looking to add a new processing line or build a custom plant for herbal or niche agricultural products, Roff can help you turn your vision into a working solution.
👇Contact us to discuss your next processing project.
