Mark & Melissa van Hoogstraten’s love for good old-fashioned things in life inspired them to create places where people love to be and where they could sell their unique product range. Melissa’s represents a kind of old-fashioned goodness and an attempt to bring back the real and forgotten things in life.

The first Melissa’s store opened in August 1996 in Tamboerskloof, Cape Town, and by demand was followed by additional food shops in surrounding suburbs. In addition, a selected range of Melissa’s products are available at supermarkets and delicatessens throughout South Africa.

Melissa’s unique range of wholesome handmade products is based on the philosophy of uncompromising quality, using only the best ingredients without the use of preservatives, stabilisers, colourants or other substances that one is forced to use when mass-producing food. Melissa’s is for people who understand the value of quality and are serious about eating real, good food.