Burnt Onion Productions
Burnt Onion Productions is a Johannesburg-based, family-owned South African film and television production company that creates original short- and long-form content from concept to delivery, licensing finished productions to broadcasters and streaming platforms including Netflix, SABC, Multichoice, eTV, and Paramount Africa.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersRandburg, South Africa
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Burnt Onion Productions does
Burnt Onion Productions is a privately held, founder/family-owned South African film and television production company established in 2008 and headquartered in Johannesburg. The company operates as a full-service production house, handling original content from concept through to delivery, and licenses or sells finished productions to broadcasters. Its known product portfolio comprises both long-form television series — including multi-season scripted titles such as 'How to Ruin Christmas' (Seasons 2 and 3), 'How to Ruin Love', 'Miseducation', and 'Entangled' — and feature films distributed internationally via Netflix, such as 'Disaster Holiday' and 'Lobola Man', alongside other titles including 'Magaeng'.
The company is run by a core leadership team of three — siblings Katleho 'Katt' Ramaphakela (Managing Director, writer/director), Tshepo Ramaphakela (General Manager, analyst/statistician background), and Rethabile 'Retti' Ramaphakela (Creative Director, AFDA Motion Picture Medium graduate) — with broader employee headcount reported in the 11–50 range. Its stated go-to-market is direct sales engagement with broadcasters and streaming platforms; named distribution partners are Netflix (global streaming), SABC (SABC1/SABC2/SABC3), Multichoice/DStv, eTV, and Paramount Africa (BET, MTVBase, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central). Revenue is generated through project-based production fees and content licensing arrangements; pricing is negotiated per project and not publicly disclosed. The company markets its productions via Instagram, X/Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, and its corporate website.
Burnt Onion Productions firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Burnt Onion Productions
- Legal name
- Burnt Onion Productions
- Website
- https://burntonion.co.za
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Burnt Onion Productions is a Johannesburg-based, family-owned South African film and television production company that creates original short- and long-form content from concept to delivery, licensing finished productions to broadcasters and streaming platforms including Netflix, SABC, Multichoice, eTV, and Paramount Africa.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Burnt Onion Productions industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Film and Television Production
- NAICS
- Motion Picture and Video Production (51211)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Live-Action Production Management & Line Producing (MPADABAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Scripted TV Series Production (Live-Action) (MPADABAB), Live-Action TV Movies, Miniseries & Specials Production (MPADABAD)
Keywords
Where Burnt Onion Productions is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Randburg
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Burnt Onion Productions business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Content Production and Licensing: Burnt Onion Productions creates original television content from concept through to delivery, licensing or selling finished productions to broadcasters and streaming platforms. Revenue is generated through project-based production fees and content licensing deals with networks.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Burnt Onion Productions product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Burnt Onion Productions is a South African film and television production company that produces original short-form and long-form content from concept through to final delivery. The company delivers finished productions to broadcasters and streaming platforms including Netflix, SABC, Multichoice, eTV, and Paramount Africa channels. Its portfolio spans television series and feature films, produced by an in-house team of writers, directors, and producers.
Product overview
Burnt Onion Productions is a South African film and television production company that operates as a single, unified production house producing both short-form and long-form content. The company handles the complete production process from concept to delivery, serving as a full-service production partner. Their product portfolio comprises multiple television series and feature films including 'Disaster Holiday,' 'Lobola Man,' 'How to Ruin Love,' 'How to Ruin Christmas' (with multiple seasons), 'Miseducation,' 'Entangled,' and 'Magaeng.' These productions span various genres and formats, distributed through their broadcaster partnerships with Netflix, SABC, Multichoice, eTV, and Paramount Africa networks.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Disaster Holiday A feature film about a workaholic dad trying to win over his kids by heading to the coast of Durban for a work meeting disguised as a family road trip vacation. Distributed on Netflix.
- Lobola Man A film production in the Burnt Onion catalog, featured as a trailer on the company's portfolio and distributed internationally on Netflix.
- How to Ruin Christmas A television series produced by Burnt Onion with multiple seasons (Season 2 and Season 3) documented in the company's portfolio, part of their long-form content offerings for South African and international broadcasters.
- How to Ruin Love A television series production featured in the company's portfolio of long-form content.
- Miseducation Season 1 of a television series produced by Burnt Onion Productions, featured in their portfolio of long-form content.
- Entangled Season 1 of a television series featured in Burnt Onion Productions' portfolio of long-form content.
- Magaeng Season 1 promo and series produced by Burnt Onion Productions, part of their short-form and long-form content portfolio.
Companies that use Burnt Onion Productions
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Burnt Onion Productions technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Burnt Onion Productions partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- NetflixcoreNetflix serves as a key distribution partner for Burnt Onion Productions, streaming original African content to a global audience. Productions like 'Disaster Holiday' are available internationally on the Netflix platform, extending the company's reach beyond South Africa.
- SABC (SABC1, SABC2, SABC3)coreSABC is the South African public broadcaster and a longstanding distribution partner. Burnt Onion Productions creates content that airs across all three SABC channels, serving the South African viewing public.
- MultichoicecoreMultichoice operates DStv, the South African pay-TV platform. Burnt Onion Productions supplies original content for distribution to Multichoice's premium subscriber base.
- eTVcoreeTV is a major commercial television network in South Africa. Burnt Onion Productions produces content for broadcast on the eTV network.
- Paramount AfricacoreParamount Africa (encompassing BET, MTVBase, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central) distributes Burnt Onion Productions content across multiple channels throughout Africa, covering diverse audience demographics from youth to entertainment.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Burnt Onion Productions competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ochre Moving Pictures: South African production house known for scripted drama series (e.g., 'Lockdown', 'iNumber Number'). Produces long-form content for South African broadcasters and international platforms, making it a direct comparator on type of work, genre, and buyer base.
- Film Afrika Worldwide: Long-standing South African production services and original content company serving both international and local broadcasters. Closest functional peer in terms of full-service production from concept to delivery.
- Word of Mouth Productions: South African production company producing feature films and television, including internationally distributed titles. Operates at a similar production scale and serves overlapping broadcaster clients.
- Bomb Productions: South African production company producing scripted drama and feature content for local broadcasters. Direct competitor in the same Johannesburg-based production market for similar commissioning clients.
- Tshedza Pictures: South African film and television production company producing scripted series and films for local broadcasters and streamers. Operates in the same Johannesburg production ecosystem, serving the same commissioning buyers (SABC, Multichoice, Netflix, etc.) with comparable service offerings.
- Quizzical Pictures: South African production company producing high-end scripted TV drama for local and international broadcasters. Comparable in genre, target broadcasters, and aspirational positioning toward global streamers.
- Penguin Films: South African production company producing TV series for SABC, eTV, and Multichoice. Comparable in size, geographic focus, and broadcaster relationships to Burnt Onion, with overlapping genres (drama, telenovela-style series).
Regional players
- Red Pepper Pictures: Kenyan production company producing scripted series and film for African and international broadcasters. Comparable in business model (African original content) but operates in a different country and primarily serves East African broadcasters.
Broad incumbents
- BBC Studios Africa: Global broadcaster-producer with an active African content commissioning and co-production footprint. Competes for African storytelling talent and commissioning slots on streaming platforms, representing a larger, more capitalised player in the same content category.
- Multichoice / Showmax Originals: Multichoice operates DStv/Showmax and commissions large volumes of African original content. Functions as both a buyer of Burnt Onion's productions and a vertically-integrated producer of original content, representing both customer and competitor dynamics.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Burnt Onion Productions social profiles
Digital presenceBurnt Onion Productions financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Burnt Onion Productions leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Burnt Onion Productions funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Burnt Onion Productions M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Burnt Onion Productions
What does Burnt Onion Productions do?
Burnt Onion Productions is a South African film and television production company that produces original short-form and long-form content from concept through to final delivery. The company delivers finished productions to broadcasters and streaming platforms including Netflix, SABC, Multichoice, eTV, and Paramount Africa channels. Its portfolio spans television series and feature films, produced by an in-house team of writers, directors, and producers.
Is Burnt Onion Productions a public or private company?
Burnt Onion Productions is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Burnt Onion Productions founded?
Burnt Onion Productions was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Burnt Onion Productions based?
Burnt Onion Productions is headquartered in Randburg, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does Burnt Onion Productions make money?
One revenue line is on record: content Production and Licensing.
Who are Burnt Onion Productions's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ochre Moving Pictures, Film Afrika Worldwide, Word of Mouth Productions, Bomb Productions, Tshedza Pictures, Quizzical Pictures and Penguin Films. Red Pepper Pictures is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are BBC Studios Africa and Multichoice / Showmax Originals.
Does Burnt Onion Productions have an API?
No public API is recorded for Burnt Onion Productions.
What industry is Burnt Onion Productions in?
Burnt Onion Productions's product category is Film and Television Production. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADABAH, Live-Action Production Management & Line Producing, with a secondary code of MPADABAB, Scripted TV Series Production (Live-Action). Its NAICS code is 51211 and its SIC code is 7812.