Dutoit’s Juicy Gems Turns Farming Into a Game Worth Playing

Photo Credit: Dutoits - Supplied

A bag of apples is all you need to join the exciting new game, Juicy Gems, which is helping children learn to code and gain understanding about where their food comes from.

South Africa (03 July 2025) – What if learning to code were as fun as harvesting a crop of shiny red apples? What if kids across South Africa could unlock the future of farming right from the palm of their hands?

That’s the vision behind Juicy Gems, a playful new mobile game launched by Dutoit in collaboration with Tangible Africa. With every puzzle solved and virtual crop harvested, young players are building coding skills, learning where their food comes from, and getting a taste of what it means to work with the land.

At its heart, Juicy Gems is a game, but it’s also a quiet revolution in how we think about education, agriculture, and the young people who will one day feed the world.

“We want kids to look at a fruit farm and think, ‘That’s science. That’s tech. That could be my future,’” says Gysbert du Toit, Dutoit’s Commercial Director for Fruit Packing. “This game is about planting more than food, it’s about planting possibilities.”

With the help of Tangible Africa, an initiative known for building coding tools that work even without constant internet, Juicy Gems makes digital learning feel real. Players use simple tokens to guide a virtual tractor, navigating coding challenges and answering questions about sustainable farming. It’s hands-on, minds-on learning, whether in a classroom, a kitchen, or in a taxi.

“This isn’t just a game, it’s a gateway,” says Ryan le Roux, Project Lead at Tangible Africa. “It’s about showing kids that agriculture and tech aren’t two different worlds, they’re part of the same future.”

Now live nationwide, the game is ready to play. All you need is a bag of Dutoit apples (look for the Juicy Gems pack), available at Checkers stores across South Africa, a phone, and a curious mind. Scan the QR code, and you’re off—coding, harvesting, and maybe even discovering a future you never imagined.

To celebrate Mandela Day, Juicy Gems is also hitting the road, with tournaments in schools and communities around South Africa, encouraging learners and families to play, learn, and laugh together. Early pilots, in partnership with the South African Teachers Union, are already winning hearts and classrooms.

The hope is that this is just the beginning: a spark that lights the path to future careers in sustainability, food production, and agricultural tech.

The future is growing, and it starts with a fun, educational game.