Walking into a supermarket and seeing your own product on the shelf is a dream come true for condiment and juice maker Zukiswa Gqirana. She not only manufactures a range of refreshing cold-pressed fruit and veggie juices, but also a delicious jam and two kinds of pesto.
Born in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, Zukiswa Gqirana was raised by her grandmother, who also taught her to grow her own food. The later move from subsistence farming into agro-processing was only natural. She was motivated to go plant-based, plus, “In my community, I never saw anyone make or sell healthy food.”
Through her business, Zuki’s Homemade, she now manufactures juices like “Orange, Turmeric Root, Apples & Carrot” as well as “Beet, Carrots, Celery, Ginger Root & Apples” and “Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Lime & Apples”. She also makes a parsley pesto and a variant containing chillies. And then there’s the blueberry chai jam.
She is currently based in Plettenberg Bay, and has recently started supplying her products to a local Spar branch. “I approached them [this year] and showed them my products. They loved them.”
Gqirana acknowledges that she is still very new in the agro-processing sector as a jam and juice maker, but she hopes to expand her brand in the near future. “I would like [to see my products] in big supermarkets like Pick n Pay and Checkers, and just all over the country.”
As someone whose business is just starting to take off, Gqirana says it’s possible to get going if you have the basics covered:
1. Consistency
Breaking into agro-processing is not particularly easy. She advises that aspiring agripreneurs be consistent – and not necessarily only in product quality but also in their efforts to grow in the sector.
2. Passion
Passion is a primary ingredient for most successful people in the agricultural sector. Gqirana advises people to “do it because you love it”.
3. Just start
“I would say to people who are starting out, don’t wait until you have lots of money. If you have R500, and you are passionate about your business, just start. Just start.”
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