SWEET DEALS

Two dynamic businesswomen on how they started their now-famous confectionary brands.

Cookery during her gap year.

‘I kind of did it just as a life skill,’ she says, laughing, ‘so that one day I could be the best wife.’ But this skill came in handy when family friend Annalize Buchanan asked Lexi to help out on a couple of catering gigs.

One of them required Lexi to whip up a batch of nougat. ‘I said, “Sure! How hard could it be?” To be honest, it was hard – but my stepmom taught me how to make nougat and I managed to do it all in my mom’s kitchen.’

So began Lexi’s love affair with confectionary. ‘I started doing regular catering jobs with Annalize, before taking a table at The Old Biscuit Mill.’ Here, at one of Cape Town’s biggest markets, Ma Mère took off, gaining a loyal clientele with its nougat range, Turkish delight and caramel popcorn. Soon the business was growing so fast it was time to expand. So Lexi rented a shop across the road from the Biscuit Mill. ‘I wanted a Frenchstyle sweet shop, but when people started coming in looking to buy products to sell in their own stores, this changed things up a bit.’

After moving back into the Biscuit Mill in 2013, Lexi was juggling wholesale orders and running a sweet shop, and things were becoming a bit cramped. It was time to make a call: either run a small sweet shop or move into a factory space and focus on producing wholesale orders.

In 2015 Lexi decided Ma Mère would only manufacture, and along with her general manager, Heloise Tyszowiecki, built the company into what it is today. ‘We used to cook everything, cut everything, package it, count it… we did it all!’ Lexi recalls. These days Ma Mère employs 17 people, and Lexi still can’t believe how much the company has grown. ‘The initial goal was just to make a few bucks!’

Although you may not find them in the kitchen as much any longer, Heloise and Lexi still love working together. Lexi describes their partnership as the perfect balance: ‘I’m like a disco ball. I want to do this, and that, and this, and that. I want to do 40 things all at once. Heloise makes me more like a laser beam. Instead of doing all 40 things, Heloise guides me to do one thing really well. Once that’s checked off, we can go after number two.

Still, they continue to make new types of nougat and experiment in the kitchen together. ‘I design it and Heloise finds out about the nuts and bolts,’ says Lexi.

‘We’re like sisters in a way,’ adds Heloise; we’ve grown together.’ With a business rooted in their sisterhood, it’s unsurprising that the origins of Ma Mère’s name draws on the other women in Lexi’s life: her moms. ‘It means “My Mother” because all of our recipes are from moms or friends’ moms. I like the idea that everything is passed down. No recipe is new. We play with nostalgia.’

Lexi’s mom and stepmom both influenced Ma Mère’s inception: while her stepmom taught her how to make the nougat they sell today, Lexi says, ‘I grew up in the kitchen with my mom.’

Her advice to entrepreneurs: ‘It’s okay to say no to some opportunities. You don’t have to do everything RIGHT NOW.’ Heloise agrees. ‘Don’t try to get too big, too quickly – just take it as it comes.’