Ndiki adds flavour with his own spice brand
Moshe's Kitchen took five years to be ready
TV and radio personality Moshe Ndiki is spicing up Mzansi in a flavourful way by venturing into the food science industry.
The 29-year-old star, who has dazzled on Metro FM and TV shows like The Queen, Uyang’thanda Na? and Rea Tsotella told Sowetan yesterday that the launch of his spice brand, Moshe’s Kitchen, is his biggest achievement yet.
It took the East London-born entertainer five years to ensure that the spice brand was ready for the market.
“I solely own it, with no investors or funding. There are no other shareholders, it’s just me,” Ndiki said.
“So, it’s a dream come true for me. If I had more people, I guess it would have taken less than five years. But I was determined for me to leave a legacy for my family, kids, cousins, nephews and nieces.
“Everything is a process; from the manufacturing, sourcing, packaging, labelling marketing and advertising. Everything cost so much money and if it doesn’t workout I really don’t know [what I’m going to do]. I have invested most of my savings in this project.”
Ndiki said his spice wasn’t just another celebrity-branded product that he put his name on without lifting a finger.
“I curated each and every spice to my liking. Experimented with how different food reacted to it. “Food is a love language and it’s something I love doing with my family – it’s the one time we are not busy on our phones and are just together, creating memories. I was raised by a single mom and being an only child I was always in the kitchen with her.”“I started cooking very young and spices are something not really spoken about,” Ndiki said.
“One thing I’ve realised with spices is that it shouldn’t force flavour into the meat, but rather bring out the natural taste of the meat. For example, there is no need to put steak and chops onto chicken.” The products are available in seven supermarkets in SA that are located in East Rand, Soweto and Eastern Cape.
“The biggest hurdle was getting it into stores, that’s why it’s not available everywhere,” Ndiki said. “It was me knocking at every retailer, giving them samples and using it in their delis. Then there was making sure that it ’ s SAB approved and Halaal certified.”