Indigenous tea firm scores sweet deal with major retail brand
Phaahla helps rural communities toast success
A successful indigenous tea company in Limpopo is now a part of the Food Lovers Market family.
Setšong African Tea Crafters, headed by 29-yearold Retang Phaahla, is an award-winning agri-business owned by the Bapedi communities of GaMatlala and GaPhaahla.
The business has eight types of teas that will be sold at stores across SA after it won Food Lover’s Market Seeds of Change Supplier Development Partnership. It beat 270 applicants to make the top 10, then won first place and access to the retail giant’s market.
“The business officially started in 2016 but it was born from a community initiative my mother founded in 2003. This organisation does social programmes in rural areas,” said Phaahla, who spoke to Sowetan on International Tea Day on Saturday.
She said after her mother
moved to Sekhukhune they realised a lot of indigenous knowledge systems could be used to start businesses.
“The communities are rich in indigenous knowledge. It’s very sustainable and it’ sa lifestyle. The older generation has a way to sustain themselves. My mom saw my dad’s aunt grinding something and she asked what it was. She told that it is a tea for poor people. These teas are often ground in secret because it’s seen as a tea for poor people,” she said.
Phaahla said her mother, who is a big tea drinker, loved the tea and brought it to Johannesburg. “I was blown away by the taste and we embarked on a mission to find out what is in it and its properties.”
They found out that the tea has vitamin A and zinc. Eventually, her grandfather decided to give up his farm in GaMatlala which was then taken on by Phaahla, who is a quantity surveyor by profession, and her family.
“Here we found another tea that this community grows and decided to create our production hub there,” she said. “The communities were so excited about the results because it validated what they knew about the tea.”
Phaahla, her family and the two communities jointly share the company, with the community having a 49% stake.
They have created employment for 20 permanent people and 15 seasonal workers.
“Some of the employees are young people from the same communities that own a stake in the business,” she said.
Director and co-founder of Food Lover’s Market Michael Coppin said Phaahla’s pitch to join the retailer as a supplier was impressive. “A huge congratulations to Retang Phaahla from Setšong African
Tea Crafters, who impressed the panel with her wellthought-out and cohesive business pitch. The other nine applicants were also very impressive, and the high standard of applications reflects the great mix of social enterprises across South Africa who are focused on building a sustainable society and economy.”