From human rights activist to producing her own ‘Very Tsonga’ Gin
AGAINST all odds, Mashudu Mfomande, from the dusty streets of Lulekani in Phalaborwa, Limpopo has produced the province’s very own gin.
Proudly named “Very Tsonga”, the brand is aimed at promoting arts, culture, heritage and language.
The mother of three says she needed to create a brand that would hit closer to home and something that the Vatsonga people could identify with.
“When I was owning a restaurant in 2019, I was looking for a house brand wine when I came across a guy who knew someone who could help me get more than a house brand wine, my own brand, when Mash Beverages and Wines was born.
“As a risk taker, I took it with anticipation, excitement and fear since I didn’t know the path ahead. At the beginning it was about proving to myself as a black woman that I could do it, for myself, for women and for the black race,” she said.
With that motivation, Mfomande had to choose the best distilleries and wineries in the business to realise her dream, meaning the beverages would be produced in small batches.
She said she got her inspiration from growing up with parents who were business-minded.
“As far as I can remember, my parents were always selling something, from fruits, shebeen, spaza shop, restaurants, you name it … So technically I grew up in a business setting and those businesses were, if I can say, my masterclass.
“I remember how my dad was influential in me picking up commercial subjects, and he wanted me to be an economist. Unfortunately, when I passed matric my parents didn’t have money any more, so I went to FET College in Phalaborwa and studied business management,” she said.
Mfomande said she was not always a businesswoman.
“I worked as a human rights activist for almost two decades, and had promised myself that I would retire at 40, but when 40 came I was working for Amnesty International South Africa as a campaign co-ordinator and earning good money, but exhausted and needed a big break, so I took the money that I had saved over the years and bought my first business in Tzaneen, which was a pub.
“My partner managed the pub during my last months while I was still working. I resigned and later bought two restaurants after that before the alcohol brand.”
She said to promote heritage and the Tsonga language, the brand hosted events called Very Tsonga Experience which aimed to bring people together to experience Vatsonga through food, beverages, music and fashion.
Like many other businesses, Mfomande’s business was threatened during the Covid-19 period which plunged the country into lockdown for two years.
“During lockdown, my business was threatened big-time; there was an alcohol sales ban and things went to the verge of collapse. In fact, we did close because Mash Wines and Beverages died with Covid-19 … and in 2021 I thought about rebranding it with something bright, colourful, loud and beautiful – and there is nothing that was brighter than the Tsonga fabric (Nceka) … and the whole branding is inspired by Nceka.
Mfomande tells of how in 2013 she had a calling to a project of promotion of art, culture, heritage and language. At the time she says there was a concern at the fading of Xitsonga as a language through English medium schools.
“My mother raised the concern when her great-grandson spoke to her in English. Not having any Xitsonga television show, for me, was the highest form of disrespect in a country that claims all languages are equal and with a Constitution that screams equality law. I must say, to date these objectives haven’t been achieved yet … still a work in progress,” she said.
She says the business does come with its fair share of challenges.
“When I started, my target was Vatsonga people because they resonated with the branding. The brand was well received and we were booming.
“However, we had a few people calling us tribalists because of the brand name. As we proceeded, other tribes and races started buying into the idea of promoting Vatsonga this way and loved the story behind the brand and appreciated it more.
“The biggest challenge is demand and distribution. Our people want Very Tsonga at their local outlet but do not understand the processes that come with that.
“As a black businesswoman, I have to work 100 times harder than my male and race counterparts; people are always suspicious of the brand, worrying if it is genuinely what we say it is.
“They want to taste first before they buy, which they do not do with white-owned brands … and tasting alone takes the biggest chunk of the profit because they do not really taste to buy,” Mfomande said.