5 South African Brands that started September on a high note

South African brands that started September on a high

The world is still battling with a pandemic, however, this does not mean that all things are all doom and gloom. This September started on a high note for some of our very own South African brands.

September marks the beginning of a new season in South Africa, Spring. Spring is a season of new beginnings. Fresh buds bloom, animals awaken and the earth seems to come to life again.

It is also our South Africa’s heritage month.

This year, we are seeing South African brands, who are custodians of rich heritage and authenticity rising to the occasion of what this month is about. Household names such as Tastic Rice, The Lazy Makoti, Boity, Skinny Sbu, and MoFaya have announced their milestones this past week.

Each of these brands represents what it truly means to be South African – a people who remain authentic, fearless, knowing no bounds in order to fulfill one’s purpose and tying of that to South African roots.

1. Tastic launches their heritage month campaign with world-renowned designer, Laduma Ngxokolo.

An advocate of the Xhosa culture in South Africa and the globe, Laduma Ngxokolo’s famous Maxhosa design print inspired this year’s Tastic Rice exclusive packaging for heritage month.

Laduma Ngxokolo is one of Africa’s finest knitwear designer & innovator of the Xhosa (one of the South African dominant ethnic group) inspired knitwear brand MAXHOSA BY LADUMA. Laduma continues to capture the hearts of many fashion lovers and media from South Africa, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Oslo, Berlin and New York. He is one known to consistently embrace his heritage through his fashion designs.

2. The Lazy Makoti partners with Woolworths

The Lazy Makoti partners with Woolworths

“Woolies and Woolworths TASTE Magazine are very happy to say @thelazymakoti is officially joining us as a Creative Collaborator. That means you’ll see a whole lot more of Mogau’s magnificent cooking, from heritage icons to easy bakes and budget-friendly dinners.”, Woolworths mentioned on Instagram.

Mogau Seshoene, also known as ‘The Lazy Makoti’ is a trained chef and award winning cookbook author.  She founded The Lazy Makoti in 2014 after leaving the corporate world to focus on her love for food. What began as lessons for a friend, a bride-to-be who was afraid of being labelled “The Lazy Makoti” (the lazy daughter-in-law) because she couldn’t cook, evolved into a business, and inspired its name. Mogau has a diploma in Culinary Arts from the Chefs Training and Innovation Academy in Centurion and completed the industry training under Chef Werner at The Saxon Hotel in Johannesburg.

Her passion for South African culture and heritage is the inspiration behind how she continues to  demonstrate easier and healthier ways to prepare African and South African cuisine.

3. Boity Thulo announces her new Boity Pink Sapphire perfume.

Boity Pink Sapphire
Image source: Twitter

South African television personality, rapper, entrepreneur, and luxury style enthusiast Boity Thulo is securing the bag with her latest passion project, a perfume for the ladies to dress themselves in and feel like royalty.

The Boity Pink Sapphire eau de parfum is proudly South African, premium, first-of-its-kind eau de parfum developed in collaboration with Halo Heritage.

Halo Heritage and Boity worked closely with French perfumer, Emilie Bouge, who brings over 22 years of experience in the art of perfumery. Pink Sapphire is best described as an ode to powerful, modern, African queens. “It’s a powerful but elegant fragrance. The top notes that you smell at first are the sugar, the fresh tangerine and wild marigold. After a few moments, you’ll smell the amber, jasmine, and French lavender and finally, the heavier base notes of ambroxan, moss and cedarwood bring that incredible depth – they balance out the sweeter notes perfectly. I just love it!”, Thulo expresses.

4. Skinny Sbu opened his first independent store in Maboneng, Johannesburg

Skinny Sbu opens his first independent store
Founder & CEO of Skinny Sbu: Sibusiso Ngwenya.
Image source: www.skinnysbu.com

In Sibuso Ngwenya’s world, this month is not September. It is Sbutember, meaning that this month belongs to him.

“Thank you very much to each individual that has been dropping a bag full of money at Skinny Sbu store in Maboneng, Johannesburg.” Sibusiso, tweeted.

Sibusiso Ngwenya who is popularly known as ‘Skinny Sbu’ is a Sockprenuer who’s success story is known to many. He started Skinny Sbu Socks, in April 2013 and has since gone from leaps and bounds to give men exclusive stylish socks to dress with.

He decided to start his own sock line when he realised there was a lack of South African designers specializing in socks for men.

5. MoFaya launched its new soft-drink range.

DJ Sbu launches Mofaya soft-drink range
Mofaya co-founders: Siphiwe Likhuleni Shongwe and Sibusiso “DJ Sbu” Leope at the launch of Mofaya Soft-drinks. Image source: Twitter

Sibusiso ‘DJ Sbu’ Leope broke the internet on the morning of the 1st of September when he announced the expansion of his brand MoFaya with a new range of soft drinks. What makes these “Khondrinks” unique is that each flavour has its own vernacular name.

The new soft drink range, includes: Cola – Sash Mnyamane, Crème Soda – Nomalizo, Ginger Beer -iGemmer, Granadilla – Slay Queen, Grape – Tjovitjo, Iron Brew – Intsimbi, Lemon – Boss Zonke, Lemonade – Botsotso, Litchi – Akekhugogo, Orange – Mzekezeke, Coco Pine – Yellow Bone, and Raspberry – Isichomanis.

The soft drinks will be sold through existing wholesale and retail channels nationwide.

We love it when proudly South African brands win and showcase their heritage in different ways, be it through food, fashion, beauty, or luxury.

A huge Pat on these brands!

How to become a social media influencer in South Africa

The revolutionary emergence of social media has provided ordinary people with an easily accessible platform to voice their opinions and become thought leaders in their areas of interest. These thought leaders are often referred to as influencers. They tend to be well-connected individuals and are perceived to be influential and in-the-know in certain topics. Their followers, on the various social media platforms, look up to them for advice, knowledge, direction and opinions.

For many brands, the use of influencers has become one of the most effective strategies to drive brand messages in subliminal ways. Instead of pushing their own message, brands can leverage the ‘attracting power’ of online influencers to get their message to the consumer.

In developed countries, such the Unites States and the United Kingdom, influencers are making lots of money. Some people end up leaving their jobs to become full-time influencers. In 2015, Business Insider reported that one of the most popular YouTube channels, PewDiePie made about $7.4 million. Converting this amount into Rands, that’s closer to a whopping R100 Million depending on the Rand/Dollar exchange rate. In SA we have people like Boity, Kefilwe Mabote, Karabo Mokgoko and Tshepi Mvundla just to name a few, who have become formidable influencers in their own unique ways.

We at patonbrands.com believe that by following the 6 guidelines below, you can become an influencer in your area of interest.

1. Identify a topic or area you are most passionate about

In the famous words of Georg W.F Hegel “Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion”. To be a phenomenal influencer, you need to be passionate about the topic/area you want to be influential in, whether it’s sports, fashion and lifestyle, cars etc. If you are not as passionate you won’t do great and your followers will pick it up.

2. Choose a platform to share your thoughts

There many platforms that you can use to communicate your passion on. You need to choose the one(s) that will allow you to reach your audience effectively and efficiently. You can have your own blog and presence on social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. This is, however, dependent on the type of content that you will be producing.

3. Be consistent

In the influencer marketing space, consistency is vital. If you don’t release content on a regular basis, your audience will forget about you (Out of sight- Out of mind).

4. Provide value

Give your audience a reason to consume your work. There are various ways to provide value, whether you want to entertain, educate and inform your audience or simply just to share on your inner thoughts. The choice is completely yours.

5. Network

An African Proverb states that “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others”. This is true to becoming an influencer, engage with those that are already in the space to broaden your reach and scope. Also find a way to add value to what they are doing.

6. Be patient

Like any other thing worth achieving, you need to have patience. It takes time to build an audience. Again, if you are passionate about your chosen topic/area it will be easier for you to be patient.

I hope you find this guideline useful to start your journey as an influencer and make a positive impact in people’s lives. Please leave your comments below and as usual don’t forget to share! Don’t forget to in-touch with @PatOnBrands on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.