from NKHENSANI NKUNA in Tzaneen, Limpopo
Limpopo Bureau
TZANEEN, (CAJ News) – VERY Tsonga beverages are not your ordinary alcoholic products. They promote the beauty of the Tsonga culture.
The bottles are covered in colourful Xitsonga traditional fabric called nceka, making it easy to distinguish from other brands.
Mashudu Mafomade, a former human rights activist, established the brand in 2019 after developing a love for wine.
She started off with wine-making, but after her business was badly affected by the Covid-19, she added gin to her brand with the aim of rebranding and recovering from the economical impact of the pandemic.
Currently, Very Tsonga has dry and sweet wine and has a variety of flavours for gin, ranging from citrus to berry.
Mashudu was born and raised in Phalaborwa, but relocated to Tzaneen where the brand is now based and manufactured at a local distillery.
As a member of the Greater Tzaneen Tourism Association, she understands the importance of supporting local businesses, hence most of her ingredients are sourced from local farms.
“We have an agreement with a local berry farm which supplies us with berries for our gin-making and we also source our citrus fruits from local farms,” she said.
Mashudu said running an alcoholic brand as a woman was not easy because people normally expected it to be a man-led enterprise. However, she is soldiering on.
“We are in the process of expanding our brand. In the near future we will accommodate other cultures such as vaVhenda and Bapedi.
The company has something called ‘a message in the bottle’ where they personalize the bottle with messages at a cost.
The brands are found in most of the restaurants in Tzaneen, such as High Grove Tavern, Crawdaddy and Krabbwrfontein in Magoebaskloof.
– CAJ News