Woman Quits Job For Sauce Business
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday November 20, 2017 19:00
It was about three years after she quit her professional job where she had been working for 15 years when she then decided to turn her passion of making sauce into a business. Mogojwa started manufacturing sauces and pastes for family and friends and later started selling to catering people as well as individuals.
Mogojwa now manufactures peri-peri sauce, plum and chilli sauce as well as chilli and garlic paste, garlic and herb paste as well as garlic and ginger paste.
She said her products will next month be accessible at Mr Veg, adding that they will hit the shelves of other retailers early next year as they are currently about to seal the deals. “It started off as a hobby where I would manufacture sauces for my family and friends and teach them how it’s done, but they would always come back complaining that they can’t do it the same as me,” she reminisced.
In 2012 after quitting her job, Mogojwa got motivated by the feedback she got from her close associates, which then motivated her to start selling to catering people who also appreciated the product.
Six years, later as the business was growing, she then decided to go and do some training at NAFTEC in Kanye to learn more about food processing, as she wanted to grow her business and start supplying the retailers.
“After realising that a lot of people were appreciating my products, I then aimed for higher market, which means that I had to upgrade myself in order to meet the requirements of the industry. I then in 2015 did some training at NAFTEC and took my products for testing as well where they were certified,” she said.
According to Mogojwa, by that time she was producing two sauces, which were garlic and herb as well as garlic and ginger. After the certification by NAFTEC, she then added more products, which were also certified. Following that, she then bought an industrial blender to increase her production, as she now had to increase her production to meet her market demands.
“One day, while I was marketing my product at BITC, they were very pleased with my product and even gave me some advice on how I can expand and penetrate the market. They game me direction and even encouraged me to enter the global expo where I got exposed to other markets,” she said.
Mogojwa said she wants to penetrate the local market as she is currently in talks with other retailers. She also intends to have a business centre where she can network with upcoming women entrepreneurs to share ideas of growing their businesses.
In her spare time, Mogojwa offers business consultancy and has a free class, “Come dine with me”, that she offers to youth aged 20 to 25 where she practically teaches them about kitchen, hygiene and related issues.