A contract to supply SPAR Eastern Cape outlets has catapulted Khayakazi Kepe’s catering brand to a commercialized business, from ad hoc catering.
Khaya’s Kitchen secured the deal to supply ready to eat African food range, following the success of a test pilot which started at SPAR Waterfront in Humerail, Port Elizabeth. The pilot was later expanded to include eight SPAR Eastern Cape outlets.
The former Masterchef South Africa finalist credits the owner of SPAR Humerail, Howard and his Manager Neil whom she said were “really great” in supporting her business through the trial-and-error period.
“They understood that as small business introducing a new product to the market, we needed time for customers to get used to the product, before we could know what works and what does not,” said Kepe.
Khaya’s Kitchen is now gearing up for a full roll out across all the stores in the Eastern Cape, Kepe said.
The mover and shaker first impressed a top manager of SPAR with her culinary skills at a food expo, not knowing who he was. The next day when she went to a meeting scheduled with SPAR Eastern Cape to sponsor her cooking show on Umhlobo Wenene FM (UWFM), he remembered her from the food expo.
“The MD of SPAR bought food at my stall, unbeknown to me. When I walked into a meeting with SPAR, he recognised me from the previous night. I got a job plus a sponsorship for my show,” said Kepe.
While working for SPAR, she travelled around the Eastern Cape working with the retailer’s deli managers and staff. She spotted a gap in the market for her range of African food.
Kepe said SPAR was onboard right from the beginning when the Khaya’s Kitchen brand was still just a concept in 2019.
“That helped us tremendously. Often an entrepreneur develop a product without an access to market partner, and they spend years trying to break it into the market. Whereas when we pitched our idea to SPAR and they were on board, said Kepe.
“They walked the journey with us and I am grateful for that because without them, we might not have come this far in just a space of two years.”
She added that the most challenging part of taking her brand to market through a retail brand, was learning the meticulous process of complying with legislative requirements of supplying at retail level.
The process involved choosing the right suppliers, and health and safety checks like the right way to store raw products, ensuring allergens do mix allergens and non-allergens.
“The logistics involved a level of detail in how we selected our team because I needed to have people that I could trust. I remember our first test order to SPAR in December 2019 our products went out to 15 stores around the Eastern Cape. I did not sleep for three nights straight. My brother flew in from Cape Town to come and assist and it was hectic,” said Kepe.
“I think perhaps the lockdown was a blessing for us because had we launched in April 2020, we would have failed dismally. The past year gave us time to learn as a team and be efficient.”
Khaya’s Kitchen also got corporate clients like Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA), catering for the launch of their COVID-19 field hospital.
“We also just secured a contract with Transnet to supply them with catering for 12 months at their school of rail,” said Kepe.
UWFM gave her a platform to build her brand, she said. “It was a great platform because it provided a steppingstone. People already knew who Khaya is and her style of cooking so by the time the brand launched they had already been looking forward to it.”
She also credits her paternal grandmother for nurturing her love for cooking and passed on her culinary skills when she moved from Sterkspruit to Cape Town to live with her at the age of eight.
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