Words: Kit Heathcock | Images: Supplied
Ses’fikile means “we have arrived”. The name speaks to the optimism felt by founder Nondumiso Pikashe in the “new” South Africa, where opportunities are open to everyone. She tells us how she built the brand from scratch working from her home in Gugulethu.
How did your business start?
I had been teaching for 11 years in Khayelitsha and felt that I’d reached the ceiling. I got the entrepreneurial urge and the wine industry – an area that had been neglected during transformation – interested me. Up until now, it’s been closed to my community – very few kids would aspire to become, for example, a viticulturist or to travel the world and learn about other wine-producing countries. It’s a language I’d like to hear our kids speak. I’ve tested the Ses’fikile brand nationally and found the local market resonating with the name. Consumers are intrigued, want to know what it means, and love the celebratory component of it. However, I’m struggling with mainstream retailers who find the name too “ethnic”, so I’m working on making a compelling case as I believe it is a brand that can speak to the whole world.
Why did you choose this area to set up shop?
My business is based at my home in Gugulethu – it’s more circumstance than choice – to be cost-effective in building a new brand. First I created the Ses’fikile brand, then I built relationships and partnerships with the wine farms. I choose the grape varieties and accompanying wine style and work with a viticulturist. I negotiate a package for the production of my wine and the warehousing in Stellenbosch. And then I sell my brand and run the admin side of the business from home.
How did you find your premises?
It’s my home. I was born in Gugulethu and raised between here and Langa.
Why are the premises ideally suited to your business?
Working from home isn’t always ideal, but it’s quite central and convenient for easy access to the N2 and N1. I hold some meetings here and some in coffee shops or hotels. Gugulethu is a vibrant community with lots of businesses operating around me. I’m also about to start working with a company operating township tours to give wine-tastings here in Gugulethu.
Who are your neighbours?
The popular Mzoli’s, people doing tourism, marketing, grocery stores, NGOs, all sorts.
What are the rental/sales prices like in this area?
In Gugulethu, a business space is roughly R5,000 per month, space dependent.
How many people visit your business each day?
I don’t sell at all from home, so those visiting will just be for occasional meetings. Ses’fikile is sold through Wine Concepts in Newlands and is on the wine lists at Bantry Bay Hotel and Simon’s Restaurant at Groot Constantia.
Do you have any expansion plans?
A long-term goal is to find a wine farm where all operations will take place, including wine tourism.
Do you operate online as well?
Ses’fikile is sold online through wine.co.za.
What’s your most popular item?
Our Ses’fikile Chenin Blanc Roussanne, which was in the finals of the Perswijn competition in Amsterdam, and the Ses’fikile Shiraz blend, which won a bronze medal at the 2018 London Wine Competition.
Ses’fikile Wines
083 431 0254
sesifikile.co.za
