Content Candy is a niche agency, co-founded by Brendah Nyakudya and Stacey Vee, that specialises in creating content portals for some of South Africa’s biggest brands. The agency’s team of nine work out of a beautiful studio space in Sunninghill.
How did your business start?
We first met in 2003, working at Uppercase Media, the publishers of Heat and FHM magazines. Fast-forward a decade, when we joined forces to launch one of South Africa’s first content agencies. We still have the slip from our first coffee meeting to discuss our business plan.
Why did you choose this area to set up shop?
Bryanston, Parkhurst and Greenside are “agency land”, and, frankly, the rent in those areas is astronomical. Our studio is just off Rivonia Road in the quieter suburb of Sunninghill. It’s affordable, central and perfect for our needs.
How did you find your premises?
We drove through the neighbourhoods we had our eye on scribbling down the phone numbers on To Let signs. One of the leasing agents we contacted said he had a space he thought we might like in Sunninghill – which wasn’t an area we’d considered – but he said that we had to see it in person to appreciate it. He was right. We signed on immediately.
Why are the premises ideally suited to your business?
What we really needed was a collaborative nook for our creative team. Our studio is light and airy with pops of colour, and the all-important Nespresso machine.
Who are your neighbours?
We’re in the same building as Ads24 (a division of Media24) and research house Gartner, but our favourite neighbour is the Capsicum Culinary Studio. On Fridays the chefs in training pop into our studio laden with trays of muffins, waffles and other baked delights.
What are the shop rental/sales prices like in this area?
Surprisingly affordable: area rental is less than R80/m2 in our building. Our space came beautifully outfitted, with wooden floors, downlights, and a full kitchen – which was the real coup; our creative team is fuelled entirely by tea and biscuits.
What is your shop footprint?
Most of the foot traffic is our writers coming and going, on their way to meet with clients or conduct interviews for features we’re working on.
Do you have any expansion plans?
We do. Our team doubled in size last year, so we are already on the search for a bigger space so that w
e can house all the Candies under one roof. We’re also looking at opening a Cape Town office.
Do you operate online as well?
We only use our website and newsletter to generate new business.
What’s your most popular item?
Without a doubt, our monthly content bundles. We create a “bundle” of monthly content to boost our clients’ marketing efforts – a mix of blog posts and articles, newsletters, e-books and videos to suit the brand’s audience. It includes a fixed budget for distribution.
See for yourself:
011 234 1043
Words: Georgina Guedes
Images: Supplied
