By Agreement Mabunda
TZANEEN-Mashudu Mfomande, an entrepreneur well-known in her neighbourhood as the successful creator of the Very Tsonga Brand.
She views Very Tsonga as a cultural brand that promotes transformation, unites the traditional and contemporary aspects of Vatsonga culture, and introduces Limpopo to the rest of the globe.
From the new offering of Very Tsonga Brandy to the Very Tsonga Craft Gin, which comes in crystal, blueberry, citrus, and rooibos flavours, the feedback has been overwhelmingly good thus far.
Mfomande is a Lulekani native who was raised in Phalaborwa, but currently staying in Tzaneen.
She told Tzaneen Voice that she was raised in an entrepreneurial environment. Her parents had a spaza shop, a restaurant, and a shebeen.
“I was an entrepreneur growing up, learning from those businesses as my master class.”
Her father had a positive impact on her academic career. He intended for her to join in commercial studies and pursue a career as an economist, but when the Very Tsonga founder graduated from high school, her parents couldn’t afford to send her to university. Instead, she enrolled at FET College in Phalaborwa where she studied business management.
Instead of starting a business right out of college, Mfomande began her nearly two-decade-long career in human rights activism by working as a volunteer at Bushbuckridge’s Mapulaneng Hospital.
She was an enthusiastic Campaign Coordinator for Amnesty International South Africa, but by the time she reached her forties, she was worn out and in desperate need of a major shift in her life. She used her savings to purchase two restaurants after her first venture, a bar in Tzaneen.
She found someone who could help her develop her brand in 2019 when searching for a house brand of wine because she was unsure about the next steps. However, it was also about demonstrating to herself that she could succeed as a Black woman as well as for herself. She began with Mash Wines & Beverages, but during the Covid 19 Lockdown, the company was in danger and eventually failed since sales were forbidden.
She gave it a new identity in 2021 that was more closely associated with the Art, Culture, Heritage, and Language of the Vatsonga people. ‘Nceka’, which is more vivid and colour-blocking, was chosen as a cloth for the Vatsonga people because she wanted something loud, lively, and bright.
To bring people together to experience the Tsonga culture, Mash wines and beverages transformed into the brand Very Tsonga.
Very Tsonga Brand is geographically situated in Tzaneen but sells throughout South Africa. The beverage brand will soon be available online and nationwide according to Mfomande.
