Vino Achaar has found favour with many taste buds in Tembisa .
Youth unemployment was the driver behind the development of the new product.
Vino Achaar has already managed to create employment for young people, two of whom are Mr Mpho Moapi (21) and Mr Lusanda Mayile (21).
The man behind the Achaar brand is Mr Karabo Morake (30) who settled in Tembisa when he left Limpopo province.
When Mr Morake finished his grade 12 he tried to pursue his soccer talent in a hope to make a living from the sport.
When his endeavour failed Mr Morake resorted to truck driving to make ends meet.
When his job of three years ended he had to come up with a plan B.
“I approached an old woman who produced home-made achaar and asked her to teach me the skill,” said the founder of Vino Achaar, Mr Morake.
He said the woman taught him the basics and he had to learn the rest all by himself.
“It took me six months to perfect the skill. After that I was confident and resolute on making my achaar business work for me.”
He said at the beginning it was difficult to approach customers but he had to toughen up because he had the backing of a good-quality product.
“When the business was in its early stage it couldn’t break even, due to lack of business knowledge,” said Mr Morake.
To fix that he said he had to pay attention to detail and get his mark-up calculations right.
He learnt business the hard way but today he can proudly say that he is a self-taught businessman.
Direct sales is a strategy used to penetrate Vino Achaar’s market.
He said that word of mouth is an effective way of building a competitive achaar brand and he hopes that soon the brand will be placed on shelves next to popular achaar brands in national food retail stores.
“Vino Achaar proved to be a product of choice among Tembisa residents. This is evident in the growing number of our clientele,” he said.
“I was buying other achaar brands but after tasting Vino Achaar I am happy and I call when I need more. They deliver,” said customer Mr Martin Mpyana.
Mr Morake plans to grow the business and employ more people.
“Mpho and I were unemployed, unable to pay rent and couldn’t fend for our children. When Karabo needed people to help him he took us in and now we are able to pay for our needs,” said 21-year-old Mr Lusanda Mayile.
“Unemployed people must get a skill and make things happen for themselves,” said Mr Morake.
Anyone who wants to buy or taste Vino Achaar can call Mr Morake on 078 212 6352.
