When the national lockdown was implemented in March, Bontle Tshole realised that her business needed to pivot to remain competitive.
Johannesburg, South Africa (08 November 2020) – Women-owned businesses make up approximately 23% of the South African economy. Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, many of these businesses have been forced to close their doors, but some have used creativity and ingenuity to pivot.
Sunlight has been supporting women, who comprise the largest percentage of its customer base, for generations. As part of the brand’s mission to deliver more than you expect, Sunlight launched More Than You Expect Heroes earlier this year. This initiative identifies and supports women entrepreneurs and small business owners who have shown strength and innovation in redirecting their businesses during this time.
Along with Carin Rhoode and Ncumisa Mkabile, Bontle Tshole, founder and owner of Baaa Smoothie, was identified as one of the first three More Than You Expect Heroes.
While completing her studies in Psychology and Politics at the University of Johannesburg, Bontle worked part-time in retail promotions, first for a fragrance company and later an alcohol company. On graduating in 2017, she worked fulltime in a retail store. It was during this time that the idea of a healthy fast-food alternative began to take shape in her mind.
“I grew up in a very health-conscious family, but when I was working, I couldn’t find healthy fast- food anywhere,” Bontle explains.
“I’d bring my own lunch to work each day, but sometimes you just want to buy lunch! When my colleagues and friends started asking me to make them lunch as well, I thought, ‘maybe there’s an opportunity here’.”
Bontle decided to take the plunge and establish a healthy fast-food alternative. She started trading at pop-up markets in July 2017, before opening Baaa Smoothie health bar in Fourways in 2018. Dispelling the misconception that eating healthily means compromising on taste, Baaa Smoothie’s healthy eating options are every bit as delicious as they are nutritious, and have inspired a steady stream of converts to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle.
When the national lockdown was implemented in March, Bontle realised that Baaa Smoothie needed to pivot to remain competitive.
“First and foremost, we needed to get ourselves online. We had a website, but not an eCommerce site. Getting the eCommerce site done and making the online purchasing process easy for our customers was a priority.”
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Orders were delivered to customers via courier during the lockdown, but as Bontle explains, “We had challenges, because couriers weren’t delivering every day, and they weren’t delivering everything – only essential products.”
During this period, Bontle maintained an active presence on her social media platforms, sharing relevant posts about ingredients used in her menu, and highlighting the health benefits of Baaa Smoothie products.
“We also refined our product selection.”
Bontle continues, “One of our best-selling products during lockdown was our vitality shots. We call them Bophilo, which means Life in Setswana. People were thinking about boosting their immune systems, so we worked on that product a lot, and later introduced an aligned product called Rea.”
Of course, the pandemic and lockdown have been tough, but as Bontle points out, unexpected benefits have emerged through the difficulty.
“The lockdown allowed us to seek other avenues to maximise our product market share, and we learnt how to speak to our customers. These are little things that we may take for granted, but in the long run, they’re really important.”
As South Africa emerges from the lockdown and moves towards something approaching normality, increasing Baaa Smoothie’s market share is a key objective for Bontle, but thanks to Sunlight, she now has a lot more support than she anticipated in this endeavour.
Raising Baaa Smoothie’s profile is vital to its growth, and of the many benefits being a More Than You Expect Hero has brought, Bontle considers the exposure her business has received to be the most valuable.
“Sunlight’s help with advertising and marketing has made a big difference. There have been a lot more sales, but more than anything else, this initiative has made us known. There’s definitely a lot more awareness of the brand.”
The advertising exposure Baaa Health is receiving from Sunlight includes a billboard in Fourways. In addition, Bontle will receive R50,000 in cash, training with BrownSense, a contribution towards a packaging resources, and redesigned packaging for her business.
Baaa Smoothie’s service rests on consistency, value and quality. That makes Bontle’s business an ideal partner for Sunlight, which offers better value, better quality, and products that make your rand stretch further. Sunlight’s range of hard-working products and innovations give you so much more, enabling women like Bontle – and women like you – to be more than you expect.
Sunlight is inviting South African women who own their own businesses to share their stories and stand a chance of taking their place alongside Ncumisa, Bontle and Carin as More Than You Expect Heroes. Five additional Heroes will be selected. Each will benefit from business support and resources to the value of R200,000. This includes market access opportunities, training and mentorship through Sunlight’s partners, BrownSense. As in Ncumisa’s case, a tailored approach will be adopted to meet each winner’s unique business needs.
To stand a chance of receiving more than you expect, enter the competition by clicking here.
- How can women entrepreneurs enter the competition?
- Visit the Sunlight website https ://www.sunlight.co.za
- Click on the enter and win tab in the website menu.
- Complete the form on the Gives You More page and submit in order to have a valid
participating entry for the competition. Participants must complete the required fields on the competition application page (by submitting all the required information, including their name and mobile phone number) as well as the answer to all the questions. - Once they’ve submitted their entry, share a post on social media, tag @sunlightza, and tell their followers they’ve just entered using #MoreThanYouExpect
Participants stand a chance to win R200 000 worth of resources, support, training and cash to support their business venture. Each winners profile will be looked at individually, and support will be tailored for their business needs.
Competition Duration
This promotional competition runs from 1st September 2020 to 31 November 2020 at 12 pm (the
closing date). Any entries received after the closing date will not be considered.
How will the winners be selected?
The finalists will be selected by the promoter based on how interesting and worthy their story and entry is, as well as if they meet the above criteria mentioned in section 8a of the T&C’s. Winners will be notified telephonically by the 15 December 2020 where the winner will be required to verify their details.
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