Great Taste In A Box!

This Durban woman turned her job loss into a business venture – now she’s the owner of a meal-kit delivery service

- Nonkululeko Mazibuko

She was terrified when she lost her job. Like many businesses, the company Nokwanda Zondi worked for was battling to stay afloat due to the crushing impact of the coronavirus crisis.

In April, she was retrenched and her only concern was keeping the wolf from the door. “When I heard I was going to be retrenched, I was gripped with fear of survival,” Nokwanda says.

“I kept thinking, ‘Ngizophila ngani?’ (What will I survive on?). How will I make ends meet and how will I afford day-to-day needs?’”

South Africa’s economy had taken a pounding because of the pandemic and she worried finding a job during these uncertain times would be tough.

Nokwanda, who last year completed her BTech in consumer science from the Durban University of Technology (DUT), had always loved cooking so she turned to her background in food.

“I knew a lot of people were doing catering and I wanted to sort of touch on it, but on a different scale.

“I wanted to bring the whole dining and restaurant feel into your own home, like stay home and cook,” she says.

At the time, the country’s strict lockdown prevented people from grabbing takeaways and dining out.

Her vision was to start a food business allowing clients a taste of restaurant-quality food.

When she told her partner, Sibusiso Mkwanazi (26), about her idea, he threw his weight behind her.

“You can have a business idea and not know where to start in terms of implementing and even marketing it, but my boyfriend was helpful and supportive in helping me start up my business.”