27 Mar 2022

A Chinese proverb goes, ‘Better three days without food, than one without tea.’

It might not be a panacea, but the properties of tea in physical, mental and emotional health have been recognized in traditional and alternative medicines.

Generations into its discovery, tea continues to be the primary beverage held close to the heart of numerous households.

It is this obsession with the beverage that brought Tutume native, Mr Gibson Ntibe to the tea business in 2018.

In no time, he brewed a success story with ‘Real Tea’, a 100 per cent citizen-owned tea packaging and distribution enterprise under Mother Well Investments.

After nearly 23 years as a tea master with National Brands Limited (PTY)(LTD), responsible for the Five roses tea brand, Real Tea has not only become Mr Ntibe calling card, but also a magic wand to entrepreneurship and employment creation to many.

The fragrance of fresh tea ushered in the BOPA crew who recently toured the Real Tea warehouse housed at the Botswana Investment and Trade Center incubation hub in Gaborone.

Narrating the chronicles of his journey in the tea business, Mr Ntibe vividly recalled his rookie years as an entrepreneur. Going down memory lane, Mr Ntibe said the road had not been all rosy.

“The journey in entrepreneurship dates back to December 1997, by then the company was trading as Mother Well Investments dealing with groceries and food commodities sales in Gaborone, Mogoditshane and surrounding villages but the influx of huge chain stores in 2003 pushed us out of business and we diversified to poultry production,” he said.

Following years of juggling as an employee of National Brands Limited operating a family business, Mr Ntibe opted for retirement in 2013, a move which he said gave birth to the Real tea brand.

“With the vast experience from National Brands Limited having been first handily involved in the packaging of the Five Roses tea I did not doubt that venturing into tea business will not only quench Batswana’s desire for quality tea but will also increase my desire of entrepreneurship,” he said.

Mr Ntibe applauded the revised Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency for funding Batswana to develop a sustainable and competitive economy adding that he was a testament to one of the many CEDA funded projects success stories.

He said through the revised CEDA guidelines the company was financed to a tune of over P4 million which was invested in procurement of machinery and working capital.

As a startup business, Mr Ntibe said the early years were operated on a tight budget which could not attract fully skilled tea masters due to low remuneration.

He said one of the key stumbling blocks had been establishing a local tea plantation for the sustenance of the supply chain, saying this explained the company’s dependence on tea importation from Malawi.

“It is worth noting that we only do with packaging and distribution of tea and it is of great concern that there is no tea plantation locally and we have to import 100 tons of tea annually.

“This is a niche that local farmers can tap into to explore all value chain beneficiations in the tea industry,” he said.

To that effect, Mr Ntibe stated that the company in conjunction with the Special Economic Zoning remain hopeful to establish a tea plantation locally.

The company, he said have weathered many storms over the years and prides itself with staff retention of 40 Batswana, who he said were mostly unskilled and had to be trained in-house.

Since the tea industry is already saturated with reputable prime brands, Real Tea’s Marketing Director Ms Chodiwa Ntibe admitted the challenges.

She, however, attributed the company’s success to hard work and determination.

“First approach for shelf space was a challenge as the stores and floor managers reserve prime space for top sellers and well-established brands.

This negatively impacts the merchandising and sales of local or upcoming brands and it is a system that almost kicks newcomers out because without space, how can you grow, how can you get customers?” she said.

The reason for the sudden market penetration, she said was largely attributed to investment in vigorous marketing strategy which was all aimed at brand positioning and brand awareness and had now resulted in an improved capital turnover.

In the process of making the brand more appealing to the customers, Ms Ntibe said they had to transform the packing from a green colour to red, a move which was mostly informed by the customers’ plea to differentiate Real Tea from an ordinary green tea.

“Majority of customers assumed it was green tea and felt it would have a bitter and unpleasant taste.

To move away from having to extensively explain how it is not green tea but black tea we had to rebrand from a green box to a red box and our slogan at the time was “Tebego e ntsha, tatso e ntse ke yone,” she said.

She said the decision to rebrand was worth it and noted that Real Tea was available in all Choppies, Sefalana and Shoppers, Trans, Trade World, Eureka/Trident, Fours, Shoprite, SquareMart, Welcome, Daily Needs, Thuso Wholesaler stores as well as all general dealers nationwide.

Ms Ntibe stated that what was distinct about Real Tea was its unique blend of camellia Sinensis which comes with multi health benefits due to its minimum caffeine content.

She said the company was currently positioning itself to fully benefit from the entry into force of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). To this end, she said there should be no reason why Real Tea as a whole could not be a major player in the continental market and contribute positively to the country’s drive towards being an export led economy.

“We are receiving an overwhelming feedback from our customers who are acknowledging the health beneficiation since drinking Real Tea,” she said.

One such customer is 67-year-old Ms Dineo Mosweu of Gabane who stated that besides having a better taste than its competitors, Real Tea had helped in regulating her blood sugar levels. ENDS