DURBAN - WITH the inspiration to produce locally, hopeful entrepreneur Yandisa Zulu is a step closer to his dream becoming a reality after launching the first product of his electronic appliance brand.
Social media has been buzzing with congratulatory messages as the Zuluish brand launched its first locally produced kettle. Zulu who is the founder of the brand, said his seven-year dream is inspired by his wish to make it big and his KZN roots.
“The word Zuluish is a combination of Zulu and wish. It symbolises my wish as a Zulu person to make it big. It has always been a wish to see locally produced products make it to the shelves of different stores and even internationally. This brand will also symbolise its origin wherever it will be sold,” said Zulu.
Zulu said the brand was a birth of his seven-year dream. “I started doing research seven years ago. I was checking what is on the market, what is missing from the market and what other companies from other countries are doing. Working for different companies has also helped me gather the information I needed to make this dream a reality,” he said.
Zulu said that his brand specialises on appliances, but they have launched a kettle for now. “We are still introducing ourselves right now and trying to build a rapport with our customers. We need the brand to be known and trusted before introducing other products,” he said.
Following the buzz on social media, Zulu said he has received a positive reaction from the customers. “At the moment we have been careful about who sells or lists our products because we want to control the whole process and communicate directly with the customers to improve the quality of our products as we capture the user research results in our data system,” he said.
Speaking on the future of the brand, the Eastern Cape-born entrepreneur said this dream does not belong to him alone but to the rest of South Africans. “This dream will live on for generations to come, it is too big to be my dream alone. Since we do not own the economy, we need to come up with more fresh ideas, to produce and sell locally so more people can have jobs,” said Zulu.
THE MERCURY