Limpopo: A Limpopo company based at the Ga-Matlala Ramoshebo village near Marble Hall is on a mission to seek an export market in Germany. Setsong Tea Crafters will be one of the 30 companies that will be showcasing their products at the Anuga International Food and Beverage Trade Fair that will take place in the German town of Cologne, from 4-8 October 2025.
According to South African Government News Agency, the participation of the companies has been made possible by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) that has set up a national pavilion for the showcasing of proudly South African products at Anuga. This is part of the department’s efforts to assist companies seek export opportunities in various parts of the world.
The co-founder of Setsong Tea Crafters, Nondumiso Phaahla, says the company will take full advantage of the opportunity to showcase its products in Germany with the hope of capturing the hearts and attention of international importers who will flock to Germany in search of quality, world-class food products and beverages.
Anuga is a biennial event that is regarded as the world’s largest and most important food and beverage fair. It attracts distributors, retailers, importers, and wholesalers of food and beverages from all continents.
Phaahla is optimistic that the tasteful indigenous black bush and red root tea products that are produced by her company will impress the international importers and distributors. In South Africa, the Setsong products, that are produced from indigenous plants found in Limpopo, are sold in various stores including Spar, Food Lovers Market, and Dischem.
‘We are working hard to meet the growing local demand, but we are looking forward to the trip to Germany because we are confident that our tea will definitely hold its own and compete successfully on the international market. We are excited about the trip as it provides us with an opportunity to showcase products from a village in Limpopo on an international stage. Organic foods and beverages are in demand all over the world,’ explained Phaahla.
The company is also planning to expand its production factory in order to meet the domestic and international demand that it is ‘optimistic will be created by our trip to Germany.’
‘We are not only targeting Germany, but Europe and other parts of the world, as there will be food importers from various continents at Anuga,’ she said.
She said if the company succeeds in securing export orders from international importers at Anuga, the impact on the company will be positive and far-reaching, as they will be compelled to increase production in order to service the new export markets. Increasing production will result in the creation of more jobs.
Currently, the company, which was established in 2014, employs 35 permanent staff and will soon roll out its expansion plans that will see a state-of-the-art factory being built in the village to enable them to increase production.
The company’s production facilities consist of seven rondavels that have been turned into a food agro-processing centre. The rondavels represent various stages of the production value cycle from harvesting to packaging.
‘Our place has become a tea and indigenous knowledge hub. We are now adding an agro-tourism component and have started hosting tea tours that are gradually becoming popular with visitors,’ Phaahla said.