Pretoria - A mother trying to have multiple sources of income says she hit the jackpot when she identified the need for flavoured and ready-to-snack mopane worms.
And so a few years ago, after she spent months selling the dried delicacy on the streets, Phuti Kabasa founded Mopani Queens. It’s a 100% black woman-owned Entomophagy company that produces Mopani Bites.
Mopani Queens was established after Kabasa identified a gap in the market for accessibility of the traditional edible insects for communities in urban areas.
“Mopani Queens started in 2018. As a young mom, I was trying to get more income into the house, and I started selling atchar, then I started selling mopane worms too.
“One day, a customer said they didn’t know what mopane worms were. I started doing research and found out there were a lot of people in South Africa and globally who didn’t know what mopane worms were.
“I was intrigued, especially when the customer asked what it tasted like. I tried explaining to him, but he still didn’t get it. I asked if he’d try them if I added some flavour to them, and he said yes.”
Kabasa said she then played around with flavours and came up with barbecue. The customer loved it.
The business has since grown and found its passion in providing environmentally-friendly alternative protein sources in the form of flavoured and ready-to-eat edible bug snacks to families across South Africa and worldwide.
“We’re in the business of providing our customers with alternative cooking sources. That is what we are selling.
“If you’re looking to get away from your chicken or whatever you traditionally eat, looking for something 100% organic, we are your people.
“We sell protein that’s straight from nature with no additives,” Kabasa said.
She said a considerable portion of South Africans were from a traditional eating background that included the eating of insects, but this practice was disappearing due to a growing trend towards westernised eating habits.
“As a result, our children lose important indigenous food heritage knowledge due to this abandonment of traditional food choices,” she said.
Mopani Bites come in a range of flavours, from chutney, salted stew and peri-peri to barbecue, and are cheaper than traditional protein sources, cheaper to store, and don’t need to be put in a fridge.
Kabasa said customers ranged from body builders to those with a love for preserving traditional food, and mothers.
“Mopani Bites is a five-person team. In terms of the platform we use to sell the products, it’s very user friendly,” Kabasa said.
“Our champion insect is the caterpillars of the Gonimbrasia belina (a species of emperor moth), widely known as mopane worms/masonja/matomani. Our worms are sustainably harvested within the Southern African landscape and are perfectly spiced with local ingredients.
“We have a range of flavours to accommodate different tastes.”
Pretoria News