What started off as a small family business meant to put food on the table for a mother and two daughters, is slowly growing to becoming a household name in the biscuit-making business.
The Soweto family-owned Conza’s Biscuits was established in 2004 by single mother Constance Chauke who started selling biscuits after she was unable to finance her daughter’s university education. At the time, it had been two years since her daughter completed high school.
Almost 15 years later, the matriarch entrusted Conza’s Biscuits to her two daughters, Rhandzu (39) and Rhulani Chauke (36), who are now co-directors.
“We used to stay in Protea Glen. She was a single parent to me and my sister and I was just out of high school, but I couldn’t go to university for tertiary education,” said Rhandzu in a recent interview.
She said her mother started the business as a form of survival and there were initially no plans to formalise the start-up.
Today, the start-up is based at the renowned Wakanda Food Accelerator in Melville, an independent business accelerator for foodpreneurs driving disruptive solutions. This initiative is in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation, Proudly South África, Shoprite, and the Small Business Development Agency, among others.
“She just wanted to put food on the table for her children. She decided that because she knew how to bake – which is something she learned from our grandmother - she was going to use that skill to make a living. She started with just R150,” she said.
Constance initially baked to sell to neighbours before graduating to supplying caterers. From there she went on to become a hawker next to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
“She would wake up at 3am to bake as I couldn’t bake at the time. Before 9am, she had already done twenty, 20litre buckets by herself. We would hire a taxi to drive us to Bara to sell, and by midday, all the biscuits were sold out,” she said.
As a result, Rhandzu was able to enrol and obtain a diploma in media production. However, after completing her studies, she worked in retail for six years before quitting her full-time job in 2015 to work at Conza’s Biscuits permanently.
Formal registration
It was not until two years later that the business was registered formally. The move was largely influenced by Rhulani, at the time an executive assistant at a multinational petroleum company.
“I saw the potential,” said Rhulani. The younger sister joined the business on a full-time basis in 2019.
While their mother, who has since relocated to Limpopo, is no longer actively involved in the business, she still keeps a hawk’s eye on developments and acts as an advisor and mentor to her daughters.
“Her wisdom is what drives the business behind the scenes,” said Rhulani.
The largely self-funded business currently employs nine young women.
Conza’s Biscuits supplies a selection of 14 Pick n Pay and Spar retail outlets in Gauteng, as well as 23 independent resellers.
Expanding on the business' future plans, Rhulani said the ultimate goal is to be a household name not just in South Africa, but across the world.
In March, the business won the 702 MTN Small Business Awards for 2024. The prize included R200 000 worth of airtime on the radio station and business mentorship from MTN.
For more information on Conza’s Biscuits, visit www.conzasbiscuits.co.za or email info@conzasbiscuits.co.za or call 010 980 5122.
To find out more information about the Wakanda Food Accelerator, visit www.wakanda.org.za, call 010 615 0020 / 21 or email avengers@wakanda.org.za
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