A search for solutions to a foot sweat condition has seen a Vereeniging, Gauteng woman develop a treatment product that she now sells to others facing a similar challenge.
Refiloe Mohono, 27, together with her business partner Optimist Philiso, 33, first embarked on the journey in 2018.
They own O&R Products which is a company that gave birth to Complete Comfort.
This business manufactures organic solutions for foot care and revitalisation.
“I had a problem of not liking to wear sneakers because my feet sweat a lot and in turn smell. I needed something that would get rid of the smell and make my feet and shoes smell nice,” she explained to Vuk’uzenzele.
With a business acumen engrained in her blood, backed by entrepreneurship and marketing honours degrees from the North West University between two, Mohono and Philiso poured hours into rummaging through the internet on how to produce a treatment solution.
“At first, we wanted to do your normal sprays with chemicals, but while we were doing research we were advised that chemical-free products were currently in demand and we should maybe try approaching from that perspective,” said Mohono, chief executive officer of O&R Products.
“We had to teach ourselves which ingredients would add up to the product that we want and be appreciated by the market.”
After a year of trial and error, Complete Care had its prototype in 2019. With the vital guidance of mentors along the journey, the company was able to analyse its products and mitigate teething problems.
Some of the challenges that the business encountered was that the product was changing colour, it was becoming brown instead of remaining colourless. The pair where advised on natural products to use to solve the problem.
Armed with this information, Mohono said last year they returned to the drawing board to reformulate the product.
As recent graduates, getting Complete Comfort off the ground initially proved a mammoth task, she said.
“Funding the business has always been between my business partner and I. From the inception, we used money from our own pockets to buy raw materials. We would then sell the products and reinvest that in the business.”
Funding from eKasi Labs
In 2022 the start-up received a R38 000 stimulus from the Innovation Hub’s eKasi Labs in Sebokeng.
eKasi Labs is a programme of the Innovation Hub. The programme focuses on entrepreneurs based in Gauteng townships with the emphasis on innovative solutions with potential to impact different spheres of society such as business, government, and civil societies.
Despite significant challenges in its journey, including temporarily closing down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Complete Comfort is surging on. Defying the odds, the venture was resuscitated in November 2022.
“Since then we have produced around 300 units. From then to now, we have sold around 250 units and remain with about 50. Growth has been exceptional,” she said.
The shoe and foot spray comes in three fragrances - rose geranium, lemon grass and tea tree.
“The functions [of fragrances] differ. Rose geranium, for instance, helps one calm down, and relieve stress or any other mental illness, especially depression and anxiety. It’s not just for the shoes but also aroma therapy.
Growing up I always knew that I would go into business but I just didn’t know what exactly business it would be.
“I found out about the need for this business when I was 21 while purely googling for a solution to my problem. I also realised after doing the research that this was how I was going to start a business of my own.”
By the end of 2023, Complete Comfort anticipates expanding its product line with the addition of heal balm, callus removers and sea salt foot massage products.
For more information about Complete Comfort visit www.completecomfort.co.za. The Innovation Hub can be reached by logging to www.theinnovationhub.com. Visit www.seda.org.za or call 0860 103 703 for information about entrepreneurship offered by the Small Enterprise Development Agency.
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