Three friends from Dobsonville have turned their entrepreneurial spirit into a thriving venture with the launch of Lifeway Imphatho Brands (LIB Foods), a 100% black-owned juice company that’s shaking up the beverage industry.
In 2019, Patrick Thokkie and Lungelo Mgaga launched a juice-making business that later welcomed Thabo Twala to the team. Together, they drive Loxion Fruit Beverages, a juice production company based in Dobsonville, Gauteng.
Explaining their journey, Thokkie said they have always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit, as they first tried venturing into a retail service merchandising business that didn’t work out.
“Years later, after Lungelo worked and gained valuable experience in beverage production at a leading South African dairy company, our vision and ideas came to life. We decided to enter the food and beverage manufacturing industry and seized the opportunity,” Thokkie told Vuk'uzenzele.
Speaking about the challenges they have encountered, he said they ranged from access to markets, start-up capital, and product branding.
“Other challenges included the correct product branding, packaging, marketing, and finding the right market for the product. One also needs manufacturing capacity, machinery to process, as well as transportation for distribution,” he said.
Turning to some of the triumphs in the business, Thokkie said there have been several victories and milestones achieved throughout their journey. He shared that their juice production journey began in 2019 with just an R800 budget, working from a small kitchen in Lenasia.
“Our customers started growing, and we gained more popularity through local brand events. The company grew from a team of two employees to five,” he said.
He further mentioned that the company is now supplying over 13 stores, including two Independent Spars, Meat Expresses, a Watloo butchery, and other stores in the pipeline.
The company has received financial and non-financial assistance from the government through its agencies such as the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP), and Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa).
“They have assisted with grants, including equipment for processing, as well as branding material. The organisations also helped to buy office tools like computers,” he said.
Loxion Fruit Beverages has the potential to become a leading beverage company across Africa. ¥
For more information about Loxion Fruit Beverages,
Call: 073 355 9306 or visit their Facebook page.
The NYDA can be reached at www.nyda.gov.za. Visit the sefa website by logging on to www.sefa.org.za, and get information about entrepreneurial support from the GEP by visiting www.gep.co.za.
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