EKASINOMICS: Maneli Pets, a local pet food operation with a global footprint.
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Nhlanhla Dlamini – Founder of Maneli Pets talks about Maneli Pets, founded by Nhalnhla Dlamini, is a South African business that makes pet food and treats and now supplies to 270 Checkers stores nationwide.
But it wasn't always that way. Just two years ago, things looked very dire indeed for the business.
Officially launched in 2018, Maneli started as a passion project while Dlamini was still a full-time management consultant.
The initial idea was to sell protein to the human market in the USA and Europe, but it wasn't easy since farmers and butchers from those countries do not want meat from other parts of the world, according to Dlamini.
“I didn’t set out wanting to build a pet business from day one. I was agnostic about what sort of manufacturing business it was, but it needed to tick a few boxes.
“It needed to be scalable, create as many jobs as possible, have an export leg because South Africa is small, and I wanted it to have a positive social impact,” Dlamini told Business Insider South Africa.
After exploring various business opportunities, the entrepreneur landed on pet food after a few of his friends in the USA mentioned that they were interested in South African proteins such as ostrich, venison, crocodile, and warthog.
Dlamini stared working with a butchery in Germiston, where they came up with different products and sent them out to pet owners.
Once people were excited about his products, he figured out how to make his business scalable. This was followed by establishing a team and getting his product overseas in 2018 since demand was already there.
“If you are offering ostrich, venison, warthog, and crocodile to an American pet food distributor, that is extremely exotic for them.
“There was a lot more interest from the US, the UK, and Germany for these products. I approached the bank to build a factory,” he said.
But it wasn't always that way. Just two years ago, things looked very dire indeed for the business.
Officially launched in 2018, Maneli started as a passion project while Dlamini was still a full-time management consultant.
The initial idea was to sell protein to the human market in the USA and Europe, but it wasn't easy since farmers and butchers from those countries do not want meat from other parts of the world, according to Dlamini.
“I didn’t set out wanting to build a pet business from day one. I was agnostic about what sort of manufacturing business it was, but it needed to tick a few boxes.
“It needed to be scalable, create as many jobs as possible, have an export leg because South Africa is small, and I wanted it to have a positive social impact,” Dlamini told Business Insider South Africa.
After exploring various business opportunities, the entrepreneur landed on pet food after a few of his friends in the USA mentioned that they were interested in South African proteins such as ostrich, venison, crocodile, and warthog.
Dlamini stared working with a butchery in Germiston, where they came up with different products and sent them out to pet owners.
Once people were excited about his products, he figured out how to make his business scalable. This was followed by establishing a team and getting his product overseas in 2018 since demand was already there.
“If you are offering ostrich, venison, warthog, and crocodile to an American pet food distributor, that is extremely exotic for them.
“There was a lot more interest from the US, the UK, and Germany for these products. I approached the bank to build a factory,” he said.
