Donkey milk pioneer eyes US market breakthrough
Pauline Dikuelo | Tuesday June 18, 2024 10:28
After a hiatus over the pandemic, the innovative entrepreneur is now preparing to re-enter the American market, marking a significant milestone for his business and donkey milk production.
Visagie told BusinessWeek recently that they produce donkey milk soap and shampoo bars sold on Amazon. “We had small products on Amazon and the reviews were great, as the Americans appreciated our products and the shampoo bar was the most sold product,” he said.
Trading under the brand Secret Kalahari, Visagie first exported donkey milk products to the US in 2020. The initial batch was facilitated through the US Embassy in Botswana with the US Trade Hub sponsoring their online marketing on Amazon.
“We are going to register on Amazon UK and Amazon Germany, and we are busy registering in Amazon South Africa. Our plan is to have our products penetrate these markets as the demand is clearly there,” he said.
Additionally, the company will penetrate other markets as they have AGOA certification as well as the UK and EU-SADC agreements, allowing its products to enter these markets tariff-free. Currently, the company offers a range of 23 products, including soap, exfoliating bars, lotions, and creams all ready for export soon. With the new funding secured for the machinery, the company plans to upscale and increase production soon. “We got a letter from the Botswana Innovation Fund that we have been selected as one of the projects that will be funded. This came at the right time as we are now ready to penetrate the international markets and need to start producing on a large scale. Currently, we have basic machinery for small production and produce as per demand,” he said. Locally his products can be found at malls across the country with Gaborone being the Main Mall, Rail Park, Game City, Oasis Mall, Airport Junction, and the airport-based #PushaBW shop. Visagie’s donkey farm is located in Werda, 380 kilometres from Gaborone and the milk is delivered daily to Gaborone. “We are also empowering the community of Werda as we get milk from different donkey farmers on a daily basis. We are setting up refrigeration with a 10MW solar system,” he said.