Meet the turmeric business queen

A 70-year-old resident is starting to see success in her business after struggling for 15 years.

After 15 years of trying to get her Turmeric Tonic of the ground, Linden resident Suyra Singh is starting to reap the rewards of her patience and determination.

As of this year, this retired receptionist’s business supplies Golden Lattes to 120 Checkers coffee shops across South Africa.

After surviving cancer herself and then hearing her dog has been diagnosed with cancer, Singh started extensive research on the healing properties of turmeric.

While researching she began to see a potential commercial opportunity in the turmeric business.

Singh shared her story of how she ended up starting her own business.

“Our dog Yoda was only three years old when the vet told us she had lymphoma and we’re a family of dog lovers, so we knew we had to try everything to help her.

When she was going through chemotherapy, she was on quite a few medications and I noticed one of them consisted of curcumin, which is the active ingredient in turmeric.”

Curcumin is widely accepted as an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and digestive aid. A few months later, when her dog sadly passed, her mind turned to the healing properties of turmeric once more.

Since Singh retired she has been hard at work trying to start her own business. After years of research, development and support from her family she was finally able to create a winning formula.

“I’m proof that you’re never too old for success. With the help of my daughters, I started Turmeric Tonic and within the first year, we landed a huge order from Checkers.

Rapidly increasing our production capacity has been challenging, but successfully establishing and growing a small business is a dream come true.”