Tea O’ Clock is the sweetness your next cup of tea needs
37-year-old Tshepo Mathabatha says her product is for everyone who doesn't have time to bake but loves confectionery and appreciates good quality products
POLOKWANE – Tea O’ Clock is the sweetness your next cup of tea needs. Founded by 37-year-old Tshepo Mathabatha and her cousin, the business is bringing delicious, low-sugar products to your table. The entrepreneur, who is also the chairperson of the Business Women Association of South Africa (BWASA) Limpopo region, told BONUS that she loves confectionery, but doesn’t like sugar. “The concept of low-sugar confection is challenging as sugar is the base of lots of confectionery. My preference for low-sugar led to the creation of Tea O’Clock.
“My cousin and I had a partnership for three months and unfortunately, our vision no longer aligned and I ventured on my own to package, commercialise and grow the brand,” she explained.
Tshepo says social media played a fundamental role in growing her business and her products are now sold at various supermarkets in the city.
“I couldn’t keep up with the demand so I knocked on these stores’ doors to make my product more accessible to my clients. Tea O’Clock is currently available in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng and we are working on having it available in other provinces.”
Tshepo says her dream is to see the brand all over Africa and to also create more job opportunities through Tea O’Clock. “We currently have four people employed at Tea O’Clock. Our target market is everyone who doesn’t have time to bake but loves confectionery and appreciates good quality products.
“We are careful about our selection of ingredients and we use high quality products.”
The mother of one says she has always found a way to bring her ideas to life and has ensured that it impacts people positively. “I aspire for greatness and always give 100% of myself.” Tshepo says her heart lies in empowering entrepreneurs and says her outreach programme involves teaching people how to communicate effectively and help unlock opportunity through good etiquette.
