Mother Brands Botswana has launched its own brand of locally produced tea, Real Tea. Mother Brands Botswana packages loose-leaf tea and tagless tea bags under the brand name Real Tea. It is already available in nine Choppies stores, will also be available at Shoprite.
The company, which is a trading name of Motherwell Investments (Pty) Ltd, was formed in 1997. Following a successful application for a loan of over $270,00 from the Citizen Entrepreneurial Agency (CEDA), it started sourcing machinery and packaging materials. The tea packaging plant in Gaborone was officially opened on August 21st by Mother Brands Botswana’s managing director Gibson Ntibi.
Mother Brands Botswana packages loose-leaf tea and tagless tea bags under the brand name Real Tea. It is already available in nine Choppies stores, will also be available at Shoprite and Mr Ntibi said it “hopefully would be sold in different shops across the country by the end of next week”.
Real Tea will produce 25,000kg of tea per month on a single shift, which can be doubled on double shifts. Mother Brands Botswana currently employs 17 people with plans to increase to 27 by the end of the month and 100 in the next five years.
The Real Tea project is funded by a loan from the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) which has invested over $270,000. The factory shell was provided by Botswana Investment and Trade Centre.
Acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry, Rosina Bontsi said “I foresee this company growing and encourage the private sector, government and other stakeholders to support so that it grows and creates more employment.”
