For The Love of Chilies; Samjay’s Smoking Hot Sauce
There is more to life than just living and doing the same routine of awakening up and going to work and knocking off at around 1600hours. For most people, a desirable office job and guaranteed pay is what they want.
Samantha Jay, a 30 year old lady who hails from the north eastern part of Botswana,
Nswazi village which is 86 km from the city of Francistown left a collar job and took a risk and used her own savings to start a
business. As time went on, she took a youth fund to grow the business in chili sauce making.
This is a woman whom after
falling in love with consuming chilies, decided to blend in the market and produce her own locally made chili sauce, branded
Samjay’s Smoking Hot Sauce.
Who is Samantha?
I am a lady from Nswazi, with a son, I’m a business owner of Samjay’s smoking hot sauce which is based in Partial, Gaborone. When it comes to cooking, I have a long history of being a kitchen busy woman.
I long developed a passion for cooking, and so I decided to endeavor on it and pursue it asa career.
What led you to the path of
entrepreneurship?
Well, to be honest I never really at first went to school for making sauce. It just started with my love for chilies, I love chilies a lot so I was once working and there was this other lady that brought
chilies at work, so after tasting it I decided that I could do this, but better. I said to myself, why not try making chili sauce
and sell it. I indulged a chef to take me through the whole process, it is more like teaching or training me how to prepare
chili sauce, making up pastries and the whole training took up to six months. I realized that after trying out all chili sauces available in stores, I decided to make something, produced locally which gives a homely touch to the consumers.
How did the business start?
After undergoing the training, I started preparing chili sauces and give it to family, friends and people in the neighborhood to taste and take their feedback.
Sometimes I would just be in the mall with a table there, with mince-meat and sauces, just for people to taste, free of charge of course. This was all a market
research for me, to see how receptive the public would be to my sauce.
What was their response?
It was really amazing, and people started to tell me that I should be serious and do this on a commercial basis, take the samples to the National Food Technology Research Centre(NFTRC, NAFTEC) and even sell to shops because they really
loved my sauce. When I was still sampling my products, I met a man who owns a restaurant in block 3, who loved my product and asked me to supply his shop
with it. He would buy in bulk, (a case). So the reception of my product by consumers was good.
Tell us about the registration of the product at NFTRC?
I only did the nutrition facts data, unfortunately they didn’t have the shelf life machine, the date of expiry kind of thing or best before branding. Thus now
becomes difficult to sell it in retail shops without having a shelf life branded to it. So this is a hurdle to my product, but I have now taken a sample to South
Africa so they can do the shelf life to the product.
What is your target market?
I mostly go for restaurants, catering companies, street vendor’s food outlets and individuals. Nonetheless, I can still put a table in a mall and sell my products there. Restaurants do order in large quantities and sometimes even ask me to do marinating sauce for them.The product is in Gaborone, Lethakane, Werda and Francistown, so it’s availability in the country is vast. Word of mouth helps my business, through friends and people I know, the product managed to reach South Africa and even the United States of America.One lady whom I know, bought
it from me and took it to the U.S to sell there. An American lady is also here in Botswana and wants to return home with two cases (boxes) of my product.
What is the secret recipe? Frankly speaking, I wanted to give it a homely taste, not too bitter nor sweet, so I use normal home ingredients like your garlic, fresh tomatoes, onions and peppers. My main ingredients are garlic and red Thai chili and an addition of spices.
Any organizations that approached you?
I am in a process with Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), so
they could add a ‘proudly
Botswana’ label to the product.
How is the turnover, is the business profitable?
I officially started earning profits from April 2022.I started doing mass production, cooking and preparing sauces, then end of April that is when I started selling. So the profits are heartwarming, they are there.
I produced 500 bottles only, but the main target is to produce 500 bottles for each flavor.
Any employees?
I only have one employee, who helps with branding and preparing of the product.
How is the competition with already existing products?
It is there, but the advantage I have is the relationship that I have with my clients, the loyalty to the product, and I have a provision for those who want personalized sauces, in either ingredients or flavor.
What is your inspiration?
I want to see my product in every restaurant and food outlet in Africa and abroad.
Any last message to upcoming entrepreneurs and existing ones?
If you really want something, go for it, take risks, you might fail at first, it’s okay, fail big, again and again, but failure is
what would boost you to go forward and eventually you would end up winning and
making it in whatever you do.
Duncan Sebeso 
Takudzwa Joylene Chigura 
Administrator