Mdantsane virtual butchery a cut above during lockdown

A virtual butchery based in Mdantsane is proving to be a big hit during lockdown.  

Kasi Meats founder Bohlali Buzani, 23, won second place in the Entrepreneur’s Pitch category at the 2019 Daily Dispatch Business Summit, earning him R10,000 worth of advertising.

He told DispatchLIVE that since winning the competition his business had gone from strength to strength, and had now extended its footprint to eight other towns.

The butchery, which takes orders online, now delivers meat to Komani, East London, King William’s Town, Alice, Fort Beaufort, Lusikisiki, Makhanda and Mthatha.

“For the competition I pitched a virtual delivery service and just before lockdown started I opened the virtual butchery. I think it was the best idea, given this Covid-19 pandemic,” Buzani said.

“I wanted to do something new, something that will help people avoid crowded areas but still give them the freedom to buy meat from their homes. Rather than having to go and stand in long queues, you order online and we deliver to you fresh meat from local abattoirs.”

Buzani said through social media and advertising campaigns the business had managed to make more than 500 deliveries in Mdantsane in only two months.

“We have been able to extend our services to other towns in the province. That’s encouraging.

“We are prioritising our customers by selling a meat combo for R450. Many people like to buy in bulk and for that price you get 7kg of meat delivered to your door.

Our meat is always fresh because we stock up every three days.”

He said the business was adhering to strict operational guidelines from the provincial government which demanded high levels of hygiene and social distancing.

“We have eight people managing the business and they are all under the age of 35.

“I’m proud to say we are following the guidelines put in place by the government to protect our customers. We take cleanliness very seriously and we sanitise the butchery as often as we can.”

He says he is convinced the future of shopping will be online so “we have to master these practices now”.

Buzani said DispatchLIVE competition had exposed him to how the world of advertising worked and his only regret was not winning first prize.

“I didn’t structure my presentation well and one of the high-profile business people who was there actually came to me and told me where I messed up. I took that lesson.

“I wanted to do a fancy presentation instead of being simple and straightforward in my pitch. That was my downfall in the competition.

“I didn’t tell the story of this idea correctly — what we are aiming to achieve is to eradicate long queues and revolutionise the way we shop in townships.”