Taona Kandemiri founded Enliven Consolidated in 2014 doing events (Link, Link ) while studying Computer Sciences (ICT) at UNISA. He completed year 1 and 2 , and in his 3rd year, the company had to evolve, so he shifted to distribution of hessian bags in March 2015 after exploring ideas on how to keep the entity alive, and through deep thinking on how he can make a change in this world and help contribute some solution to urbanization in Africa. That was the birth of importing biodegradable / eco friendly hessian products. After carefully selecting their international suppliers with products that can add value to local service providers, House of sacks started operating in March 2015 with an investment of R300.
1. What inspired the formation of House of Sacks?
It all started when I was having my 2/3am cup of black filter coffee. Back then, I used to smoke pot at around that time then catch up with some studies. You know, we always throw away those coffee residues, and me being an inquisitive person, I had this brief self meeting this other day after realising its a lot of coffee residues that I am throwing away. From this self meeting, I then started researching about the coffee industry, and the packaging of coffee beans was that thing that brought about the interest of
hessian fabric after learning that it is the second best material from cotton, and one of the best biodegradable materials.
2. Who were your first customers?
My first customers were people at that call centre I used to work for, and from there I started going after retail businesses in Cape Town. A whole new life experience, little confidence and no knowledge of who really pulls the shots to make a purchase for the
business was just an amusing phase of personal growth. Confidence was acquired along the way, I think the only thing that stood out well in my selling skills was my smile.
3. What role does , “House of Sacks” play in alleviating poverty in the society?
As a company, we have strategically hand-picked our suppliers with careful thought & we have nurtured a good working relationship over the years with our stakeholders such as A1 Printworks. Given a vast pool of larger suppliers, we chose A1 Printworks
because we believe they are bettering the economy of our country by playing a part in the reduction of unemployment and consequent alleviation of poverty in disadvantaged communities such Elsies River & Bonteviel. 71% of their workforce are previously
disadvantaged women of color and their business is BEE compliant.As a company, A1 Printworks have also taken careful thought in sourcing out some of the best locally produced inks for their printing.
4. What role does women play in your company?
The company is 50% female managed, and the majority of operations are run by females. I believe a great deal in allowing professional women to lead the company.
5. How does your product contribute to an eco-friendly environment?
Hessian material is made from jute plant which makes the products biodegradable. Most of the products have a waterproof lining which supports the shape of the product. The plastic lining wears off in the duration of use, giving the product a fairer disposable
nature which makes it to be decomposed in a period of two years. Products are available in more than 40 designs.
6. What steps do you think humanity needs to take individually to achieve an eco-friendly environment?
Our mission is to help keep a clean environment through an empowerment choice to use biodegradable products that could just be enough for us to make the difference we owe our only life support system. The use of Jute product will help people to make use of Biodegradable/Eco-Friendly shopping bags, beach bags, hand bags and stationery accessories time and again saving you extra money and time to worry about disposing the plastic bags and saving a purpose towards the behaviour we have to our Environment.
7. How would you describe your product?
Our product is a green marketing tool, an ambassador material that reminds people, those who are environmentally conscious that a product like ours is there to save the environment, while serving you at the same time. Businesses are increasingly discovering that demonstrating a high level of social responsibility can increase brand loyalty among socially conscious consumers. Green marketing is to become part of the process of using, selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Ours is a product that is biodegradable, making it eco friendly when disposed of by degrading in a period of 2 years.
8. Who is your target market?
We have grown to create a good relationship with our customers who are willing to contribute and these are corporate companies, retail chains, and institutes. Some of theses stakeholders are: UCT, UWC, SAICA, CPUT, SPAR, PROTEABOOK SHOP.
9. What steps are you taking to scale your business?
As a business we had other plans of growth; to open a second shop in Cape Town CBD then came covid. Our financial trajectories were indicating that by Aug 2020, we were going to be able to have moved into this new shop we had plans for, but unfortunately
the dream came crashing in front of us. With cashflow being at all time low from Feb 2020, that is operating at 30% turnover as compared to previous months. In alignment to opening the shop, we had been working on our ecommerce from late 2019, and since
lockdown started, the project became the primary focus and onwards. House Of Sacks pop up which was located in Long Street, strived on the busy footprint of mixed local and international customers visiting, working or staying in the city. Since lockdown, we had to quickly pivot to apparels on top of our hessian bags so as to meet the local market needs, make sales and literally just to keep the business afloat. The great blessing of the pandemic was, since we could not open a new shop, we opted to move into a studio
office work space where we will be able to work on our ecommerce business, and do other work like product design etc. Our 2021 goal is to focus on increasing sales via the online store. I always say, it’s one thing to be online, and it’s another thing to make
sales online.
10. Any advise to those that are thinking of starting out?
Don’t start, stay where you are lol. It’s great to be in business, it’s really awesome to be an entrepreneur and I used to believe that every human being should b
e an entrepreneur, and through a great deal of challenges that I have faced, am humbled to
say it is not for the faint hearted. It’s easier done than said, and the reverse is an illusion. It’s easy to speak of things one desires to do, but the norm has it that it becomes easy to say things. I have learnt that things become easier the more you are engaged on them. If one is going to be in business for the motive of money, it may crush your life when you don’t see that money coming. When there is value attached to what you are doing, your primary focus is achieving the value, which becomes a principal attribute to your vision, mission and other goals to grow and expand.
Socials
Shop: https://houseofsacks.com/
IG : https://www.instagram.com/houseofsacks/
Parent Company IG: https://www.instagram.com/enlivenconsol/?hl=en
FB: https://web.facebook.com/houseofsacks
My Twitter : https://twitter.com/taonabk
My LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/taona-kandemiri-44b18153/