People love tasty, healthy and nutritious food. However, they love it even more if it is prepared with love and care. The person leading the healthy food charge is Snenhlanhla Mbambo, founder of Something Nutritious.
Snenhlanhla Mbambo is a consumer science student majoring in food and nutrition. In the midst of studying, Mbambo was motivated to start her business after getting multiple queries on when she would start offering meal prep service.
“My audience had been asking me to offer meal prep service, and I was looking for something to assist me with school fees. I decided to pursue the business. It just seemed like the next steps from the cooking page. I always said I want people to purchase the meals,” explains Mbambo.
Meal prep service is like having a personal, part-time chef who prepares the food for you but is not at your home all day and serving everything. This type of service is typically seen as a healthy alternative to fast-food takeaways.
Mbambo brings nutrition, great presentation and healthy eating to her customers. Her Instagram page is a mouth-watering gallery showcasing the time and care she takes when preparing her delicious meals.
Mbambo says she recognised the market gap after doing extensive research.
“I’ve noticed that this type of business is more prominent overseas. With regards to what they are doing in the healthy food space, the convenience aspect is only being targeted by one food chain,” she said.
According to experts, in South Africa, the food market is projected to reach $793,50 million in 2024. This presents an opportunity for Snenhlanhla to be a leader in the meal prep service industry.
Something Nutritious and Delicious
Mbambo brings something different to the prepared food industry. Preparing meals that are delicious, appetising and healthy. Some of the popular meals include:
- The rigatoni pasta in a roasted vegetable pasta sauce with chickpeas.
- Whole wheat pasta and chickpeas, butter bean, cauliflower and sweet potato curry.
- Glazed ostrich meatballs with roasted onion hummus dressing with a bulgar wheat and chickpea salad.
In addition to the delicious food, Mbambo also makes fresh fruit juices which accompany the meals. The pressed fruit juices are packed with delicious fruit flavours and nutrients which can also be found in Mbambo’s wellness shots.“I’ve always wanted to bring something new to the market and bring in a whole new perspective with regards to healthy eating and convenience.”
Mbambo took her branding even further by developing her own branded merch. The Something Nutritious brand stands out with its deep earthy green colour. Mbambo says that being able to create branding showcases how far her brand has come.
“Seeing my branding on my products and on the merch, really shows me how far my brand has come. I am so proud of myself,” expressed Mbambo.
As with most small businesses and start-ups, one of the challenges they face is funding. Although there are many funding initiatives for small businesses, most entrepreneurs are reluctant to apply.
Challenges and Achievements
Mbambo says that not having funding has limited her capability to hire more people. She expands by saying “I have to be all things to the business. I am in charge of marketing, logistics, the cooking, packaging, every aspect of the business I have to show up as my highest self.”
However, throughout the challenges, Mbambo is grateful for the trajectory of her Something Nutritious. She explains that one of her biggest achievements so far is having consistent business and maintaining the quality of her food.
“Having a good database of retainer clients and seeing that people trust in my abilities and service is great to see. Also, to see people enjoying my food,” says Mbambo.
As an entrepreneur who has experienced the highs and lows of running their own business, Mbambo says the best advice she can give to others is to focus on starting and the little details will come along.
She mentions that in her experience just starting is enough. Little details like packaging, delivery and expensive stock will come along the way.
“Though it may sound cliche just start, the little details you will sort out along the way you will refine as you go, the most important thing is to already have your business out there and everything will sort itself out,” concluded Mbambo.
