Entrepreneur Chantelle de Bruyn, who established a healthy alternative to coffee, is revolutionising the agro-processing industry through her thriving business.
De Bruyn, 34, owns Buttercup Farmhouse, a business that she registered in 2019 with initial plans to manufacture vegetable spices.
The business is currently selling its signature Cucurbita Latte (vegetable coffee made from butternut) and plans to expand to produce supplement shakes, snack bars, vegetable ice cream and a tea range.
De Bruyn is also a small-scale farmer who specialises in crop production.
“I have always loved farming, and it’s a vital part of my business. I started farming in 2015 when the Agri-Parks were established in the Free State and I served on the executive committee where I represented youth in agriculture.
“Today, we grow crops like butternut that are essential to our vegetable coffee production and have partnered with external farmers to help us grow our butternuts. Farming allows us to maintain high-quality ingredients for our products,” she said.
Based in Bloemfontein, Free State, De Bruyn is equipped with product development skills acquired through a food science course she completed through the US Embassy and Consulates in SA.
She also completed the Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurial Development Programme at the Johannesburg Business School.
“This skill has been instrumental in creating innovation and ensuring that the taste and health benefits of our products align with what our customers need through the value chain,” she said.
De Bruyn has also partnered with the University of the Free State, assisting her with research and product development for her products.
The business employs 11 workers, including four permanent and seven part-time employees.
It hopes to create more job opportunities as it expands its product offering.
“You can buy the products at Food Lovers Market stores in the Western Cape, Centurion in Gauteng, and Ballito in KwaZulu-Natal. Online orders will be available in November,” she said.
De Bruyn plans to reach global consumers and said the business has received support from the Free State provincial government since its inception and received an R50,000 grant from the National Development Agency (NYDA) to purchase its first equipment.
The department of economic, small business development, tourism and environmental affairs also assisted the business in purchasing additional equipment and allowed it to participate in various trade shows.
De Bruyn added that the business also receives support from global investors including interest from the African Women in Trade Group in Germany, who are exploring the opportunity to distribute the products in the United Kingdom and in the US.
Buttercup Farmhouse already has a few accolades under its belt.
In 2022, it received an award for being the Top Youth Agro Processor from the national department of agriculture, land reform and rural development.
In the same year, De Bruyn was crowned the Best Agro Developer and Most Innovative Business through the Cwena Awards.
The business was also the Overall Winner in Business of the Year by Action Coach for 2021/2022.
Buttercup also won a business plan competition with the American Women Academy with its US Agency for International Development and, sponsored by the US Embassy in 2021, won the Standard Bank Top Women Top 5 Award in 2022, and the Most Innovative Business Award at the SA Awards in 2023.
De Bruyn was also the runner-up in the Forty over 40 Awards in 2022 and won second place in the Seeds of Change competition in 2023.
“We have also gained recognition from the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York in 2023,” she said. – This story was first published in GCIS's Vuk'uzenzele
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