About 10 years ago while she was living overseas, Wendy Vesela-Ntimbani found it nearly impossible to get hold of Mopani worms, a food that had formed an integral part of her upbringing in Limpopo.
Even after returning to SA and settling in Durban, the 43-year-old woman from Calais village in Phalaborwa still battled to find the worms, and that galvanised her into doing something about it. “I often had to ask someone travelling to Limpopo to bring me some,” she said.
In 2022, Vesela-Ntimbani launched a line of Mopani worm-based snacks – biscuits, protein bars, and a powder for cooking aimed at modernising a Limpopo staple while making it accessible to a wider market.
Her company, Matomani, was born from a personal struggle. “Whether you are in or outside SA, it is difficult to get Mopani worms. You can’t find them in supermarkets or online,” she said.
Vesela-Ntimbani said the idea to commercialise mopani worms came after she left her corporate job and became a mother.
“I had to think out of the box – modernising it and catching up with the times,” she said. “What is going to make the targeted customer want to buy or try the product? That answer came in the form of four products – dried mopani worms, powder for cooking, biscuits and a protein bar.
“Why the protein bar? It’s because mopani worms contain 60% natural protein,” she explained. “When I did my research on top-selling food products globally that contain protein, one of them was a protein bar. That’s when I went on a mission to make them.”
Three years into her venture, Vesela-Ntimbani says her biggest challenge is still visibility and distribution. While her products are available online, they have yet to break into national retail chains.
“The South African consumer wants to walk into a store and pick up the product – and that’s where the challenge has been.”
Despite this hurdle, she said the reception has been overwhelmingly positive.
“People are so intrigued and embracing it. Mostly, they want a taste of how I took an indigenous ingredient and turned it into biscuits and an energy bar,” she said.
Vesela-Ntimbani hopes that with time and the right partnerships, Matomani will find its way onto supermarket shelves and into everyday South African homes – not just as a snack, but as a proudly local innovation.
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