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Using avocado as the main ingredient, Ecovado is making cosmetic oils(hair and body creams), cooking oil, oil for industrial use, powder taken as tea, soap, and fertiliser, which is already hitting retail shelves as the only virgin avocado oil brand in SA.
The factory was founded by husband and wife Hulisani Mudau, 42, and Hulisani Mabugana, 40, back in 2015, leveraging their engineering experience.
“Growing up in the villages, Venda to be specific, I saw that there is no manufacturing happening and unemployment is rife. On the flip side, Venda is rich with raw materials; there is a lot of fruit which companies take from our villages and send to Johannesburg for processing, and this is where jobs are created. I have an engineering company which specialises in dairy and beverage processing equipment. We supply them with equipment and service for companies including Coca-Cola, Nestle and SA Breweries. With that knowledge, I felt that we should do something back at home and create employment,” said Mudau.
He said avocado was a fruit of interest for him because of its benefits and the finished products one could derive from it.
“Avocado oil has health benefits through my experience and research; I have learned of the havoc and health issues caused by other oils like sunflower, such as cholesterol and high blood pressure. I wanted to bring a solution to an already existing problem and create employment while at it. Our main product is avocado oil; we are the only company in SA that can produce extra virgin avocado oil. In retail shops, all the avocado oils are refined using chemicals. From the waste of avocados, the skin, and the pulp, we use to produce organic fertiliser or compost. With the seed, we are processing a powder taken as tea, rich in antioxidants, which helps with high blood pressure, inflammation, and ulcers. Everything we produce, we are able to make into an end product.”
Mudau said he currently employs about 40 young people in the factory.
“I have trained these people and partnered with colleges and training centres. I take them raw and teach them the job after training; those that are good I adopt them into the company. That is how we have been growing. I believe this is the best way to predict the future by creating it rather than sitting and complaining and expecting change from someone else. It’s a ripple effect; whoever I train will train someone else in the same way we buy avocados from local farmers. Each hour we produce five tonnes of avocado.”
He said they are working on getting the product on all retail shelves, including Food Lovers, Spar, as well as Takealot.
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