What’s your name and designation?

My name is Anthony Vieira Da Cruz and I’m the CEO at Mustard Deli.

Tell us about your journey. How did you get started with your business and what inspired you to do so?

After being retrenched twice within a year (Computer nerd for about 15 years), I decided to return to my first love… food. My wife, we had been married for less than a year at that stage, was my muse. She reacted badly to all the preservatives in food and I decided to make preservative-free products. Our first products were pesto, flavoured hummus and other cool deli products. The only problem was the short shelf life without preservatives. Everyone we introduced our products to at the local markets loved them and I quickly got a reputation of a twister of flavours. With the short shelf life though, we could not get into the shops. It was not sustainable. Desperate to make this business work, I got on my knees and prayed. My answer was to make mustard from Mustard seeds. Our first two experimental mustards were our Honey Mustard and our Beer Mustard. 8 years later, I have twisted flavours and created over 40 different flavours of which 19 – 20 are strong enough to be sold at butchers, delis, greengrocers etc throughout South Africa.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when starting your business and how did you overcome them?

Lack of knowledge, finances and the ability to sell my products. Lack of knowledge: I was retrenched, and I had time to check recipes, experiment and learn. Finances: I went to markets selling all my experiments and saw what people liked and didn’t like. It is still a part of our lives almost 10 years later. All new flavours developed, are released at the local markets first before I send them to shops. Ability to sell: Sitting behind a computer for 15 years of your life in a little cubicle talking to the same faces restricts your ability to sell. I was well and truly an introvert. Being at the local markets forced me to work in this area.

What unique aspects of doing business in South Africa would you highlight (good or bad)?

In my line of work, I have found South Africans are not really mustard consumers. We have spent the last 10 years finding ways to help people get beyond this. I am pleased to say we have customers who refuse to eat mustard but love our products.

How do you differentiate your business from competitors?

Our products are all preservative-free, creative and flavourful. We do not make use of artificial flavours, what you see on the label, that went into the bolle.

What strategies have you found to be most effective in growing your customer base?

Creativity: There are so many people out there doing the same thing, when people see something new and interesting, they have to try and we don’t fail them.
Interacting with your customers in an informal space like a local market helps create loyalty. People see me as part of the brand now and introduce their friends to me who then fall in love with the products. Naturally, this only applies to certain types of businesses.

What’s one mistake you made early on that you wish you could go back and fix?

I spent years trying to do everything myself instead of looking at getting help from groups like Seda and other businesses out there set up to help small businesses.

What’s the most rewarding part of being a business owner?

Seeing the joy on people’s faces when they meet me and tell me how much they love our products and in some cases, new family traditions are created around our products.

How do you approach innovation and staying relevant in your industry?

Innovation is the name of the game in our business. I came up with new products a lot in the beginning. My customers now hold me accountable when a new flavour has not come out in say 6 months. They start asking me what’s on the drawing board. I am constantly at the local markets selling my products and interacting with my customers. During the interactions, someone will say something which inspires me and new possible products are birthed.

How has your business adapted to the digital age, and what advice would you give to others looking to do the same?

We make use of various online platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and our website etc to get the word out. My wife and I have kept our business profiles strictly informative about our products and constantly have businesses contacting us who found us online. They usually say how they love our clutter-free pages full of informative information.
Advice: Keep your pages about your business, don’t put posts on of a friend you are trying to help or some cute dog or cat video unless you are a vet of course. Keep your posts relevant, informative and interesting.

What advice do you have for someone just starting a business in South Africa?

Seek help! Be creative in your line. You have a choice of taking a piece of the pie that’s already out there or having a whole new pie to yourself. The creative person makes unique products without competition.
Persevere! Owning a new business is not easy.

For more information, visit Mustard Deli’s listing.

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