Name: Njabulo Sithole
Company: Bakers Creationz
Website: https://www.bakerscreationz.co.za/
Contact: 081 716 2439
Email/ Social Media: https://m.facebook.com/BakersCreationzSA/
KwaZulu-Natal baker Njabulo Sithole has gone from baking cakes in his kitchen to making 12,000 "snowballs" a week for 200 Pick n Pay supermarkets.
The 43-year-old father of two runs his bakery, Bakers Creationz, near the Inanda Dam, north of Durban.
Pick n Pay said Bakers Creationz won its Small Suppliers of the Year Award, which recognises suppliers for their performance, sales growth or ability to create jobs.
After quitting his job as a marketing manager in 2012 to pursue his passion for baking, Sithole struggled to get his business off the ground.
"In 2014, I gave up my dream of starting in a business facility and started trading from my home kitchen, convinced my business plan would work out in the end."
Sithole initially supplied schools with cakes, muffins and cupcakes, paying schoolchildren commission for selling them.
"Orders started pouring in and I was able to move to a larger kitchen later that year.
"I started saving the money I was making to buy equipment from other bakeries which were closing down."
Sithole converted space at Maphephetheni near the Inanda Dam.
In the early days, Sithole had minimal income and said there was a time when he could not even buy bread for his family.
In 2016, he joined the Pick n Pay Boost Your Biz programme and not only won, but also gained access to the retail giant.
Pick n Pay said Sithole started supplying them with his range of snowballs with raspberry, chocolate and vanilla flavours almost two years ago and "sales have grown by more than 400% in the past year".
He supplies 191 shops in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal after launching in 57 supermarkets in Durban.
"Initially, Bakers Creationz supplied Pick n Pay with 3,200 units a week and today supplies 6,000 units twice a week," the retailer said.
