Johannesburg- A trip to a friend’s wedding in the Free State and a chance encounter with luxurious French champagne Deutz kickstarted an entrepreneurial journey for two enterprising South Africans, Kgaogelo Ntshwana and Itumeleng Mamabolo.
Ntshwana, a medical doctor, was the recipient of a gift from her cousin when they met at a wedding in 2018. That gift was Deutz, formerly known as Deutz & Geldermann, a champagne producer based in the Aÿ region of Champagne.
Ntshwana didn’t make much of the gift until she decided to have a taste of the champagne during the Covid-19 hard lockdown, which had limited her access to her favourite wines.
“It was love at first taste. I immediately called my cousin to enquire on how to get my hands on another bottle, and to my surprise, the product was not available in retail stores in the country,” she remembers.
Ntshwana was not alone when she had the first taste of Deutz – she was with her close friend and future business partner – Mamabolo.
The two made up their minds that they would have to travel to France and try to secure a licence to distribute the product in South Africa, as they felt strongly that Deutz would disrupt the high-end market, which is dominated by the likes of Veuve.
After many negotiations, the two finally got the nod to distribute the champagne in the country under the Makhoi brand.
Mamabolo said it was a challenging but rewarding experience. “It has been an expensive exercise to embark on this journey as the first batch we brought into the country was just a thousand bottles which cost us around half a million rand. But we are determined to make this venture a success,” he said.
Deutz was founded in 1838 by William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann and has since been run by successive generations of the Deutz and Geldermann families.
Throughout its early history, Deutz was one of the most popular champagne brands in the UK, exporting nearly 600 000 bottles at its peak.
The two have been holding several wine-tasting events to introduce the brand to South Africans.
“The brand is well-received so far. People who taste the champagne immediately fall in love with it. Recently, one politician in Gauteng bought a bottle, and the following day ordered 42 bottles. We believe Deutz will be a disruptor of note,” Ntshwana said.
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