By Kuda Chideme
In 2017, Lesley Marange, a young food scientist, quit his job at a local sugar processor. Today he is the founder and CEO of Glytime Foods, a healthy food start-up with over 40 employees.
“I wanted to change the way things were by thinking out of the box… just revolutionise how Zimbabweans think about food and their health,” he said, speaking at his office in Workington, Harare, “That is how and why Glytime Foods was born.”
Marange and his wife Talent Marange run the company, which produces food products including vegan foods, a wide range of healthy cereals and snacks, as well as honey. And though relatively new, Glytime Foods already enjoys a good market share.
“The reception for our products has been good. We command very good shop space. Our product is up there competing with foreign brands,” Marange says.
When he started in 2018, the 33-year-old had the idea and ambition but no capital. So, he turned to his elder brother for a loan of US$2,700 which he added to their savings and started Glytime Foods. Food scientist Talent Marange did not at the time quit formal employment, however, as she had to stay on to fend for the family while her husband established the enterprise.
“There was a change in lifestyle as we put all the little money we had into the business. We had to adjust, but I will be honest we did not ever go to bed hungry,” she says.
“We were running the whole operation from the cottage we were renting,” Lesley adds.
For Marange, Glytime is more than a profit-making venture. He describes his business as a social enterprise. “It’s not just the product that’s different but also the way we do our business. Looking at our structure, you will see that we are trying to support sustainability in the local value chain. We have partnered with about 3,000 local farmers to guarantee them access to markets,” he said.
Glytime sources its raw materials directly from local farmers under its out-grower partnership. Marange explains that the scheme not only supports local farmers, but also ensures that Glytime has an uninterrupted supply of raw materials.
Tsitsi Sibanda, a honey farmer, says: “We had been struggling with accessing markets. We would go for as long as six months without buyers, but now, with the Glytime partnership, we have a guaranteed buyer.”
But it has not always been smooth sailing for the family business.
Nevertheless, Glytime Foods has set its sights on the export market. It is currently exporting to Zambia, are registered in the Botswana Special Economic Zone, and finalising contracts in countries including Mozambique and DRC.
“We are working on certification to push our product into the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). In five years, we want Glytime Foods to be a brand that competes with the world’s best and gives real value to farmers through partnerships,” Marange said.
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