Business Partners Adri Williams and Eunice Nyobole, who bought the Khayelitsha Cookie Company for only R1 in 2013, have secured a spot in the British market and will serve their products on British Airways flights.
The cookie company bakes assorted baked goods for retailers such as Clicks and Checkers, as well as airlines such as Lift.
Khayelitsha Cookie Company, a Cape Town-based biscuit producer, has now secured over R1.4 million in deals from two UK companies.
One agreement will allow Khayelitsha Cookies’ products to be served on British Airways flights, while the other focuses on supplying private-label shortbread items to the UK market.
These deals were finalised with assistance from the UK Trade Partnerships Program, which is funded by the UK government.
The program aims to support developing nations in utilising the UK’s Economic Partnership Agreement to boost exports.
Due to this agreement, about 95% of South African goods can access the UK market tariff-free.
Khayelitsha Cookies, a company entirely owned by women, provides job opportunities for women from marginalised communities in the Western Cape.
For every 1,000 cookies sold, each employed woman can support between five and seven dependents in her family or community.
With the recent deal in the UK, the company anticipates creating even more opportunities for women in these communities.
In 2024, the cookie company received the National Community Award at the South African Small Business Awards.
The company also won the South African Customer Service Leadership award for success in ensuring customer satisfaction, which was awarded by Frost and Sullivan.
Khayelitsha Cookie Company
When buying the company over a decade ago, Williams and Nyobole took on an additional R2 million in debt.
Williams, who worked in a corporate role, left her job to join Khayelitsha Cookies in 2007, where she eventually bought the company in 2013 from directors Tim Leher and Tom Fehrsen.
“We have to compete head-on with machine-baked cookies with our competitors in the industry,” said Williams.
Towards the end of 2023, GroundUp had reported that Khayelitsha Cookies had employed 87 staff members, only nine of which were males.
Williams stressed the importance of empowering her staff and hiring mothers to give them better chances.
Since baking is done manually, Williams said it takes the company 40 days to bake what a machine could do in one day.
The company bakes around 82,000 to 108,000 cookies every day, and if it bakes or sells fewer than that, it would result in direct losses.
Williams said that although using machines would be faster, she would never want to replace the women bakers with machines.
She said that 90% of the women at the company facility are unable to speak, read, or write in English and lack formal schooling.
To address this issue, the company teaches these women in their first language, using visual aids and on-the-job training. The jobs available include hand-baking, packing, and quality control.
Additionally, Williams mentioned that the company assists the women in opening their own bank accounts and learning how to budget.
Khayelitsha Cookies has also introduced an incentive that allows workers to leave early once they meet their daily targets, while still being paid for a full day’s work.
She said that they noticed the policy has had a significant positive social impact.
“We’re seeing that the kids don’t get sent to grandma and grandpa in the Eastern Cape anymore, because moms can get home by the time the kids come back from school,” said Williams.
