Marvelous Langa, founder of an eco-friendly household cleaning products company

Aug 31, 2021

Tell us about how you got started.

Initially I was looking into distributing another entrepreneur's household cleaning detergents until I came across a clip on YouTube about how the Founder started off the business with just R68. I asked myself if I have R500 or even more to buy stock and start distributing. I can actually start my own brand, I started doing an in depth research about manufacturing detergents and engaged with experts in the industry just to gather as much insights and information.

What makes your company unique?

I believe in eco-friendly household cleaning products at an affordable price and I have realized a lot of eco-friendly household cleaning products with an eco friendly tag comes with quite an exorbitant price to it.

No business is without setbacks, can you tell us about a time when you faced a significant setback and how you recovered from it?

The ultimate challenge has been lack of funding and market penetration. I have been trying to place the product in bigger shelves without success. I overcame the by penetrating communities through distributing the products across independent local supermarkets and having resellers in different provinces.

How do you define success and to what do you attribute your success?

Success for me is constantly believing in yourself and what you do, sticking to your vision and goals no matter complexities you might bump to in life. I attribute to my success by staying passionately determined and dedicated and cultivating a growth mindset all the time.

What's next for your business, what will it look like in 5 years?

I see Marvelous Chem in bigger shelves all over the world and having my own factory with full time employees. There's a high unemployment rate, my goal is to contribute to alleviating poverty amongst black communities.

Owning a business while balancing a personal life can be challenging; how do you take care of yourself?

Balancing personal life and business can be tough at times. What keeps me going is delegating tasks and sticking to them. Setting priorities as well.

What is your favorite quote or mantra?  What keeps you going?

“If you want to be successful, you need to be utterly obsessed. You need to reply to customer queries after 5pm on a Friday" Vusi Thembekwayo

What is your favorite app or a business tool that you can't live without

My favourite app is Canva. I enjoy creating digital content to engage with my clients.