Black-owned liquor brands get shelf space to break into retail market

An entrepreneur has partnered with a Tops at Spar outlet in Johannesburg to allocate shelf space for black-owned liquor brands and provide an entry point into the mainstream market.

Oscar Masubelele, a champagne expert, told TimesLIVE the multimillion rand liquor industry is made up of a small fraction of black owners as the process to secure a shelf at the major retailers is difficult and sometimes leaves the owner in debt.

Once granted a shelf at a major retailer, the space is charged at a retainer fee per month and per product and an owner has to pay the fee even if a sale is not made.

For example, if a bottle of gin costs R250, the retailer would charge 5% per bottle and despite not selling a single bottle, the owner would be required to pay the retainer, Masubelele explained.

To find a way to give black-owned brands a foot into the market, he approached the owner of Malvern Tops at Spar, Elaine Stephanou, to start a project that provides space to enter the market. 

“We are trying to say, let us give you access to the market. Not only space, but we are going to teach you how to run it. It’s not only about listing, but also eventually selling. We decided we will create the shelf space and are going to tell a story,” Masubelele said.

The requirements were simple: Be registered with the department of agriculture, bring the products and a distribution license and sign up for free. All the brand is required to do is a monthly promotion of the brand at the store. 

“Each brand would have a story about who is behind it so when someone walks into the bottle store, they will see black-owned brands on the shelf and see who owns the products and their stories.

“It then leads to emotional buying, and depending on the quality of the product, the sale recurs and becomes organic,” he said.

Masubelele has received about 100 applications from liquor brands since he posted about the initiative on X earlier this month.

However, only 14 brands were successful as the remainder did not possess the required license.

“The response has been great, but we only found 14 black-owned brands that are compliant. We unfortunately couldn’t help the remaining brands to secure a shelf but we encouraged them to return once they have the proper license.”

Gin seemed to be a favourite and 90% of the compliant brands would be placing the spirit on the shelf, he said.

“I think gin is easier to make and its market is big and growing. It is easier to sell gin because it can be drunk as a spirit or cocktail. It is also not expensive compared to other categories,” he said.

The shelves will be assembled before opening to the public within the first two weeks of March. 

“The current value of the industry is R185bn and consumers spent R178m on liquor last year.

“It is an industry that won’t collapse. But it is painful that only about R2m to R3m of that spending goes to black-owned brands. This includes brands by local celebrities. The rest goes to white-owned and European-owned brands.”

“We are trying to say, let us introduce these brands as the market entrance is important. Once people see your product on the shelves in retail stores, they will take you more seriously,” he said.

Masubelele's plan is for the project to be rolled out to other stores by June and he will approach the big five retailers.

“I am hopeful. I have contacts and connections in the industry so when I talk, they listen.”

Masubelele is a liquor and champagne expert who was conferred the title Chevalier de l’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne in 2022 by the committee of the centre of the champagne industry, Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne.

He said he grew up in a shebeen in Limpopo run by his mother, who sold alcohol to middle-class residents in the village.

“I was taught by my mother at an early age the art of selling, distributing and interacting with customers. My mom’s shebeen was different to others in the village because of our target market and our home had a running toilet inside.

“We targeted people like teachers and government officials. It was a fancy shebeen and I learnt the art of having that market.”

He attended university where he studied journalism and eventually found formal employment, but he decided to return to the alcohol industry in 2008.

TimesLIVE