The Rise of Mtswako Immune Booster by Keketso Mokgothu
The Rise of Mtswako Immune Booster by Keketso Mokgothu. When Keketso Mokgothu mixed garlic, ginger, turmeric, lemon, and honey in her kitchen at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she wasn’t trying to start a business. She was simply trying to protect her family’s health. What started as a homemade remedy quickly turned into a fast-moving entrepreneurial journey that would see her brand, Mtswako Immune Booster, land on shelves at major retailers across South Africa.
This is a story of resilience, trust, and building a brand that responds to real needs and it offers key lessons every aspiring entrepreneur should take to heart.
A Remedy Born from Urgency
The idea was born in 2020 in Welkom, Free State, when South Africa faced the unknowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a mother and caregiver, Mokgothu turned to natural ingredients to create a health-boosting mix. She shared her creation with friends on WhatsApp, and within hours, one of them placed an order for 17 jars. That moment was the first sign that her mix wasn’t just useful for her family, it had potential far beyond her home.
Building Trust Before Scaling
Rather than rushing into mass production, Mokgothu took her time. She tested the market through word-of-mouth and used early feedback to fine-tune her product. Trust was the first ingredient of her business success. Her personal story helped people connect to her brand, and by 2021, Mtswako Immune Booster became a formally registered business.
To ensure quality and compliance, she invested in testing and pursued product certification from the South African Bureau of Standards. This decision wasn’t just regulatory, it was strategic. In a crowded health supplement market, credibility matters.
Key Strategies That Drove Growth
Here are some of the major strategies and milestones that played a key role in Mtswako’s rise:
| Milestone | Details |
|---|---|
| Initial launch via WhatsApp | Homemade immune booster shared with friends; demand spiked immediately |
| Official product registration | Business formally established and packaging professionally sealed |
| First retail partnerships | Pick n Pay Odendaalsrus, Roots Butchery, Spar Riebeeckstad, and local pharmacies |
| Certification efforts | Applied for SABS certification to ensure health standards and gain consumer trust |
| Transition to bottled format | Upgraded from jars to sealed bottles for better shelf-life and mass production |
| Use of social media and events | Featured in township entrepreneur series and leveraged social word-of-mouth marketing |
Lessons for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
The Mtswako story is packed with real-world lessons:
- Start with what you know: Mokgothu didn’t wait for outside funding or a perfect product. She used what she had to meet a clear need.
- Let your customers guide your next move: When her first customer wanted 17 jars, she paid attention. Listening to early adopters can point you toward your market.
- Quality over quantity: Even as orders increased, she prioritized testing and certification to prove the product’s integrity.
- Brand storytelling matters: Mokgothu’s personal journey made the product feel relatable. Customers bought into the story as much as the supplement.
- Packaging is part of the product: Sealed bottles not only improved the shelf-life but made the brand retail-ready.
- Strategic retail placement is key: She chose stores and pharmacies her health-conscious audience already trusted.
- Stay rooted in your community: Her brand proudly reflects its Free State origins and continues to serve both township customers and formal markets.
Expanding the Vision
Today, Mtswako Immune Booster offers three product variants and is available through local shops, pharmacies, and national retailers. Even with this success, Mokgothu has kept her roots. The brand’s continued focus is on natural wellness, transparency, and affordable health solutions.
For anyone starting their journey in health, wellness, or food-based industries, Mtswako Immune Booster offers a powerful example of what it takes to build a brand from the ground up, one customer, one bottle, and one story at a time.
