South Africa's Spinach King plans to go global
Lufefe Nomjana has successfully opened his second "green" bakery and now he plans to go global by fr…Lufefe Nomjana has successfully opened his second "green" bakery and now he plans to go global by franchising his concept. Nomjana, popularly known as the Spinach King, opened his bakery in Khayelitsha in 2014. The green-painted bakery is made out of two large shipping containers. Spinach grows on wooden shelves along the outside wall.
"The first branch is an express bakery where we only bake and sell. At this one we bake, sell, and, as you can see, we have a cafe set up so people can sit," says Nomjana.
The new branch specialises in fresh juices and smoothies made with spinach. Muffins are R7, sandwiches and smoothies are priced at around R15; and the "Popeye Wrap" goes for R30. The most expensive dish is pasta with seaweed, baby spinach and baby tomatoes. The house speciality is a meatless green burger - a spinach bun with vegetable fry inside and drizzled with a spinach sauce.
The Richard Branson Virgin Group has been the major sponsor of the business.
"We are very proud of this business. It is a franchise." Nomjana, who is 28, says he has already sold a licence to a business in Washington DC in the US and locally to someone in Kokstad.
"I knew from the beginning that I was building a global business," says Nomjana.
(1 South African Rand=0.071 USD)