WINDHOEK – About 41 percent of the Namibian retail space is now filled with local horticultural produce, up from a previous mere 5 percent not so long ago, and Team Namibia is now working on new merchandising plans for retailers, in an effort to increase the market penetration to 60 percent.
Merchandising and packaging are some of the key support that Team Namibia is to embark on for horticulture farmers, Team Namibia’s chief executive officer Daisry Mathias told New Era yesterday. Packaging support is crucial given that some Namibian produce are labelled as products of South Africa, and are not easily identified as Namibian produce. The idea is to give credit to farmers who have helped increase market penetration to 41 percent.
“We have noticed a lack of education [among retailers who are Team Namibia members] and we are engaging them on best practices,” Mathias said on some of confusing packaging methods by retailers.
Among some of the shortcomings identified by Team Namibia in the marketing of local produce is that multinational retailers do their packaging in South Africa, a centralised process to cut costs but which ends up labelling Namibian goods as of South African origin. Mathias says Team Namibia has had discussions with concerned retailers to rectify the matter.
Meanwhile, the Fruit & Veg Windhoek shop, which attracted attention for the carrots advertised as Namibian, with Team Namibia logo, while displaying “Product of South Africa” label says the carrots are Namibian produced but the packaging material is made in South Africa. “Only the packaging itself was manufactured in South Africa but the product is a Namibian product”, said the manager Marius Swemmer.
At Team Namibia’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in June this year, the non-profit organization, that was founded in 2011, investigated ways of obtaining increased market access for Namibian products and services.
More specifically Team Namibia’s role in stimulating the increased consumption of local products and services among Government, businesses and consumers was deliberated.
Dixon Norval, Vice Chairperson of Team Namibia, mentioned that with the organisation’s new brand, it’s visibility needs to filter through to every aspect of Namibian life. Norval said then that Team Namibia needs to educate consumers on their ability to change Namibia with one single purchase: “By simply buying Team Namibia, we can impact our country in greater ways one could ever imagine”.