Maria Haipinge
Klaudia Mweshininga Mukete is sweeping food lovers off their feet with her sauces.
“They bring a unique taste to whatever you are eating, and add magic to your plate,” said Mukete of her Mwechy’s Salsa Sauce.
She told Youth Corner the fact that a large number of Namibians are not quite familiar with salsa sauce paved the way for her to introduce a new world of unique flavours to them.
Mukete offers made-from-scratch sauces and dressings from a mix of rich, diverse ingredients, including fresh vegetables. The sauces come in many different flavours, serving to the tongue a variety of tastes – from mild to burning hot.
The idea was inspired when she served one of her sauces as a complementary element to a lunch with colleagues. After satisfying responses, she turned her passion for cooking into a business.
Mwechy’s Salsa Sauce brand was then launched in 2020.
“The flavours of Mwechy’s Salsa Sauce are innovative as they are new, distinct and original, making them exclusive. It makes an ordinary plate of food taste extraordinary!”, she continued.
The 35-year-old cook actively shares cooking tips and colourful dishes on her social platforms with friends, clients and followers, attracting them to her sauces and inspiring others to be adventurous with meals.
Her innovation has landed her the first prize last November in the Ohangwena Impact Tank pitching event. The cook also won seed capital from the Tony Elumelu Foundation in November 2021. She was one of around 4 900 successful candidates from over 400 000 people on the African continent who applied. She then won a cooking competition from GIZ Namibia in February this year.
In the coming years, Mukete is striving to be among the top five brands in the hot-sauce market in Namibia, to acquire the best equipment to set up a standard sauce production company, explore all available markets, grow her customer base, and employ well-trained chefs.
She is certainly not oblivious to what business requires, saying it can be difficult, time-consuming and draining, and “is not an avenue to walk through if you’re doing it just to make a buck”.
“You may, or may not, but your heart has to be in it to get you through the tough times.”
Mukete is based in the Okakwa Village, Ohangwena region. Her contact details are 081 205 1841.