Adolf Kaure

The owner and founder of Namib Chilli, Johan Viljoen says there are plans to extend the proudly Namibian product to a wider international market.

Namib Chilli currently has over twelve sauce flavours, sliced Italian chillis, as well as two different types of spices.

Namib Chilli’s growth went up by 267% in 2025. The product started reaching international markets in 2023 by ship; the product surpassed a total consumption of 1.2 million units in the United States in 2023.

“This year, new markets are on the horizon because we have a new distributor available in Germany,” he said.

The entrepreneur is also waiting for an update on new distributors in South Africa, European, as well as people to distribute in North America, and in the United Kingdom.

Johan and his wife, Luzaan, started making chilli in a small Swakopmund warehouse in 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdown measures.

Local distribution of product

Locally, Namib Chilli is distributed countrywide by Wutow Trading to different outlets like Model, Metro and others. Viljoen explained that the process to make the chilli is done by hand throughout the value chain.

“I want to thank Wutow Trading for putting our product in all the shops and getting it all over the country,” said Viljoen.

He further said that they don’t add any artificial additives like flavourings, colourants or even water to their sauces.

“My wife, I, and a casual worker do everything by hand with small machines like mixers and blenders. We don’t add any water – the chilli already contains water. It is bottled by hand, labelled and sealed by hand,” he said.

The team has taken part in markets like the Swakopmund Night Market to sell and promote their product.

Chilli Festival

On Saturday, Viljoen hosted the second edition of the Chilli Festival at the Wanderers Sports Ground. The fun-filled event included activities, music and food stalls for the whole family to enjoy. Competitions like the sauce-making competition, chilli eating competition, and the Miss Chilli beauty pageant also added to the ambiance of the event.

The first edition of the Chilli Festival was held in 2024 at Swakopmund’s Tiger Reef along the beach.nJohan and Luzaan moved to Okahandja in 2024, to see if they could find better soil conditions to grow their chilli.

-akaure@nepc.com.na