We chat to Sinenhlanhla Ndlela about her future and her business

Running a business in the food industry is not easy, but Sinenhlanhla Ndlela does it effortlessly. The young entrepreneur runs the ice cream brand, Yococo, best known for making dairy-free ice-cream that has given lactose intolerant individuals and vegans reason to rejoice.

We had a chat with the brain behind the business to learn her secrets to success and how she’s gotten Yococo to be the first brand that comes to mind, for many, in non dairy ice cream.

So how did it all begin? Like all great things, Yococo started as a dream. “It started with an idea really and rallying up everyone around me to believe in it, then I had to put a lot of action behind it, I am a dreamer and it can usually stay there.”

Ice-cream has a nostalgic quality and symbolises self-love to Sine and she wants people to experience those things when eating her ice cream.

‘Dreamy, colourful and soft,” that is how she describe her brand in three words.Founded in November 2016, the brand boasts a staff that is all black and all woman.

When making ice cream for a living it helps that the creator loves to eat ice cream. Yococo has a variety of delicious and unusual flavours like rooibos and cookies and mixed berries. Sine has claimed strawberry and rose water as her favourite. “[I]t’s just so soft and different.”
This is a testament to the success of the brand. So, what makes a dairy free ice cream brand so successful? “LOL, I don’t know for sure all I know is I really believe in serving love and spreading all the magic I have to offer through Yococo,” says Sine.

Yococo still has a long way to go according to the team but they have chosen to celebrate every small success. The ice cream brand have increased their sales by partnering up with new stores in various locations and by teaming up with other black-owned businesses like Beauty on Tapp and Studio Moma. You can also see them at food festivals and markets all over the country. This has gotten the attention of media outlet eNCA and big brands such as Ford South Africa.

“I knew [that the business could be successful]. I wanted it to not just stay in my mind, there is still a lot for me to do for it to fit into my idea of success however I am very grateful for the progress so far.” The future of this young brand seems very bright. You can now to buy Yococo in Umhlanga and at Sea Point Spar in Cape Town. The team wants to see growth that is tangible and measurable. Sine’s future is just as bright. “Personally I am looking forward to stepping more into my power,” she says.

So what’s Sine’s advice to young, black business women? “Learn as much as you can by doing.”

You can order your tub of Yococo here