Mawande Kweyi, a 37-year-old entrepreneur from East London, is what you would call an all-round creative.
Not only has he built up an impressive CV as a fashion and footwear designer, but Kweyi ventured into the beverage industry and in September 2020 launched Umqhele dry gin.
“Being an entrepreneur and a creative, I always have ideas of rebranding and reinventing my craft. Umqhele dry gin is one of the ideas that I have had over the past decade. I have always been fascinated by how things are made. I stumbled across a video on YouTube about how alcohol is made. This fascinated me a lot and I knew in that moment that one day I wanted to have my own brand of alcohol.”
Kweyi said while out shopping for fabric in Woodstock, Cape Town in 2018 he came across breweries, craft beer and distillery companies. He visited those to find out more about how to start in the industry.
“I did more research into it and decided that this is something I’m going to do,” said Kweyi. “In 2020, at the height of the lockdown and the on-and-off alcohol bans, I remember thinking that this is the perfect time to start this journey.
“I knew instantly that SA is ready for something new. In June I started talking with one of the distilleries in Cape Town and we started working on a formula that is now Umqhele dry gin.”
Umqhele, taken from Nguni languages isiXhosa and isiZulu, is directly translated to “the crown”.
Umqhele is a proudly South African dry gin that is smooth and rich with heritage and culture
“Umqhele is a proudly South African dry gin that is smooth and rich with heritage and culture. It is also a play on words as having Umqhele or Umqhelo in isiXhosa means to be tipsy, feeling good, being a vibe.”
He explained that the branding had to be boldly centred in African imagery and colours that would catch one’s eye.
“I wanted it to grab people’s attention when it sits on the shelf with other brands and capture their imagination. I wanted it unique and to celebrate blackness and Africanism.”
In August Kweyi launched the Umqhele Gin Pride Edition, a move they decided to take knowing it might encounter backlash as a brand.
“We as a brand decided that no matter what the outcome, we owe it to ourselves as a brand that celebrates individuality to not be selective of how we celebrate diversity.
“Growing up different and growing up around homosexual people, especially in the fashion industry, I saw everyday people drawing assumptions and treating me differently, thinking I am gay. I heard stories almost every day about how the LGBTQI community is still stigmatised and discriminated against. I wanted this brand to serve as voice for all injustices so that these conversations don’t only get talked about ‘in the closet’.”
Kweyi said the gin was a celebratory drink for those who had accepted themselves. “It serves as validation that no-one can tell you who to be unless you allow them, so live your life to be whoever you were born to be! #FixYourCrown.”
Kweyi is working on distribution, but people can order via their Facebook and Instagram pages for Umqhele Gin, or they can contact Kweyi at 081-412-7996. A bottle sells for R250.
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