Founded by a mother-daughter duo, Razia’s Pickle is a locally produced range of Indian- style pickles, sauces and spices.
Hailing from the sleepy town of Kimberley in the Northern Cape, Razia and Kareema Shaik founded the loved local brand in late 2019 in Pretoria.
Inspired by authentic Indian flavours, the pickles, sauces and spices are all produced in small batches and homemade to ensure that authenticity and high quality remain at the top of the agenda for this local food brand.
We chatted to Kareema, the co-founder of Razia’s Pickle, to find out more about the small business and what led to its creation.
What inspired the creation of Razia’s Pickle?
My mother, Razia, a 72-year-old retiree, lived in Kimberley her entire life until she moved to Pretoria in 2019 to be with me. Going from a tight-knit community to living in a security estate with strangers as neighbours was quite the adjustment. To cope with the boredom, Razia started making her delicious Indian-style pickles and sauces for my friends and colleagues.
These pickles and sauces have always been pantry staples for our family. In fact, pickles have been in Razia’s family for generations and she learnt most of what she knows from her own mother who used to make potfuls of traditional Indian pickles on a regular basis.
When was Razia’s Pickle founded?
Late 2019 on a very small scale. Things quietened down a bit during the initial Covid-19 lockdown, which gave us time to work on our branding, new products and plans for the future.
We started making bigger moves when lockdown restrictions relaxed and, in September 2022, I left my corporate job to run the business full-time.
What do you aim to achieve with your range of products?
We want to make authentic Indian flavours accessible to the broader population in South Africa. Through our journey, we realised two things. One, although these are flavours that are commonplace in Indian households – these pickles and sauces were always a staple in our home growing up and we simply took them for granted – they were not accessible to the broader population in South Africa. Two, South Africans love Indian flavours and don’t mind a bit of a bite in their food at all!
What is the best-selling product from the range of products? And why?
The Chilli Mayo is by far the best seller. It’s creamy and packed with flavour but doesn’t have too much of a bite. People love the atchar flavour it has and its versatility. It’s not only great as a dip or on wraps and burgers but it can also transform a boring pasta salad or stir fry into something phenomenal.
Close seconds are our Curry Leaves Sauce (a great dip, condiment or cooking sauce) and our Butter Chicken Spice Mix, which comes with my mum’s easy-to-follow recipe at the back, allowing any home cook, no matter their skill level, to make the most delicious butter chicken at home.
What makes the range of products offered unique?
Our products are all made at home in small batches from the highest quality ingredients using recipes passed down in the family through generations and sold in environmentally friendly packaging. We are proudly local and small, and we offer authentic Indian flavours at manageable heat levels.
I think what resonates with our fans is that every product is not only packed with flavour but also with the care and goodness that you can only get from homemade brands.
Do you use any sustainable methods or mechanisms within your business?
All our products are homemade in small batches. We try to use fresh, locally sourced ingredients as far as possible. We also try to support local small suppliers in our area. Our packaging is sustainable and we recycle whatever we can.
What is your personal favourite product from the range – i.e. favourite spice, pickle and sauce?
My favourite is the Carrot Pickle. A lot of people assume that, because we are Indian, we love hot food. Ironically both my mother and I don’t like things too hot. We love spice and flavour but none of our products are meant to blow your head off.
The Carrot Pickle is the mildest of the lot. It’s sweet, fresh and crunchy and has just a bit of heat. Traditionally, we enjoy it with a curry or a dhal and rice but it’s equally enjoyable in a chicken wrap or in a burger. I love it on some crackers with brie as a light lunch.
What inspired the name of the brand?
The brand is named after my mother. It was important for me to create a legacy for her that she could be proud of. “Pickle” in the name is intended to be a play on words but we’ve realised our error with that – a lot of people call us Razia’s Pickles (with the S at the end). Initially, we would cringe at that but we are so grateful that our brand is recognised that we now don’t mind at all!
Where can users purchase the products?
We currently have an online store situated at raziaspickle.co.za but we also have a few stores, nationwide, selling our products. Our stockists are listed on our website here.
What is one goal you hope to achieve with your small business?
We would love to grow Razia’s Pickle into an iconic South African household brand. We want to establish ourselves as a lifestyle brand, making Indian food and flavours accessible to the broader population in more ways than one.
What are your future plans for Razia’s Pickle?
We are currently hard at work on a range of homemade frozen Indian savouries and breads. This is a natural extension of our range, bringing more of Razia’s treats that we grew up with to our fanbase. Our range will initially include samoosas, mini pies, spring rolls, rotis and naan but we hope to expand that to include prepared meals in the mid-future.
We would like to launch the range on our website in May 2024, just in time for winter. Initially, the range will only be available for collection in Pretoria and Johannesburg but we are hoping to stock some of our retailers as well.
What is one piece of advice you would like to share with someone wanting to start their own small food business?
Just start. It doesn’t matter that you don’t have all the answers or that you don’t have everything planned out. You will learn as you go and you will pivot and adjust when things aren’t working.
The best thing we did was to start small and then build from there. We started with four products and very basic packaging. We did all the little farmers’ markets and learnt what we needed to know about our target market from there. What we earned and learnt from those markets enabled us to grow our offering and establish our brand.