Online Reporter
Lincoln Towindo
WHAT began as a simple effort to prevent mangoes from rotting in a rural homestead has grown into a budding food processing enterprise now eyeing supermarket shelves and export markets.
For Ms Nokukhanya Moyo, founder of Ama Nom Nom, the journey from home kitchen experiments to showcasing at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair is ingrained in both necessity and passion.
“I have always loved cooking,” she said. “I started baking when I was in Grade Six, taught by my grandmother and my mother.”
Those early lessons would later resurface in an unexpected way.
Years later, while living between town and her rural home in Esigodini, Ms Moyo found herself with an abundance of mangoes going to waste. Determined to preserve them, she began making jam, initially just for household consumption. What followed was an organic evolution into business.
“A friend tasted the food and said, ‘You need to sell this,’” she recalled.
“That’s how it started.”
From a single product — mango jam stored in a plastic bottle — Ama Nom Nom has grown over the past three years into a diversified brand specialising in fruit preservation. Today, the company produces dried fruits, jams, chutneys and herbal teas, all rooted in natural and heritage-based ingredients. Its dried fruit range includes mixed fruit packs and snack packs blended with nuts, while its jams feature unique flavours such as rosella hibiscus, watermelon, plum and mango-pineapple.
The product line also includes sweet tomato and sweet chilli chutneys, alongside hibiscus tea, known for its health benefits.
Now, the business is evolving further, with Ms Moyo developing a new line of fruit-based cookies targeted at children, offering a healthier, sugar-free alternative to conventional snacks.
“The cookies have no sugar at all, but they taste just as good,” she said.
“We want children to enjoy snacks that are actually healthy.”
Structured growth
Ama Nom Nom’s turning point came when Ms Moyo came across the ZimTrade pavilion at the ZITF a couple of years ago.
“I saw someone I knew exhibiting and asked how she got there,” she said.
“She told me about the Next She Exporter programme, and I joined that same year.”
The Next She Exporter programme is a ZimTrade initiative aimed at empowering Zimbabwean women-owned businesses to enter global markets. It provides training, mentorship and capacity-building in areas like financial management, branding and export logistics, targeting sectors such as agriculture, cosmetics, fashion and crafts.
At the time, Ms Moyo’s business was still small-scale, producing limited quantities with basic packaging. Through ZimTrade’s training programmes, she gained skills in branding, packaging and product development, transforming her enterprise into a more market-ready operation.
“ZimTrade taught us how to package properly, how to label and brand ourselves,” she said.“That’s how we grew.”
Last week, Ama Nom Nom was among eight small businesses that exhibited under the ZimTrade pavilion at ZITF, part of a broader initiative to prepare emerging enterprises for international trade.
Building a market
While export ambitions are firmly in sight, Ms Moyo is equally focused on establishing a strong local presence.
“We want to be found in supermarkets,” she said.“I want children to come home and say, ‘Mommy, I want Ama Nom Nom.’”
Her vision is to position the brand as a household name synonymous with healthy eating, offering alternatives to highly processed foods while maintaining taste and convenience. Central to that vision is a commitment to sourcing raw materials from rural communities.
Mangoes come from Esigodini, bananas from Manicaland and tomatoes from community gardens, creating a supply chain that supports local farmers.
“That way, we are also supporting the rural economy,” she said.
Scaling up
From producing just 10 packets at inception, the business has steadily expanded its product range and output. However, scaling up remains the next critical step.
“We want to grow to a point where we can meet demand both locally and internationally,” she said. Participation at ZITF is expected to accelerate that process.
According to ZimTrade, the exhibition provides a platform for SMEs to sharpen negotiation skills, build buyer relationships and gain exposure to new markets.
“What unites these businesses is the journey they are preparing to take in international trade,” the organisation said.
“This exposure represents a critical step towards accessing new markets and translating interest into export orders.”
For Ms Moyo, the opportunity represents validation of a journey that began in a modest kitchen and was shaped by community, curiosity and resilience.
From drying bananas and strawberries at home to presenting a full product range on a national stage, Ama Nom Nom is steadily transforming surplus into value and a simple idea into a brand with growing appetite.
