Chronicle Editor
Yvonne Ncube, Showbiz Correspondent
THE Munch & Sip event in Bulawayo has become a culture, a time when the beautiful kings and queens take time to celebrate the art of food and drink.
In its fifth year, this magnificent event that was held last weekend attracted people, not only from KwaNtuthu, but from all over the country. Considering that the event has positioned itself as a lifestyle event, those who attended got the memo as they looked their best with most wanting to be recognised for that “classy” look.
However, the choice of venue (Matopos Sailing Club) this time around was not the very best because it was characterised by dust. Imagine you had worn your favourite, if not new pair of white sneakers only to have them filled with dust upon arrival.
You can never recover from this one certainly!
The next day, people woke up to very dirty sneakers that they could not look at twice, and washing them personally could never have done the trick surely, unless one had mastered the skill of washing sneakers. Washing them single-handedly most likely would not have resulted in the sneakers returning to the original milky white bomb that they once were.
But not to worry, Bulawayo has a solution for everything; sneaker cleaners have emerged and come through to save the event’s attendees from messing up and losing their treasured pair of sneakers. These entrepreneurs reportedly recorded brisk business after the Munch & Sip event as customers keep pouring in referring each other to the miraculous cleaners.
Saturday Leisure caught up with some of the newly emerged entrepreneurs to find out the secret behind transforming sneakers to be spotlessly clean. One such entrepreneur Mmeli “Bangane” Jack Ncube, the co-founder of Juluka Sneaker Care said they use detergents to give sneakers their best look.
“Juluka Sneaker Care uses different detergents to give sneakers a brand-new look. We remove dirt using these detergents that leave the shoes spotless. We’re all about good sneaker health, we customise them, and revamp them,” Bangane said.
He said those with sneakers that they love so much but can no longer wear because they are old, there is no need to throw them away as they can bring them back to life.
“We started operations in July this year after realising a gap in the market and business has been good so far. The people that we’ve worked with are so happy to an extent that they recommend us to their friends which is why our numbers have multiplied remarkably in just a month. We’ve been doing marketing through social media platforms and people have been asking us,” said Bangane.
He said after Munch & Sip, they received nearly 50 clients.
“For the past days after Munch & Sip, we’ve received a range of about 40 to 50 clients and I believe more people are yet to come because they’ve been inquiring on WhatsApp. The venue for the event was dusty so washing the sneakers might not always work.
“As a lover of sneakers, I realised that such a service is paramount because no sneaker lover wants to wear dirty shoes, but at the same time, washing alone is not enough.
Sometimes the results are not impressive.”
He said he got the business idea from traveling to other cities and realised that in Bulawayo, “we lack this service, yet we have dusty streets. What is unique about this brand is that we don’t only clean them, but we give life to dying shoes, all kinds of shoes.”
Bangane said Juluka Sneaker Care is a multi-tasking brand that is yet to grow into diverse ventures.
“We’re a sneaker care brand, for now, however, we’re not into sneaker care only. We’re yet to venture into other businesses in the same line. Sneaker care is an introduction to a whole lot of other things that we’ll do in the near future. If you see the brand Juluka, think of any supermarket because there are a lot of things that we’ll bring to the table,” he said.
Another sneaker cleaner, Nongcwele Mnkandla aka Noxy, founder of Noxy’s sneaker cleaning services said she operates by the adage “say no to sneaker abuse!”
“Basically, I wash all kinds of sneakers by hand giving them all the love and care they deserve. I started this business in May last year and the journey hasn’t been easy because some people don’t trust their sneakers being handled by someone else. However, the clients that I’ve dealt with have been very supportive and they’ve been coming back to get their sneakers washed again,” she said.
Like Bangane, Noxy said business has been brisk following the Munch & Sip event.
“After Munch & Sip, I’ve received a higher number of customers than I had before. I’m grateful to Munch & Sip because I gained a couple of clients that didn’t know what to do with their sneakers anymore following the dirt,” she said.
“I work by the motto ‘Say No to sneaker abuse!’ and give sneakers the love and care that they deserve. No scratching, no scrubbing, no bending, and no direct sunlight. Soft bristle brushes are preferred and using the required sneaker detergent always gives exceptional results,” she said. – @SeehYvonne
Online Reporter