Manzi Blue

Their enterprise, for which they are receiving support from business, legal and funding experts in the region, is to market drinking water in recyclable packaging. 

 

Known as Manzi Blue – manzi is Zulu for water – they are about to start marketing it to colleges, universities and care homes, with gyms, health stores, vending machines and, ultimately, supermarkets next.

 

The couple have received legal advice from  North East firm BHP Law, who has registered their limited company and applied for a trademark for Manzi Blue.

 

Patience, who has a degree in tourism management and is now studying a masters in international management at Teesside University, said they first got the idea four years ago.

 

She explained: “It started when we saw a story on the news about how much waste we produce. We began thinking about drinks containers and how water is only ever available in non-environmentally friendly plastic or cans.

 

“Many drinks come in sustainable packaging – fruit juices, smoothies and milk. We started researching why water was not. We found it does cost a little bit more which may be why the big companies haven’t done it yet.”

 

“We thought water could be sold more ethically so we looked into finding suppliers of packaging,” added Khulani, who has been on Teesside for eight years and graduated in applied sciences and forensic investigations before starting a masters in forensic science.

 

The world’s best known maker of paper packaging, Tetra Pak, is creating the cartons, which will hold 330ml of locally sourced and packaged natural spring water.

 

“It’s not been easy for a start-up like us to develop a supplier relationship with a global business like Tetrapak but the fact that we have I think shows they’ve got confidence in us,” Khulani added.

 

Matthew said: “In terms of research into their product, the packaging and the market, Patience and Khulani have really put the work in. It’s impossible not to be inspired by what they’ve achieved.

 

“They admit to having little experience in business so I have been delighted to support them, together with my professional colleagues, to ensure they have all the right protections in place going forward.”

 

Matthew worked in collaboration with Stephen Slater of RMT accountants and business advisors, who has helped the couple with funding, cashflow projections and other financial issues, and business consultant Ross Golightly of Sphera Consulting, who is advising on commercialisation, supply chains and potential sources of funding.

 

Ross said: “Manzi Blue is a completely unique concept within the UK bottled water sector and we hope to develop a significant niche as an ethical product that benefits both African communities and the environment.”

 

Patience said: “Although it’s been a long road to get here we are very excited about the prospect of seeing our Manzi Blue product on the shelves.

“We didn’t have any business expertise so it has been fantastic to have Matthew, Stephen and Ross guiding and advising us. It’s made everything a lot easier and they’ve given us a lot of ideas.”

 

Khulani added: “It’s important that the business does well, not just for us but also because we are going to donate a percentage of any profits to clean water initiatives in Africa.”