A South African mum living in the UK has kicked off a £200k investment plan to launch her own sausage company.
Called Braaiology after the South African barbecue, the company is set to launch in July 2026 with the country’s signature spiral sausage, boerewors.
Founder Melanie Hunt has invested £40k in the startup, with a further £150k-£200k earmarked for marketing and launch activity. Having developed the brand and packaging, and secured a manufacturing partner, the company has now kicked off the search for retail listings.
“In the first year, the goal is to get a supermarket listing,” said Hunt. “If that takes longer, we’ll launch through Amazon’s cold network so we can still get national reach.
“We’re planning for around 100 tonnes a month once we’re fully up and running.”
Hunt co-founded the business with her husband James, who manages the company’s operations and marketing, after realising there was a “gap in the market” for boerewors in the UK.
“Our son is gluten intolerant, and we wanted him to try proper South African boerewors. We couldn’t find anything gluten-free online.
“When we made our own, he loved it, and when we served it to 18 of his friends (eight-year-olds), the feedback from them (and their parents) made us realise there was a real gap.”
Hellbent fire
Boerewors is a rarity on UK supermarket shelves. One of the few companies making the sausage was Belfast-based Hellbent, which supplied Lidl. However, in early March the business’ manufacturing site was destroyed in a fire.
“I was amazed at the power of it,” said co-founder and former Ulster rugby player Louis Ludik.
“The destruction it caused in such a short time was something I was not prepared for. In that first moment it felt like everything we had built was gone.”
Thanks to help from partners, suppliers and peers, however, the business “is still standing”, Ludik said.
“This industry looks after its own and I have never been more grateful to be part of it.”
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