From a modest warehouse in Khayelitsha with barely any orders to supplying international airlines and attracting global buyers, Khayelitsha Cookies is proving that township businesses can compete on the world stage.
What began as a small community baking initiative has grown into an export-ready brand whose distinctive cookies are now supplied to British Airways, placing a Khayelitsha-made product on international flights.
Earlier this year, the company drew global attention when it showcased its products at Gulfood in Dubai, one of the world’s largest food and beverage trade exhibitions. Its unusual chocolate and spinach cookies quickly became one of the most talked-about products at the event, earning praise from international buyers for their innovative, health-focused ingredients and bold flavours.
Khayelitsha Cookies is among a group of local businesses supported through Wesgro’s flagship buyer programme, #MadeInTheCape, which connects Western Cape producers with international buyers and helps companies access new export markets.
Recently, Wesgro, the tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, hosted its flagship buyer event, bringing together 35 international buyers from 17 countries and more than 230 local exporters across the manufacturing, design, film and agri-processing sectors.
Launched in 2023, the initiative has already secured 13 signed trade deals with a projected value of R50.7m over the next five years, underscoring the growing global demand for products made in the Western Cape.
For township entrepreneurs like Khayelitsha Cookies, programmes such as #MadeInTheCape are opening doors that once seemed out of reach, transforming small businesses into export-ready brands and positioning Cape Town-made products on the global stage.
From training project to thriving business
MD and co-owner Adri Williams said Khayelitsha Cookies began in 2005 at the Nobuntu Training Centre in Khayelitsha.
“It was started by an American woman who was completing her MBA in South Africa. She began training women from Emfuleni at the centre on how to hand-bake cookies using flour, butter and sugar that were sponsored by Unilever,” Williams said.
When the sponsorship ended, the women began buying their own ingredients and walking around town selling cookies from baskets to keep the business alive and continue training other women.
In 2006, the founder returned to the US after her father became ill, and the business was eventually relocated to Ndabeni in Maitland, operating out of a small rented warehouse.
“Most days there weren’t even orders to bake,” Williams recalled.
When I walked into the business, I could see the image of more than a thousand women baking, even though there were only four ladies, three small tables, one household mixer and three little ovens. I could immediately see the future.
— Adri Williams, MD and co-owner of Khayelitsha Cookies
She joined the company 19 years ago after leaving her corporate job, a decision she says was driven by a deeper calling.
“When I walked into the business, I could see the image of more than a thousand women baking, even though there were only four ladies, three small tables, one household mixer and three little ovens. I could immediately see the future.”
Her motivation was shaped by the volunteer work she had done at a TB hospital in Cape Town.
“Every second Saturday, we would go and take toddlers out of their cots and play with them because there was no other human interaction. Some of the children we bonded with would not be there two weeks later,” she said.
“That experience changed my life. When I later read a Unisa case study that said one in five children in South Africa died from malnutrition, it was no longer just a statistic.”
For Williams, Khayelitsha Cookies became a way to create meaningful change.
“We realised that though malnutrition and poverty are huge challenges, we could make a difference by creating jobs for women who were previously unemployed, mainly from Khayelitsha and other poverty-stricken communities in the Western Cape.” The company has employed 100 women.
A difficult journey
Despite its growing reputation, the business has faced constant financial pressure.
“It’s been a difficult journey. The company has been on the verge of closing many times because our profit margins are low and it runs almost like a cash business,” Williams said.
But participation in the #MadeInTheCape programme proved to be a turning point.
“It has been an amazing platform. It opened doors to investors and mentors who have the industry knowledge that small businesses desperately need.”
Through the programme, the company was invited to attend an international trade show in London, where they met business-to-business buyers and decision-makers.
“We invested almost two years’ worth of profits to attend the show. It was a huge risk, but it paid off,” Williams said.
“We secured a major deal and have now officially received our first order. Our cookies will be served on British Airways flights, which is incredible for us.”
Driving export-led growth
Wesgro CEO Wrenelle Stander said strengthening trade requires sustained collaboration between the public and private sectors.
“Boosting trade cannot be achieved in isolation or through siloed efforts. Our partnership with DHL Express and Standard Bank demonstrates the power of collaboration in unlocking opportunities for Western Cape exporters,” she said.
Western Cape exports have increased from R160.9bn in 2021 to R219.7bn in 2025, highlighting the province’s growing role in South Africa’s export economy.
This year’s buyers travelled from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kenya, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, the US, Canada, Austria and the UK.
Among them were global corporations such as The Walt Disney Company and Reliance Retail, alongside major distributors, film industry buyers, wine importers and food suppliers.
Western Cape agriculture, economic development and tourism MEC Ivan Meyer said export growth is key to job creation.
“We are opening doors that connect our local businesses to global opportunities and global buyers to the quality, creativity and reliability of Western Cape products and services,” Meyer said.
“Export growth, investment attraction and private sector expansion are the engines of sustainable job creation.”
Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for economic growth James Vos added that companies that export tend to become stronger and more resilient.
“When a local manufacturer secures an export order, it strengthens an entire value chain, production, logistics, packaging, compliance and distribution. The impact extends far beyond a single company,” he said.
Restoring dignity through jobs
For Williams, the company’s biggest success is not only international recognition but the livelihoods it has helped create.
“The cherry on top is that we are helping to reduce unemployment and restore dignity,” she said.
“The women who work here can support up to five dependents with the income they earn.”
Today, Khayelitsha Cookies supplies clients in hospitality, schools, hospitals, offices and retail stores, and now international airline passengers.
From humble beginnings with a handful of bakers and a few small ovens, the business has grown into a symbol of how township entrepreneurship can rise from local survival to global opportunity.
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