{"id":828718,"date":"2025-06-24T16:12:48","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T14:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=828718"},"modified":"2025-06-24T16:13:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T14:13:26","slug":"the-south-african-rugby-legend-who-started-two-popular-coffee-chains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/828718\/the-south-african-rugby-legend-who-started-two-popular-coffee-chains\/","title":{"rendered":"The South African rugby legend who started two popular coffee chains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Former Springbok second row Kobus Wiese has built a successful career developing world-class coffee restaurant chains, Wiesenhof Coffees and Dulce Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born Jakobus Johannes Wiese on 16 May 1964 in Paarl, Wiese matriculated at Paarl Gimnasium and went on to study teaching at Paarl Onderwys, later obtaining his diploma from Goudstad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He played provincial rugby for Boland, Western Transvaal, and Transvaal (now Gauteng) before earning his place in the Springbok team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wiese made his test debut in 1993 against France and was part of the squad that famously won the 1995 Rugby World Cup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He played his last test match for South Africa in 1996 against Wales, earning the rare distinction of never playing in a losing Springbok team when in the starting XV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite playing until 1996, Wiese\u2019s journey into the coffee business began during his rugby career after a tour to Italy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While playing north of Venice, he fell in love with the Italian culture of food, family, and long, shared meals. \u201cEating is an experience,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cI love having friends over and cooking; it\u2019s therapeutic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by that lifestyle, Wiese returned to South Africa with a dream. \u201cI came back and said to my girlfriend and my now wife, Belinda, we need to start something,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no experience, they bought a small coffee shop in Johannesburg. \u201cWe took everything we had and bought the shop on a gut feel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe took everything we had and bought the shop on a gut feel,\u201d Wiese said. \u201cMy father asked me if I even knew how many cups of coffee I\u2019d have to sell to make a living.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no experience but plenty of determination, the couple threw themselves into the business, learning everything from the ground up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t do anything in your restaurant better than the people working for you, it\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rapid growth <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Their first shop in Johannesburg\u2019s East Rand quickly grew popular, prompting an expansion of both the seating and the menu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wiesenhof Coffee Shop was officially founded in 1998. Throughout it all, Wiese remained hands-on, roasting beans himself and experimenting with blends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy favourite part was always testing different roasting methods and beans from different countries,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These experiments led to the development of their signature blends, recipes, and methods, which are still guarded as trade secrets today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green beans are sourced from top coffee-growing countries like Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Ethiopia, then roasted locally in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a true South African brand,\u201d Wiese said. \u201cAnd without sounding biased, I believe the best coffee is in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the brand gained traction, Kobus and Belinda introduced<\/a> Dulce Caf\u00e9 as an alternative franchise option to complement Wiesenhof. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, both brands now form part of Wiese Coffee Holdings (WCH), which also includes their original Roastery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operated from their former family home near Heidelberg, Gauteng, WCH has grown into a key player in South Africa\u2019s coffee industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, the family expanded operations to Paarl in the Western Cape, establishing a satellite office to support store and distribution growth in the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Successful owner, presenter, and motivational speaker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The business remains proudly family-owned and values-driven. Wiese emphasises working with partners who share a commitment to ethics, service, and quality: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe surround ourselves with like-minded individuals. That\u2019s reflected in our team at Head Office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 26 years later, Wiesenhof and Dulce caf\u00e9s can be found across the country, built on principles of hard work, humility, and a deep love of coffee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple\u2019s entrepreneurial spirit has shaped the brand\u2019s identity and success. \u201cWe grafted like animals,\u201d Wiese said. \u201cAnd thank God we did more right than wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside the coffee business, Wiese remains<\/a> a public figure. He appears as a sports presenter on M-Net, something he calls a \u201chobby,\u201d and is a popular motivational speaker and master of ceremonies at corporate events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His message to young people, whether in sports or business, is that regret is harder to live with than failure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are no guarantees in life. Life favours nobody. You\u2019ve got to meet it halfway. Dedication, determination, discipline, and desire are the recipe. There\u2019s no disgrace in failure. There is disgrace in not trying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wiesenhof Coffees<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Dulce Caf\u00e9<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Springbok second row Kobus Wiese has built a successful career developing world-class coffee chains, Wiesenhof Coffees and Dulce Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":828784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[22915,22916,853,22914],"class_list":["post-828718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-dulce-cafe","tag-kobus-wiese","tag-south-africa","tag-wiesenhof-coffees"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828718"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":829269,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828718\/revisions\/829269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}