In this Business Talk with Michael Avery interview, Eben de Jongh discusses how Sonke and SKUBU are making everyday essentials cheaper through refill retail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Jongh is the founder and CEO of Sonke Retail and Sonke Sales Solutions, the company behind the SKUBU platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is a veteran in engineering, management, and logistics with over two decades of experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sonke Retail is a South African start-up founded in 2020 to provide South Africans with an economic incentive to make environmentally friendly choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sonke Sales Solutions was later founded in 2022 to help blue-chip Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies empower South African youth and grow their brands in the informal sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before founding Sonke Retail and later Sales Solutions, de Jongh held a variety of leadership positions, including Operations Director at Maneli Pets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with this, he worked at Unilever for over six years, during which he served in various positions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Jongh holds an MBA from the IE Business School and a Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pretoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this Business Talk interview, de Jongh shares what he saw in conventional FMCG retail that he believed was penalising lower-income consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He outlines how SKUBU works, noting how they solved the constraints that usually impact bulk packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Jongh explains where they\u2019ve predominantly deployed their shops thus far and what they\u2019ve seen in terms of uptake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also touches on the point at which he believes SKUBU will evolve from an interesting pilot, partly funded by development capital, into a business that conventional commercial capital can fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Jongh concludes the interview by unpacking how they leverage data both to determine where to open the next SKUBU, as well as what products and pack-equivalent sizes will be most suitable for the local community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Watch the interview with Eben de Jongh below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n