Paul Masilo keeps it fresh

Paul Masilo, founder of Freshmo mouthwash sachets, believes in never giving up to achieve your dreams.

Innovator Of The Year

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

Building a business that will make a difference in people’s lives inspires me to be an entrepreneur. I love doing charity work like collecting food and clothes and giving them out. So I enjoy things that make a difference to others.

How did you start your business?

Every day, without fail, as a family we sit down and discuss business and have our prayer and bible study sessions. In one of our sessions in 2014, we discussed the idea of creating extra income for ourselves as a family and building a generational legacy. In the brainstorming session, we came up with the idea of starting a company and we registered it as Logos Branding and Trading. Later the company was renamed Freshmo Brands Pty Ltd.

I saw tomato sauce in a sachet and that was a light bulb moment. I decided that I wanted to produce mouthwash in a sachet.

I approached one of the mouthwash manufacturers and asked if they could sell me their mouthwash, so l could repack it under my brand name. They said they could, but only on condition that l signed a contract to buy R300 000 worth of mouthwash every month for three years.

Distribution discussions are ongoing with SPAR (which has placed a 6 000 sachet order), Shoprite, Clicks, Dischem, PEP, Guvon Group of Hotels, SAA, and Airlink.

It was a huge ask so I approached the Gauteng Economic Department to ask for funding. I was referred to the Stakeholder Relations Manager for the Gauteng province. He advised me to develop my own formula of mouthwash.

My challenge was the science and I didn’t have a formula for mouthwash.

I entered my solar powered clothing iron in a green technology competition, hosted by the Innovation Hub and the Gauteng Economic Department. While networking with guests, l happened to speak to Dr Chamunorwa, a board member of The Innovation Hub. He asked me what else I did and I told him of my mouthwash project and the challenge l had. He put me in touch with Professor David Katerere, a Professor in Pharmaceutical studies at TUT, who agreed to help me develop the formula. We then got funding from Marilize Uekerman, who later became Chairperson of our company. We experimented and brought life to our mouthwash!

Sasol Incubation Hub provided us with lab facilities to do this experiment. The exercise was successful.

We then had to look for a packaging company and found one in Pretoria. They packaged a few samples for us and we sent these for stability testing at Sasol Hub.

Following this, we had to do external stability testing through the SABS, but unfortunately, SABS do not have a mouthwash testing standard. In fact, there are no companies in Africa doing mouthwash testing.

The other challenge was to find a company that would package mouthwash in sachets, but we also did not have the budget for it. We were looking for a company that has an Enterprise Supplier Development programme with funding to assist us. We searched high and low until we came across Hotel Annuities Services and Steripac, who agreed to assist us under their ESD programme. However, we had to first get clearance that our mouthwash was not classified as a food, as they are only licensed to package non-food items.

MRA Consultants stepped in and gave us the proof we needed that the mouthwash was a cosmetic and pharmaceutical item.

Spoor and Fischer came on board on a pro bono basis and helped us to get a trademark for our product.

We then needed to raise money to buy raw materials, and pay for sachet design and we got a grant from Ekasilab, a programme of The Innovation Hub that supports township businesses. With the Ekasilab grant, we managed to acquire bar codes for our products.

Chemin, an incubation hub for cosmetics, offered us the use of their laboratory facilities to make our mouthwash.

In 2021 through SEDA, we managed to get our mouthwash tested by the University of Limpopo Biotechnologies Research Centre, which has an MOU with SABS. Testing results came out in January 2022 and the shelf life for our mouthwash is two years and it’s alcohol-free.

Tell us about your product.

We manufacture mouthwash packaged in sachets. We are the first black-owned, township-based company in Africa to do so. Freshmo has five flavours: Peppermint, Spearmint,

Appleblush, Strawberry, and Watermelon.

Bad breath is a huge challenge with stats showing that 50% of South Africans have issues with bad breath. Freshmo provides a solution to help fight this and to keep the mouth fresh. We currently distribute to individual-owned shops, doctors’ practices, and individuals. Distribution discussions are ongoing with SPAR (which has placed a 6 000 sachet order), Shoprite, Clicks, Dischem, PEP, Guvon Group of Hotels, SAA and Airlink.

What do you feel are some of the key characteristics that make you a successful entrepreneur?

Never give up your spirit, prayer, and customer relationshipbuilding ability.

What motivates you?

Making a difference in people’s lives and prayer.

What are some of the challenges you have faced as an entrepreneur?

Access to markets. We have approached retailers but it’s not easy to get into shops, however, we keep on trying. Another challenge is funding.

How have you overcome challenges?

We used the ESD route to fund most of the things we needed to do in order to get the product off the ground. We have used the power of customer relationships to try and get potential opportunities to be listed in retail shops.

What were some of the highlights of your journey as an entrepreneur?

They include getting to develop the formula from scratch, working with Prof Katerere and bringing the formula to life from paper. Also, exhibiting our product in FACIM Mozambique.

What are the key lessons you have learned?

Never give up on what God has entrusted you to do, despite what people say about you. Funding doesn't necessarily mean cash in your bank account.

How do you foresee your business growing in the next five years?

The future is exciting as we plan to grow into Africa and have a few exciting products that will be released in the future. ■