I, personally, have kept a close eye on how the story with the Ubuntu and Woolworths played out over the weekend and I am happy to report that it’s a good day to be proudly South African.
As an owner of a brand new technology in South Africa, I approached Woolworths with my new, patent-protected, product and was alarmed, not by it’s rejection, but by the response of one of their marketing team where she stated, and I quote, “Please note that we monitor international and local trends closely and invest heavily in new product development. It is not inconceivable that we, together with our existing suppliers and/or new suppliers, may be discussing and/or developing products similar to yours“. You can imagine my deep concern when I read what I saw was a legitimization of using our innovative technology to develop their own brand.
It is thus with huge relief and pride that I witnessed the transparency, cooperation and honesty in which Woolworths has dealt with the Ubuntu situation.
Who knows… maybe Ella Coffee will be the next of their proudly South African products?
