Butternut coffee a bold new brew

When Free State entrepreneur Chantelle de Bruyn’s grandfather had to give up coffee for health reasons, she brewed a new business idea and invented a global first — organic “coffee” made from the humble butternut.

- Lyse Comins

De Bruyn, who embarked on several business ventures in Bloemspruit, just outside Bloemfontein, before launching Buttercup Farmhouse, a small agro-processing business that produces patented butternut coffee, said it made perfect sense to select the butternut as the base ingredient for the hot drink.

She initially took courses in entrepreneurial studies at the University of Johannesburg and the MSC Business College and went on to open a small catering business, simply because she saw other entrepreneurs prospering in this field.

“Tt was an epic failure. I lasted a few months and then I went over into my second business, which was manufacturing gumboots. But I did not complete that because we were unable to get funding. I then started backyard gardening, which was more of a fun community project, as there was no selling and we gave alot away to charity,” she said.

This was after she had attended a provincial department of agriculture seminar on farming where she was selected to facilitate the training of young women on a community gardening project.

She launched a not-for-profit organisation called Ananela Project (“appreciation” in Sesotho) and her passion for farming — and eventually product development — began to flourish.