I didn’t care too much for local brands until I got into advertising. One or more of our clients was into FMCG and I had to know the brand plus the competitors. There are three brands that stand out for me as a girl and I hope that other girls can benefit from this here review.

Red Seal Fastcook

What if I told you that you could make sadza in 5 minutes? I bet you can hear your mother in the back of your head telling you it cannot be done. I have never enjoyed making sadza. It took too long and I ALWAYS got burnt. I would cook sadza offline (when you move the sadza pot to a cold stove to avoid being burnt.) In the middle of making sadza, I’d get distracted and make braai’d sadza or smoke flavoured sadza. National Foods revolutionised the game by bringing us Red Seal Fastcook. Now you can make sadza in 5 minutes. And the sadza tastes just as delicious as waste-an-hour-by-the-stove-sadza. I don’t know how this magic works, I’m just grateful that it does.

Farai Pads

I had an attitude towards local products. I thought nothing good can come out of locaaly made sanitary pads. No matter which pads you use, you will never have 100% confidence against leakage. The last thing I wanted to experiment with was my period. I had been using the same brand for years until my mother decided to switch it up by buying Farai pads. I used them and I have never looked back since. I now have 100% confidence when it comes to leakage. They have wings that actually work. Your pad won’t take flight in the middle of your day. They are extra long, so you can sleep like a ninja without worrying that you will seep out into the bed.

Zumbani and Resurrection Tea

Do you suffer from period pain (dysmenhorrea)? Well, did you know that students from the University of Zimbabwe came up with a tea that alleviates period pain and it actually works? Yes, I tried it! I first heard about this tea when I visited the UZ stand at the ZITF. I thought it was rubbish. Things as horrible as cancer and period pain have no cure. You just manage the pain and endure. I had nothing to lose, so I got the tea. Long story short, I am no longer looking into hysterectomy surgeries during my periods. The tea has no side-effects unlike the painkillers that we take.

What are some of your useful local brands that you swear by?