Inspiring Conversations with Claudia Castellanos of Black Mamba Foods

Today we’d like to introduce you to Claudia Castellanos.

Claudia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Colombia, I studied at a French school and grew up in a very academic and liberal environment with parents that were doctors. I think this made me quite rebellious and inquisitive. After finishing my degree in Colombia, I had a small stint working for a dot.com company (back in the 2000’s that was a very cool job!) and then moved to Barcelona to do my MBA. I managed to get a corporate job in Italy afterwards and lived in Europe for six years. When reaching my 30th birthday, I started to feel that my life was lacking purpose (these days, I call that period my 30’s crisis) and this led me to apply for volunteering in Africa. I had always been fascinated by this continent – and when I got the opportunity of coming to Eswatini (back then called Swaziland) in 2008 to work as a volunteer for a handcraft business called Gone Rural, I didn’t think twice. From that experience, I fell in love with Eswatini and decided to stay and do more development work with women. In 2010, together with my now husband Joe Roques we started Black Mamba. He was obsessed with chillies and I was convinced I could replicate the business model focused on inclusion of grassroots communities that I had seen working for many handcraft businesses in Eswatini.

Throughout the years, I became passionate about the environment, and I thought that by creating a business following my values, I could not only bring positive change to rural communities but also contribute to the respect and protection of the planet. My driving force is “Be the change you want to see in the world”. And I thought I could be that change through Black Mamba.

Fast forward 12 years, and now I run an international food brand with a very strong social and environmental ethos that has a positive impact for over 1000 people in Eswatini, I married my Swazi love and I am the proud mother of the only 2 Colombian Swazi kids in history.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all! But again, I believe no entrepreneurial journey is. Running your own business, in a tiny corner in Africa, with plenty of red tape and very little support and resources is not for the faint-hearted. We have always struggled with logistics issues: Eswatini is a landlocked country and we are an export business focusing on overseas markets. Most of our packaging has to be imported also as no one produces what we need in country. But as they say in this part of the world: we make a plan. Hard conditions make you resilient and more creative.

Raising small kids is not necessarily compatible with scaling a business. The mom guilt is very real. I don’t believe in the elusive “balance” that we must aim to have between work and family life, and I have come to terms with the fact that my life will be unbalanced and can only strive to go from one unbalanced side to the other. This realization comes hand in hand with the incredible support network I have, with a great husband that is also a very committed dad, and also very little sleep (sometimes) so I can spend quality time with my kids and recover work hours in the evening.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Black Mamba Foods?
Black Mamba is an ethical business from Eswatini in Southern Africa that manufactures Specialty foods that are good for you, good for the planet, and good for the rural communities we work with.

Our range includes hot sauces, pestos, chutneys and jams, made with organically grown ingredients and no added nonsense.

Black Mamba sources its fresh, organic produce through Guba, a local permaculture NGO. Guba trains farmers in permaculture and regenerative agriculture and collaborates with 50 smallholder farmers who grow fresh organic herbs & chillies for Black Mamba’s products. The direct positive impact of this partnership reaches over 1,000 individuals in Eswatini.

Black Mamba has won several Great Taste Awards in the UK for tour hot sauces, and we currently export our range to countries such as the US, the UK, Germany, Norway, Taiwan and South Africa.

With Black Mamba, we want to prove that a business model that has a different approach to agriculture, an approach that includes smallholders and sustainable farming practices that are good for the Earth, can be successful and profitable. Our vision is for Black Mamba’s business model to be adopted and replicated across the developing world. It is time for businesses in developing countries to show that we can provide first-world products while keeping a strong social and environmental ethos.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I have this memory of sitting around the dining table in the evenings, with my parents and my brother, discussing world politics. Despite living together, we usually had very different point of views. Sometimes the discussions would end up in proper fights when the Latino spirit would take over, but I remember this willingness we all had to change the world (and eventually how we would all be friends again).

I realize now how those evenings ended up shaping me and my strong sense of fairness (and also why I like to discuss on a lot of topics on end!)

Contact Info:

• Email: claudia@blackmambachilli.com
• Website: https://blackmambachilli.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackmambafood/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackMambaFoods
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/blackmambafood/

Image Credits:
Charmaine Ramalope-Makhubela (all food shots)