Just what the doctor ordered!

Dr Mavhungu Tracy Nelwamondo was inspired by the indigenous Southern African marula fruit and her child to create a reduced-sugar frozen dessert, Malie’s Ice Cream.

Did you always want to be a doctor?

Not at all. When I passed matric I really wanted to be an economist or something like that. But my dad insisted that I become a doctor because he himself wanted to be a doctor, and I grew to love it.

What inspired you to make ice cream?

I’ve never been a person who loves food, but I am so deep into it now. The ice cream came about when I had my first child, Malie. I’m from a family where a lot of us are living with obesity. We have complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases. And we all know that food is a strong factor when it comes to such diseases.

How did Malie inspire you?

When I gave birth to Malie, I wanted something different for him. I wanted him to have a better chance or a better relationship with food. After weaning him, I started doing a lot of research on how to have a healthier relationship with food from a very young age, and I fell in love with food. What was interesting was that it was going along well, because it resonated well with physiology that I learned in medical school.

What challenges did you face in making this healthy transition for your family?

A lot of the healthy food ingredients were imported, so for me, it didn’t make sense. It was very expensive. It didn’t make sense that I needed to buy a packet of quinoa for so much money. While speaking to my mom, she said she grew up eating healthy food. She was referring to food such as sorghum and our melons. Once I discovered these I became really passionate about African indigenous food and how it can solve non-communicable diseases and the obesity situation in the country. Maybe we’ve been looking at this wrong and it’s not about eating global food — we have other indigenous grains that are also whole grains and that are very healthy.

How did you create the marula ice cream?

My son was going through a phase where ice cream was a thing, and I couldn’t find anything on the market that gives a little boy the treat he deserves while nourishing him. I was just playing around in the kitchen, and it was so good. People in my family loved it so much that they said I should sell it. This was back in 2018. I started selling it informally at markets on weekends.

You went from selling at markets to selling in a big retail store. Tell us about that.

We are currently in Pick n Pay and, hopefully, we’ll be in other retailers soon. The very first time I saw the stock on the shelf I was in tears. I could not believe it. It was surreal seeing how far the project had come and how amazing it was to have such opportunities. It’s not easy to get into retail and it’s not easy to stay in retail. So, our challenge was not just securing shelf space but also making sure customers were aware of the product. There are also so many other logistical and administrative things associated with big retail that we had to learn and are still learning.

How do you balance running your own practice and a retail company?

The beauty of my practice is that it always informs the business as well. I have a special interest in obesity medicine. I’m really deep in preventing non-communicable diseases and transforming our food space in South Africa and Africa — and, after that, the whole world. I have patients who are really trying to lose weight and I am inspired by them — that is where the product development starts. I get home and think, “There must be a better way I can help people find better food products out there.” So, actually, my businesses speak to each other.

What makes you a good leader?

When you are a leader or in a space where you lead a lot of people, you need to allow yourself to be led. You need to listen and not be a know-it-all — one mind is always inferior to a combination of many. It’s not all about what I think but about exploring and listening to the team, who are experts at the different things they do.