What is Wildside Organics?

Wildside Organics is a small-scale, organic produce business, that is based in Sardinia Bay, Port Elizabeth. This operation was founded in early 2017 by two young and aspiring entrepreneurs – Jason Kelbrick and Callum Campbell.

We started Wildside Organics because we have the vision in mind of completely transforming South Africa’s Agribusiness sector. We will do this through the implementation of strict and environmentally friendly farming practices. The business aims to use the most sustainable practices when growing our produce and will strive to provide our customers with the highest-quality fresh fruit, vegetables, and herbs possible.

The values and morals that we have deeply embedded in our thought process are as follows: We aim to develop a business that is both beneficial to the surrounding area, but also satisfies the needs and wants of our customers, in the most effective manner. This is something we constantly bear in mind when making decisions with regards to business processes.

At Wildside Organics, we place a large emphasis on our long-term goal, which is to combat food scarcity – not only in Port Elizabeth, but in South Africa as a whole. While doing this, we also aim to help less fortunate communities, and the population in general, by promoting more efficient and environmentally friendly farming practices. Additionally, we would like to help educate the public on the importance of healthy eating, and aim to provide the public with tips and tricks that can be used both in the kitchen and the garden.

As a new operation, Wildside Organics strives to develop strong relationships with our customers, we plan on doing through creating direct and constant channels of communication. This enables us to stay in touch with the needs of our customers at all times, as we feel that this is the best way to do business. We also aim to create a sense of community that feels welcoming, with the intention that this would help to attract new customers.

Our customer base is in Port Elizabeth, and spans from small, independently owned restaurants, to individuals. Those who purchase from us can expect only the highest quality produce, which includes: Red cherry tomatoes, Parsley, Butter lettuce, Red Oak Lettuce, Great lakes lettuce, Rocket, Ruby chard, Spinach, Leeks, Mint and Strawberries.

Along with this we have decided to introduce a new product range of “Microgreens” to our existing catalogue of products. Included in this range are various sprouts such as: Japanese Radish shoots, Arugula (Rocket) shoots, Sunflower shoots and Pea shoots, which are all packed with immense flavour and can be used effectively to add great character to your salads.

In the future, we plan to expand our products, and offer a wider variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs to our customers.

Where we come from

As stated earlier, Wildside Organics was formed by Jason Kelbrick and Callum Campbell.

Jason, the founder of Wildside Organics, comes from the fast-paced city of Johannesburg. Jason is currently studying towards his Bachelors of Commerce degree at Nelson Mandela University, and it was through his studies that he soon came to realize the dilemma that agriculture faced on a universal scale, and from an ethical stand point. This prompted him to act in his own best interests and rectify modern-day agribusiness, by adopting a more environmentally conscious and sustainable outlook towards farming in South Africa.

“ South African agriculture faces continuous challenges such as: policy restrictions, water scarcity and lack of arable land, but it is through the ethical framework that Wildside Organics has employed, that we plan to adopt and develop efficient farming practices that work concomitantly with the surrounding environment and ultimately build a platform for strong and prosperous agricultural growth going forward”, said Jason, when addressing the issue surrounding the current viability of agribusiness in South Africa.

Callum Campbell has experience in SEO (Search Engine Optimization), blogging, and social media marketing. He has recently joined Wildside Organics, and will be managing brand-awareness and marketing of the business, as well as being responsible for the creation and management of the Wildside Organics social media pages.

What Wildside Organics plans to achieve

The current situation in South Africa is one that is subject to political uncertainty and extreme economic volatility. For this reason, it is vital that a start-up business, such as ourselves, sets both short and long-term goals that are achievable. This needs to be done in order to succeed, and to have a lasting effect on the community around us.

Our short-term goals are to start building up our customer base, and ensure that our practices are efficient enough to meet their needs and wants. Hopefully, this will solidify relationships between us and our customers, and will help to grow our customer base. Coupled with that, we aim to achieve strong brand-awareness and establish ourselves as a proudly South African company. We want an image that is consistent with our ethical framework, and that conveys a message that best describes us as a “valued entity in the community”.

As for our long-term goals, we plan to promote a healthy lifestyle overall, mainly through eating correctly. We also aim to scale up as need be, and hope to one day become a leading organic producer – first in Port Elizabeth, and then in South Africa as a whole.