A new quality management system (QMS) helped Agulhas Honeybush Tea boost productivity, sales and customer service.

The women-led business cultivates and processes four varieties of Cyclopia on a family farm near Bredasdorp in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It produced more than 17 tonnes in 2023/4 as bulk tea and blends for local and international markets.

Agulhas manages a value chain from production to sales, and as it grew and added products it ran into administrative complexity its systems couldn't handle.

It was then identified by ABioSA as an investment-ready business which could use financial support to drive innovation, growth and access to new markets.

In June 2023, ABioSA supported the introduction of a QMS to track stock and keep records from field to end user. It has made the business more responsive to customers who demand a reliable and consistent supply of a quality product.

'Each batch of tea needs to be the same as the last one,' says Nina Joubert, who manages Agulhas production, processing, certifications, quality control, marketing and bulk sales. 'This would create a massive problem without good record keeping.'

'With 69 tonnes of Honeybush in the warehouse, we need to know exactly where it originates, the certification of every kilogram, and how much we have of a specific aroma profile.'

'Now when we get a repeat order, with a few clicks we can see exactly what they bought last time, including which species and which field it was grown in, and how we blended it.'

'I really love this technology. The QMS really added huge value to the business. The app is permanently open on my computer. I can track so many aspects of the tea business I could never do before. I can't imagine what we would have done without it.'

During 2024 and 2025 sales doubled every 3-6 months, which Nina attributes to a 90% improvement in turnaround time for quotes and orders.

In ten seconds she can identify stock according to origin, type, certification, availability and traceability. The time to send quotes to potential buyers has been cut from two hours to seven minutes.

Time spent on annual certifications has been cut by 66% through efficiencies in traceability across four different Honeybush species and three different certifications.

The QMS can be adjusted to meet changing business needs, and Agulhas and the SA Honeybush Tea Association are adapting it for use by other producers in the Honeybush value chain.