Chuck Chilli Foods scaled from a 15,000-jar production cycle to a 35,000-jar Pick n Pay order in four weeks – with Sourcefin’s purchase order funding behind them. This case study covers the order, the working-capital gap, and the deal that made the scale-up possible.
Key Takeaways
- Chuck Chilli received its largest-ever order: 35,000 jars to be delivered into two Pick n Pay distribution centres, supplying 780 stores nationally
- The previous production high was 15,000 jars across a three-week cycle – this order was more than double that volume in only four weeks
- The business had won a Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) Commercialisation Programme grant to fund a bigger facility and production scale-up – but the new capacity wasn’t yet online when the order landed
- Sourcefin structured a purchase order funding deal around how Chuck Chilli actually buys – more than half of the funding requirement was raw vegetables priced daily across multiple suppliers
- The deal did not fit the standard purchase-order funding template, but Sourcefin backed the business after understanding it
From a domestic kitchen to 780 Pick n Pay stores
In 2019, Boikano Sikwane and Tshepiso Manyoha turned a chunky chilli relish they had been making for family and friends into a business. The product was unusual on a South African shelf – chunky rather than smooth, no artificial preservatives, no added salt or sugar, Halaal approved, with a tagline you don’t forget: Beware the kick.
Five years on, Chuck Chilli is in a growing footprint of independents and national retailers across four provinces. And now, in 780 Pick n Pay stores.
This is the story of how that happened.
The biggest order ever
Earlier this year, Pick n Pay placed an order with Chuck Chilli Foods for 35,000 jars of chilli relish – to be delivered into two national distribution centres for onward dispatch to 780 stores.
It was the largest order Chuck Chilli had ever received. Their previous high was 15,000 jars across a three-week production cycle. This one needed more than double the volume, in four weeks.
It also came at a precarious moment. The business had won a Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) Commercialisation Programme grant to fund a move into a larger facility and a significant production scale-up. New equipment was on its way – but it wasn’t due to arrive until after the order needed to be in stores. That meant producing 35,000 jars on a manual line designed for less than half that volume, and finding the working capital to do it.
“The hardest part when the order came in was funding the development. We were still on a manual process because we were waiting for equipment that would have made life easier – but the equipment was delayed by a month, and the order was also due in a month. It’s our biggest order ever, and it’s going to make such a big difference. We couldn’t afford to lose it.”
– Tshepiso Manyoha, Co-founder, Chuck Chilli Foods
The alternative would have meant going back to Pick n Pay and asking to reduce the order – producing in smaller batches, stretching delivery, and frustrating a buyer who had just committed to putting Chuck Chilli in 780 stores. Not a real alternative.
“Finding funding through Sourcefin really, literally saved our business.”
– Tshepiso Manyoha, Co-founder, Chuck Chilli Foods
The problem isn’t the bank. It’s the mandate.
This is where most stories about SMME funding turn into a complaint about banks. Ours isn’t going to.
Banks are built for stability. They underwrite businesses across cycles, against audited financials and durable security. That mandate serves the economy – it isn’t the framework for backing a single set of retailer orders inside a four-week window, on a production line that hasn’t quite caught up to demand.
Chuck Chilli didn’t need to argue with a bank. They needed a partner whose actual job is exactly that shape of deal. For an explainer of how this funding type works in practice, see purchase order funding made easy by Sourcefin.
A different shape of purchase order funding for Chuck Chilli
Most purchase order funding follows a clean three-step shape. The funder pays the supplier. The supplier delivers to the customer. The customer pays the funder.
Chuck Chilli’s deal didn’t fit that shape, and that mattered.
Producing 35,000 jars of chilli relish isn’t a single-supplier transaction. More than half of the funding requirement was raw vegetables – chillies, onions, green beans, green peppers – priced on a daily basis. Add packaging, labels, glass, and the labour to produce manually at over twice the previous volume. None of it sits with one supplier on a fixed quote.
The deal needed flexibility – the ability for Chuck Chilli to negotiate prices on the day, with multiple suppliers, while keeping the production line moving.
“What was different with Sourcefin is that most purchase-order funding is set up for clean B2B – buy from supplier, deliver to customer. Ours wasn’t going to work like that. Veggies are more than 50% of what the funding was needed for, and we negotiate prices daily. We needed the freedom to do that. Even for Sourcefin, it was admittedly a new way of doing things – but they made it possible. Big ups to Yuval, who came back with several approaches and worked through them with us until we were both comfortable with the risk and the structure.”
– Tshepiso Manyoha, Co-founder, Chuck Chilli Foods
The deal didn’t fit Sourcefin’s typical mandate, and it didn’t follow the standard purchase-order funding template. But the business was sound, the opportunity was real, and the right answer was to structure the deal around how Chuck Chilli actually buys – not to force the business to fit a template that didn’t work for them. The shape of the transaction is the easy part. The shape of the partnership is the harder one – and the more important one.
For another example of how this approach plays out across a different sector, see our construction case study.
What the deal makes possible for Chuck Chilli
The headline – 35,000 jars delivered into 780 Pick n Pay stores – matters less than what sits underneath it.
National reach for a brand that, only a few years ago, was being cooked in a domestic kitchen. A team that can now hire ahead of demand instead of catching up to it. Capacity to engage merchandising partners and run in-store promotions. And a proof point that opens the door to the next retailer conversation.
“What’s now possible that wasn’t a month ago? National reach. A sustainable business that can afford its new capacity, its new labour force, and growth. We can start hiring more people, working with merchandising partners on promotions, and really playing the big game, the long game properly. Other retailers will open up because we’ve now proven our capacity. And having Sourcefin in our books means direct access to funding the next time we need it.”
– Tshepiso Manyoha, Co-founder, Chuck Chilli Foods
“We can start really playing the big game, the long game properly.”
– Tshepiso Manyoha, Co-founder, Chuck Chilli Foods
There’s also, quietly, the next round of growth. Chuck Chilli has exports in negotiation. The team expect to outgrow their current facility sooner than originally planned. More rounds of funding are ahead.
What this kind of deal asks of a funder
Funding a purchase order is technically simple and operationally hard. The shape of the transaction is the easy part. The work is in the relationship – knowing the founders, understanding how the business actually buys, and being willing to build a deal structure that fits the real world instead of forcing the real world into a template.
For Chuck Chilli, that meant the deal got done, the order shipped, and a brand that started in a domestic kitchen is now on shelves in 780 stores.
If you’re sitting on an order and a cash gap
If you have a confirmed purchase order from a credible buyer and the working capital to fulfil it is the thing standing in the way, that’s the shape of deal Sourcefin is built for. Talk to us early – the sooner the deal is in front of us, the more room there is to structure it around how your business actually works.
Apply for funding here and a Sourcefin team member will walk you through the options that fit your situation.
Sources & References
Chuck Chilli Foods. Official company site – product range, brand story, and stockists. chuckchilli.co.za
StartUp Magazine South Africa. “Black-Owned SME Chuck Chilli Seeks To Provide A Unique Sauce To The Market.” April 2024. startupmag.co.za
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Chuck Chilli Foods?
Chuck Chilli Foods is a Black-owned South African food manufacturer founded in 2019 by Boikano Sikwane and Tshepiso Manyoha. The company produces a chunky chilli relish with no artificial preservatives, no added salt or sugar, Halaal approved, and distributed through independents and national retailers across four provinces.
What did Sourcefin do for Chuck Chilli?
Sourcefin provided purchase order funding to help Chuck Chilli fulfil its largest order ever – 35,000 jars of chilli relish to be delivered into two Pick n Pay distribution centres, supplying 780 stores. The deal funded raw vegetables, packaging, glass, labels, and the labour to produce manually at over twice the previous monthly volume in only four weeks.
Why couldn’t a bank fund this kind of order?
Banks underwrite businesses across cycles against audited financials and durable security. That mandate doesn’t fit a single set of retailer orders inside a four-week delivery window, especially when production capacity is still scaling. A purchase order funder is built specifically for this shape of deal.
Why was this deal different from typical purchase order funding?
Most purchase order funding follows a clean three-step shape: funder pays supplier, supplier delivers to customer, customer pays funder. Chuck Chilli needed flexibility – more than half of the funding requirement was raw vegetables priced daily across multiple suppliers, plus packaging, labels, and manual production labour. Sourcefin structured the deal around how the business actually buys, not a standard template.
Can my SMME apply for similar funding from Sourcefin?
Yes. If you have a confirmed purchase order from a credible buyer and the working capital to fulfil it is what’s standing in the way, that’s the shape of deal Sourcefin is built for. Apply through the funding application page and a Sourcefin team member will walk you through the options.
