Natalie Cole sings a song called ‘Coffee Time’ and the lyrics go like this:

“Coffee Time!
My dreamy friend, it's coffee time!
Let’s listen to some Jazz and rhyme,
and have a cup of coffee!”

This is the song I wake up to every morning. It is, in fact, my morning alarm. And it works like a charm because it gives me something to look forward to. My morning cuppa joe is of utmost importance to me but also to my family because frankly, without it, they’d all be long dead. Jokes aside though, coffee is part of the daily routine of almost half of the world’s population.

Cape Town’s vibrant and sophisticated coffee culture is one of the reasons people choose to visit, live and work in the city. While there are many gorgeous little artisan coffee shops popping up in every corner, one of the pioneers that put the city on the map as a coffee connoisseur’s destination, the Vida e Caffè (‘life and coffee’) brand, is still going strong; they’ve come a long way since opening up their maiden Kloof Street store in 2001.

The brand, lovingly just called ‘Vida’ by locals, has over 240 outlets throughout South Africa and the continent. Its strong branding, welcoming, friendly staff, joyful ‘vida vibe’ and great tasting coffee has seen it survive the test of time. Current CEO Darren Levy is a gentle sort of soul, with kind eyes and peppered hair who tells me his favourite Vida coffee is a Meia-de-leite (a Portuguese style of coffee similar to the Italian Cortado - two shots coffee and milk froth). He is an avid collector of espresso cups and trained as a barista long before he even set foot in the Cape.  

He speaks candidly about some of the pivots they have had to make because of Covid: “We never expected that some of our stores would never open again. Fortunately, the number of stores that closed as a result of the pandemic were less than a handful. On the other hand, the most successful pivot we made is using delivery services. We had actually started working with Mr. Delivery and Uber prior to the pandemic. The real pivot for our business was just acknowledging that the pandemic was actually an accelerant,” he said.

Vida started its expansion into Africa in 2013 starting in Ghana, where they have a partner operating in 15 stores in the capital Accra. In 2015, they popped up in Mauritius, and in 2019, they headed to Zambia. “We opened the first store in June of that year in Lusaka in a shopping mall, and a second one in August of last year with that same partner,” Levy said.

And then something significantly remarkable happened: Levy met Kasi Catalyst founder Vusi Vokwana, who then spent three years trying to convince the brand to open in her hometown of Langa. Kasi Catalyst provides local business owners and entrepreneurs with opportunities and the tools necessary to succeed in the township economy. They were instrumental in opening the first Pick n’ Pay Market Store (a PnP partnership with independent traders), and first PayGas store in the Western Cape.  

Vokwana loved Vida for its vibrant Xhosa-speaking baristas who welcomed her with open arms while other coffee shops merely snubbed her. She was determined to make it work, and in October 2021, Vida’s Langa store finally opened.

“I don't think there is a home here without a coffee story! When we finally opened the pilot store, customers would sit down and tell me about their coffee journey. It made me realise that our generation grew up with their grandmothers, they’d be the ones looking after us while our parents worked, and for everyone walking past and smelling the coffee aromas, it would bring back these wonderful memories of childhood, “ she said.

Vokwana spoke brusquely about the realities of doing business in the township economy. The obstacles of such an endeavour seem to stem from everyone wanting in, but not wanting to change their attitudes or their judgements. “The truth is, you can’t come in here with second rate, cheap, even dangerous products to sell to a market you don’t understand. The community communicates. They will come and burn your shop down if you’ve sold them something harmful, or if you deliberately tried to dupe them,” Vokwana said.    

Having a company like Kasi Catalyst help ease your way into the market will probably be a good idea to ensure success. After all, it seems to have worked with Vida: Sitting underneath big old trees sipping on an almond milk cappuccino as that Langa sunshine sprinkles in from the leafy canopy above, I can’t help but feel sheepish for my initial trepidation about coming into Langa to do the interview in the first place. The place feels like a home. A home filled with people, full of dreams and aspirations. And there is a distinct smell of not only coffee, but that of economic change in the air as well.