Made in the Cape market provides unique experience for region

The showcase Made in the Cape market was recently launched to promote the support and visibility of the Western Cape region and its exporters.

The event — powered by Wesgro — took place at the V&A Waterfront in early October to assist exporters in gaining traction in high visibility areas.

Wesgro is the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for the province.

Wesgro CEO Wrenelle Stander was joined at the event by the Western Cape finance and economic opportunities minister, Mireille Wenger, and alderman James Vos, the City of Cape Town mayoral member for economic growth and tourism, for the ribbon-cutting to mark the official opening.

Showcasing products from 45 local exporters — all selected from the www.capetradeportal.com — the market brings sustainably crafted, premium products from the five regions of the Western Cape to the V&A. 

The V&A welcomes up to 2-million domestic and international visitors during October.

The market combines audio, visual and tangible elements, brought to life through augmented reality, to provide a highly immersive retail experience. 

The store layout takes shoppers on a journey through the Cape’s wine, design and floral kingdom — with unique stories and fun facts shared through storytelling.

“The Made in the Cape brand reinforces values that underpin the Western Cape’s products and services,” explains Wesgro chief marketing and innovation officer Jean Scheltema.

“Through meticulously crafted miniature stage sets, shoppers are given a glimpse into what goes into the products available for purchase, who is behind the craft and why it’s geographically significant.

“Via prompts at each scene, they’re encouraged to take out their mobile phones and scan the stage sets, where captivating stories are brought to life through augmented reality, reinforcing that if it comes from the Cape, you can expect quality and sustainability.”

The space is unique in that it brings together both the physical and visual — with life-size products displayed next to captivating scenes.

Wesgro emphasises the importance of differentiating the experience from the traditional pop-up store format, showcasing destination competitiveness and trade innovation through smart technology incorporated into the traditional bricks-and-mortar approach. 

“Trade innovation is a key focus for Wesgro. Exporters registered on the portal are reaping the rewards of a multiyear effort,” Stander says.

“Following the success of the highly targeted digital campaigns in key source markets — including the UK and the US — the market forms part of our domestic consumer awareness as well as a drive to on-board new exporters. With the international allure of the V&A Waterfront — we’re giving our products and services centre stage.”

Welcoming the efforts to improve the seeding of the region of origin brand, Vos says: “As the city government, we remain committed to building a stronger, more resilient and inclusive economy.

“Increasing brand awareness of our local exporters, both internationally and domestically, is key in our quest to fulfilling this commitment. We welcome the efforts of the Made in the Cape market, providing a catalytic opportunity to on-board more Cape Town exporters to the Cape trade portal, and drive further exports from the city.”

The portal was launched in 2022 as a virtual trade manager and matchmaking platform to attract local exporters as well as new buyers from around the globe.

It is home to more than 1,000 exporters and close to 6,000 products and services, with 277 international buyers. 

“Guided by the Western Cape government’s bold and ambitious economic action strategy, ‘Growth for Jobs’, we are on a mission to enable a R1-trillion jobs-rich, inclusive and thriving provincial economy that is growing at between 4% and 6% in real terms,” Wenger says.

“One of the key priority areas of this strategy is to drive the expansion of proudly Western Cape exports. We do this because our research shows that if we can increase exports by 10%, we can generate an estimated additional R6bn to the Western Cape GDP, creating many more jobs in the province.”

Earlier in the year, Wesgro hosted the inaugural Made in the Cape 2023 dedicated hosted buyers programme, bringing 31 international buyers to Cape Town to meet local exporters.

The event was very successful as 520 business-to-business meetings with 269 exporters were concluded over the three-day programme. 

This article was sponsored by Wesgro.