Sometimes a business idea does not start with a big plan. At times, it starts with a problem that needs to be solved.
For Phumulile Mkhonza, it began in 2019 when she was a second-year student who wanted to wear designer perfume but couldn’t afford it. Rather than accept that, she decided to learn how perfume was made. She enrolled in a perfume-making course and started selling her products to family and friends.
That side hustle became PSD Scent Perfumes, a White River-based manufacturer and wholesaler of perfumes, home care, and personal body care products. The business has since grown into a team of eight and expanded into other African markets.
Turning a Side Hustle Into a Business
The early days were small. Mkhonza was learning the craft while building her customer base one customer at a time.
“I simply couldn’t afford designer perfumes, but I still wanted that experience of smelling good and feeling put together,” she says.
PSD Scent Perfumes was formally registered in January 2022, when Mkhonza realised that the business had become something worth building properly.
A major step came when the company secured funding from the Office of the Premier in Mpumalanga. The funding helped the business buy machinery and invest in research and development. This allowed PSD Scent to expand beyond perfumes into home care and personal care products.
Another important milestone came when a distributor in the Northwest placed an order for 250 perfumes. “That was a real confidence boost,” Mkhonza says.
In 2024, PSD Scent moved into its own manufacturing facility, opened its first pick-up distributor shop, and bought its first delivery vehicle.
Building Opportunities for Other Entrepreneurs
As the company grew, Mkhonza wanted PSD Scent to create opportunities for other people too. The business operates on a distributor model where people can buy products at wholesale prices and resell them to customers. This allows distributors to earn without manufacturing their own products.
“From the start, I didn’t just want to build a perfume brand; I wanted to build a vehicle for other people’s income,” she says.
So far, PSD Scent has onboarded and trained 57 distributors. The company has also partnered with 33 township-based businesses across Mpumalanga, including beauty salons, clothing boutiques and car washes that stock and resell its products.
Supporting Young Women
Empowering young women is a major part of the company’s mission. Six of the eight people directly employed by PSD Scent are women, while most of its distributors are young women from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Through its onboarding programme, distributors receive training in sales, customer service and marketing.
“Our mission is specifically about equipping young women from disadvantaged backgrounds with real, transferable skills and giving them a path to generational wealth,” Mkhonza says.
The idea is to give people skills that can remain useful beyond their work with PSD Scent, whether they continue as distributors or eventually start businesses of their own.
Taking Mpumalanga to the Kasi Pitch
Mkhonza recently had the opportunity to tell that story on a national stage when she represented Mpumalanga at the Standard Bank Kasi SME National Pitch Challenge in Gqeberha.
The competition formed part of the Kasi SME Summit and brought together 10 finalists representing all nine provinces. The finalists competed for a R1 million winner-takes-all prize.
For Mkhonza, the pitch was about more than selling perfume. She had to pitch and explain how a student side hustle had developed into a manufacturing business while also showing the company’s work in job creation, distribution and skills development.
She was named second runner-up. Rodney Maduwa of Maduwa Paint World took first place, while Sisanda Potye of Ezempilo Primecare Clinic was named first runner-up.
“Standing up there and representing Mpumalanga was such an honour,” Mkhonza says.
The recognition was also significant because it showed her that a business built in White River could compete on a national platform.
A Lesson in Persistence
The Kasi SME Summit also gave Mkhonza the chance to learn from other entrepreneurs. A fireside panel discussion with the founder of GALXBOY was one of the standout moments.
The message she took from the session was that entrepreneurs cannot simply give up when business becomes difficult.
“When things get hard, the answer isn’t to walk away; it’s to go back to the drawing board, re-strategise, and figure out what you can do better,” she says. It is a lesson she plans to carry into PSD Scent’s next stage.
Growing Across Africa
PSD Scent already has distributors in Eswatini, Mozambique and Nigeria. Expanding into these markets has taught the business about the importance of compliance and understanding local customers.
“You can’t assume what works in South Africa will work the same way elsewhere,” Mkhonza says.
The company has had to adapt to different requirements and consumer preferences as it grows across borders.
The Next Chapter
Over the next three to five years, Mkhonza wants to grow the distributor network towards 500 across South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique and beyond. Her longer-term goal is to establish a presence in eleven African countries and own the company’s production facility outright.
What began with a student looking for an affordable alternative to designer perfume has become a growing manufacturing business with a much wider purpose.
Sometimes a business idea does not start with a big plan. At times, it starts with a problem that needs to be solved. For Phumulile… Read More
