Support Local Brands like Sports Heroes?

South Africa is a nation that supports her people with gees and passion, and we celebrate the wins of our people whole heartedly.  We just got to look how the nation gets behind our sporting teams and how proud we are when they do well. The Bokke, the Proteas, Dricus du Plessis, Gerda Steyn, and Wayde van Niekerk to mention a few household names, that everyone in South Africa knows, loves and supports.

So why are we not supporting our local South African small businesses and their products with the same passion? Invariably, we suddenly feel they may be inferior and revert to supporting imported products that are not always of superior quality.  Yes, obviously for certain products, imported products are the only option.  But when we can support local, we should be supporting our local small business and their products, like we support our sporting heroes, with passion and a burning desire for them to succeed.

The advantages of supporting small local businesses goes beyond economics, it’s about investing in South Africa, her people, their creativity and their dreams. “In a world dominated by global brands and cross-border e-commerce, it’s easy to overlook the value of supporting local businesses. Yet the benefits are profound, with far-reaching implications for our economy and communities,” says Sandi Richardson, HR Executive at RCS.

With Heritage month upon us, We R Local has launched with the desire and mission to get as many local products the exposure and support they deserve.  Our new online shopping site allows the sales of local brands that are made in South Africa only.

Besides the obvious, extremely advantageous reasons like stimulating the local economy, creating jobs and environmental sustainability, buying locally made products can make a big difference in our community. When you purchase a local product, have you ever thought of the following?

• Your money is been reinvested into our community

Money spent with local businesses tends to remain within the local community, because smaller businesses are known to support local charities and fund-raising events more readily.  This is because local businesses benefit from a strong community and therefore, they tend to be more active within their community.

• You are preserving local culture

Another advantage of buying local is that it helps preserve local culture by keeping unique community traditions, crafts, and businesses alive. Local businesses often offer unique, handcrafted products and traditional recipes. Supporting them sustains local artisans and entrepreneurs, and helps build success stories for generations.

• You are supporting entrepreneurs and their dreams

When you support a small business, you’re not just buying a product or service – you’re investing in someone’s dream. Every order is celebrated and appreciated by a small business. Your order is not just part of corporate sales target, it’s so much more.  You are supporting someone’s passion, someone’s vision, someone’s family, someone’s hard work, someone’s optimism and where every small purchase makes a big difference.

So, besides the economic benefits of shopping local and supporting small businesses, there is a massive feel-good factor. A trait that is part of every South African, to stand by each other, to help each other and celebrate each other.  So, let’s start treating our local brands with the same passion as we do our local sporting heroes, and help them succeed and be the corner stones and threads of our local economy. Together we can make a difference, which South Africans have proved to be true time and time again.

Till our next blog, Shop Local, Support Dreams.