November 2025
Africa’s economic future hinges on localisation, and manufacturing is the lever. With a booming population, rapid urbanisation, and an ever-increasing demand for African-made products, the continent is transforming, and is poised to expand its manufacturing output significantly in the years ahead. Analysts predict that African industry could more than double by 2030, unlocking trillions in value while creating the vast number of jobs needed to enable the future prosperity of these young people who will power the continent’s economic engine.
Recognising this burgeoning opportunity, the African Union adopted the Action Plan for the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa (AIDA) in 2011 and reaffirmed its vision through Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. The message is clear: Africa must grow by building from within. That means investing in industries that turn potential into products, talent into technical skills, and local ingenuity into lasting enterprise.
One such company is SensoryFX, a South African flavour and fragrance developer with a growing continental reach that supports manufacturing growth in Africa. Founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Johan du Plessis, a trained perfumer, the company now supplies bespoke, locally relevant products to clients across more than 23 African countries. From humble beginnings, including early flavour batches mixed by hand, SensoryFX is a case study in how to build a successful business with local and regional manufacturing capabilities that understands what African clients want and is able to navigate the nuances of doing business on the continent to deliver it.
Building success in African manufacturing is not for the fainthearted. The myriad challenges reach beyond the run-of-the-mill business difficulties such as raw material volatility, currency fluctuations, infrastructure constraints, and logistics bottlenecks. Building business success across disparate markets in Africa requires a passion beyond capital: it requires resilience, agility, and deep market literacy.
“When I joined SensoryFX, we were operating in a tiny standing space with a single scale,” says Joseph Mohohoma, now Director and master perfumer. “It was scary — but it was also a huge opportunity to build something of value on our terms.”
That idea, building on local terms, has remained central to the company’s growth. From state-of-the-art laboratories in Gauteng, SensoryFX develops customised scents and flavours tailored to local preferences. Fruity, overripe notes for East African palates. Green, fresh accents for South African consumers. Every product begins with a question: how will this live, smell, and taste in the context for which it’s meant?
But more than the output, it’s the process that sets the company apart. Clients, ranging from large FMCG brands to street-level entrepreneurs, engage directly with the development team. Minimum order quantities start at 20kg. Lead times are short. And every brief becomes a collaborative journey.
Joseph Mohohoma: Director
There is no smooth path to industrial success in Africa. Instead, there are workarounds, restarts, and the need for deep wells of tenacity. At SensoryFX, this tenacity is reflected in how the company navigates the continent’s unique challenges from infrastructure disruptions and currency volatility to regulatory complexities.
Francois Strydom, the company’s Director, says: “Building African businesses that thrive through disruptions demands more than capital. It requires agility, creative problem-solving, and deep-rooted partnerships. Challenges like supply chain interruptions or fluctuating exchange rates are part of daily life here, and we adapt quickly to keep our clients moving forward.”
This adaptability extends to supporting a diverse range of clients from emerging entrepreneurs with a spark of an idea to established manufacturers facing unpredictable market shifts. “Our lab works closely with clients to develop bespoke formulations perfectly matched to their visions and realities,” says Strydom. “This responsiveness enables our clients to grow and evolve, no matter what obstacles arise.”
“What we’ve learned is that relationships matter just as much as our creation capabilities. “It’s the trust and collaboration that turn challenges into opportunities.”
SensoryFX is also addressing one of the continent’s lesser-known manufacturing constraints: a shortage of trained perfumers and flavourists. The company runs internal training programmes, with mentorship lasting up to seven years from raw skill assessment to mastery.
Carla van Aswegen, who joined with a background in food science, now senior perfumer after years of working directly under Mohohoma. Together with a growing team, she crafts fragrances that balance science with intuition, formulation with trend.
Francois Strydom: Director
SensoryFX’s organic growth in Africa’s soil makes it a valuable local partner with the capacity, knowledge, and commitment to deliver relevant regional solutions at speed and at scale.
As African industries diversify and mature, the value of their proximity in supply chains becomes a differentiator. They are a partner who understands the nuances of local regulations, regional consumer tastes, and the on-the-ground context of production, offering so much more than just ingredients; they offer continuity and context.
That’s what the African Union’s vision requires, not imported expertise, but built-in capability. And it’s what African manufacturers need to keep growing: partners who can walk the journey with them, not just ship in the parts.
In the next decade, the story of Africa’s industrial development won’t be measured by the number of factories opened alone, but by strengthened supply chains, market development, jobs created and transferred capabilities.
In that story, companies like SensoryFX are the infrastructure that make it come true.
Let us know what you need and
we will contact you within 48 hours.