Rooibos’ newly acquired Geographic Indicator status, which will protect the name Rooibos, and allow it to capitalise and build on its geographical origin and global reputation, has prompted Rooibos Ltd to launch a new website. Rooibos (and other well-known foods such as Gorgonzola, Camembert en Champagne) can only be labelled as such if they come from the designated region.
The new website, which went live on Tuesday, is an aggregate site for various stakeholders regarding news and trends in the Rooibos industry and information about Rooibos Ltd. Rooibos Ltd is the preferred supplier of Rooibos locally and internationally and has been supplying clients worldwide for the past six decades. When exploring the new website, information and video clips can be found about the latest research findings, products, health benefits and quality control methods of our world renowned indigenous tea.
“The protection granted by the economic partnership agreement between Southern African nations and the European Union (EU) to the term Rooibos, has proved a daunting task over the years and a topical issue,” says Gerda de Wet, Rooibos Ltd’s Communication Manager. “Two decades ago a company in the USA trademarked the word Rooibos, forcing the Rooibos industry to prove that the commodity’s name actually belonged to South Africa.” Its new status however ensures that there are guidelines and control over production and simultaneously ensuring high quality.
The Rooibos plant Aspalathus linearis grows only in the Cederberg region of the Western Cape. It was Benjamin Ginsberg, a pioneering Russian immigrant who first realised the marketing potential of Rooibos back in 1904. Ginsberg began his entrepreneurial endeavours by trading with the inhabitants of Clanwilliam and thereafter the rest of the world.
