Market Hauls and Local Noms

After spending a delightful month cat sitting in Cape Town, I’ve put together a list of gift sets from some of my favorite local businesses. Whether you’re seeking something artisanal, eco-friendly, or simply full of the city’s spirit, I hope this guide will be useful!

Shweshwe-Inspired Travel Lite 3x Pack from SoyLites

The Business: Long before Colin Skelton and his partner Nicole Antonie co-founded SoyLites in 2007, Colin’s father Rob and Rob’s wife Ann were pioneers in the candle manufacturing industry. Rob, in particular, was passionate about exploring the potential of soy candles. After extensive testing and research, he partnered with a soybean oil supplier to create a soy oil wax that could safely be applied to skin. SoyLites took that innovation and ran with it, developing a range of body and massage candles that helped establish them as leaders in the soy candle and aromatherapy industries. Their locally inspired, eco-conscious product line also includes balms, essential oils, and creative additions like Rainbow Rocks—the first soy crayons in South Africa.

The Gift Set: The Shweshwe-Inspired Travel Lite 3x Pack includes three 55 mL travel candles with colors, designs, and scents inspired by the intricate patterns and bold hues of Shweshwe—a printed cotton fabric introduced to South Africa in the mid-1800s. Scented with botanical essential oil blends and made from 100% pure, biodegradable soybean oil, each candle offers a 15-hour burn time and is free from chemicals, artificial preservatives, and petroleum derivatives. As they burn, the candles form a pool of vitamin E– and lecithin-rich oil that can be applied to skin to improve balance, tone, and texture.

• Karoo (Buchu, Lemongrass, and Lime): An uplifting blend of citrusy lemongrass, invigorating lime, and aromatic buchu—a South African herb known for its anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antioxidant properties.
• Grasslands (Sandalwood and Patchouli): A grounding combination of warm sandalwood and deep, musky patchouli.
• Acacia (Peppermint, Sage, and Rosemary): A revitalizing blend with crisp peppermint, earthy sage, and fragrant rosemary.

Honey Gift Pack Trio from Simply Bee

The Business: Derick Hugo took up beekeeping in the 1950s after receiving a beehive as a wedding gift from his father-in-law. After retiring in 1994, he launched his own beekeeping business, while his daughter Helena balanced her work as an interior designer with researching the benefits of propolis, honey, and other bee byproducts in Portland, Oregon. By the time she returned to South Africa in 2009, Derick had passed his knowledge on to her husband, Pierre van der Westhuizen. Eager to apply her research and develop honey, propolis, and beeswax-based products suitable for people with skin sensitivities and allergies—like herself—Helena co-founded Simply Bee with Pierre. Together, they grew the family business from five products made in Helena’s garage to a range of over 210 items, spanning face, body, and hair care to pet, horse, and even furniture care.

The Gift Set: The Honey Gift Pack Trio features honey delivered straight from the hives using traditional harvesting methods. All honey is badger-friendly and never filtered, irradiated, or processed. While each variety differs slightly in taste, color, and consistency, they all make excellent natural sweeteners, sugar substitutes, and sore throat remedies.

• Raw Fynbos Honey: Gathered from local fynbos in a remote, commercial farming–free area, this honey has a rich, floral taste.
• Raw Eucalyptus Honey: Collected from eucalyptus flowers, this honey offers an earthy, slightly minty flavor.
• Raw Citrus Honey: Harvested from citrus blossoms, this honey has a delicate sweetness with subtle citrus undertones.

South African Tasting Pack from Leo’s Little Jars

The Business: Leo’s Little Jars specializes in handmade, small-batch, gluten-free jams, chutneys, and jellies that blend French tradition with South African inspiration. Originally from France, founder Léo started the business nine years ago, drawing on recipes from her grandmothers, Jeanne and Denise. She and her innovative team of women have since developed a wide range of sustainable, preservative- and additive-free products, all packaged in recyclable jars and made with fresh, locally sourced seasonal produce. If you’re in town and looking for a unique activity, Léo runs jam-making workshops where you can meet fellow jam fanatics and create a jam of your own to savor at home.

The Gift Set: The South African Tasting Pack perfectly captures the fusion of French culinary techniques and South African flavors at the heart of Leo’s Little Jars.

• Amarula de Leche: A top seller, with a delicate sweetness that pairs beautifully with ice cream, cheesecake, or crepes. As Emilie, Léo’s “jambassador” at the Oranjezicht City Farm Market shared, amarula is a South African cream liqueur made from marula—a fruit that ferments after falling to the ground and is said to get elephants and other animals tipsy.
• Apple & Rooibos: Perfect for cheeses and robust meats like pork or lamb.
• Mango & Granadilla (aka passion fruit): Another best seller—lovely with croissants, yogurt, ice cream, or cheesecake.
• Strawberry & Granadilla: Sweet and tart; ideal on croissants or French toast.
• Cape Gooseberry: One of my personal favorites—pleasantly bitter and great with yogurt and cheese.
• Tomato & Chili: The ultimate upgrade for cheese and meat platters, braaibroodjies (South African grilled cheese sandwiches), or avocado toast.

Explore Fynbos Custom Four Soaps Box from O’live Handmade Soaps

The Business: O’live was born in 2011 when husband-and-wife team Sipho and Zikhona Tefu began making organic handmade soap to help relieve their daughter’s eczema and embrace a more natural lifestyle. What started as a hobby quickly gained momentum, eventually leading Sipho to leave his engineering job to join the business full-time. As demand from customers and retailers grew, the couple expanded operations beyond their home kitchen into a dedicated production space. Though they’re making far more soap today than when they started, their commitment to crafting natural, organic, handmade skincare—and sourcing ingredients directly from growers—remains unchanged. In fact, Zikhona began sourcing olive oil and pure essential oils from local farmers, as well as unrefined raw shea butter from Ghana, right after making the very first batch!

The Gift Set: The Explore Fynbos Custom Four Soaps Box celebrates fynbos (from the Old Dutch for “fine bush”), a diverse plant biome unique to South Africa’s Cape region and part of the Cape Floral Kingdom—the smallest of the world’s six floral kingdoms. Each handmade bar is crafted with olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter, pure essential oils, indigenous botanicals, and other natural ingredients sustainably sourced from local growers and producers.

• Oatmeal & Lavender Soap: Gentle and calming, ideal for sensitive skin, with soothing oats and fragrant lavender flowers.
• Wild Honeybush & Rose Geranium Soap: Helps reduce irritation with brewed honeybush tea—known for its antifungal and soothing properties.
• Cape Buchu & Lemongrass Soap: A fresh, herbal blend that protects skin with the antibacterial, antiseptic properties of buchu.
• Rooibos & Fynbos Honey Scrub Bar: A softening exfoliator that gently scrubs and moisturizes skin with honey.

Cape Herbal Collection from African Oils

The Business: African Oils offers chemical-, preservative-, artificial flavor-, and colorant-free oils, crafted using produce sourced from environmentally sustainable growers across South Africa. They specialize in extra virgin olive oil and offer unique infused varieties like rooibos, pizza, and blood orange. The product line also includes nut and seed oils, vinegars grown and produced in Stellenbosch, olives, skincare, deli items, and more.

The Gift Set: The Cape Herbal Collection includes three beautifully packaged 250 mL metal tins of premium extra virgin olive oil infused with botanicals native to the Cape.

• Herbs of the Cape Olive Oil features locally cultivated, globally beloved herbs like basil, thyme, and rosemary—ideal for cooking, dipping, drizzling, and everything in between.
• Cape Fynbos Olive Oil has an herbaceous, zesty taste with a distinctly South African character.
• Cape Snowbush Olive Oil combines the bright essence of local lemons with earthy, robust notes from snowbush, a flowering shrub native to the Western Cape with white flowers and aromatic leaves.

Shop the Guide

Here’s where to find all the businesses and products featured above:

• SoyLites – Shweshwe-Inspired Travel Lite 3x Pack
• Simply Bee – Honey Gift Pack Trio
• Leo’s Little Jars – South African Tasting Pack
• O’live Handmade Soaps – Explore Fynbos Custom Four Soaps Box
• African Oils – Cape Herbal Collection
• Green Dawning – Local stockist for SoyLites and other Beauty Without Cruelty accredited, vegan, natural, ethically sourced, and locally manufactured brands.