Artist and entrepreneur Eric ‘EES’ Sell has recently been appointed as the brand ambassador for Nambuko, a prominent exporter of Namibian charcoal to the European Union.
This collaboration aims to promote and market Namibian charcoal in a more authentic and impactful way, fostering stronger ties between Namibia and the EU market.
EES told VIBEZ! that his involvement with Nambuko began in 2019 when he received a call from a Namibian friend, who was involved in the charcoal export business. Recognising the opportunity to contribute to the branding of Namibian charcoal, EES reached out to German importers, specifically DHG, to explore avenues for marketing the product with an authentic Namibian identity.
Over the years, EES consistently maintained a strong connection with DHG, providing them with proposals on how to effectively market Namibian charcoal.
“I was very impressed that the product is totally sourced and packed in Namibia, which makes this a 100% Namibian product, and not just another resource grab whereby the value-addition happens outside of Namibia. We, as Namibians, need to find more of these types of products that we can export as a whole to strengthen our economy,” he enthused.
EES added that this is a huge opportunity to push even more Namibian products to the European market, as the sales channels for the Nambuko charcoal are already set up with major retailers.
Moreover, as brand ambassador for Nambuko in Europe, EES will be visiting grill events there to do sampling at supermarkets for the charcoal.
In addition, all Nambuko packaging has a QR code which allows the charcoal products to be traced and documented.
The consumer is provided with information about the respective production site, the working conditions, and much more.
“The EES brand is all about representing the cheerful Namibian way of life – from music to fashion and dancing. And this will be the way forward for the collaboration between Nambuko and myself, including events where I will be performing to online videos, explaining the Namibian way of how we “braai” and make sundowners.”
On top of being the brand ambassador, he will have a couple of shows this summer in Germany. In September or October 2023, he will have his official album tour through eight of the biggest German cities with his full band.
“As Namibians, we really need to wake up and start pushing our own local products, and start becoming less dependent on products that we constantly import from outside of the country. In general, the mental state of ‘support local first’ needs to become even stronger in Namibia. Before we buy an international product, we should become aware if there is a local product to support first. That way, local products have the necessary support and can become stronger to finally be in a position to compete with international or imported products,” he stated. - epicnakwezy@gmail.com