.
Image: Skubu
In South Africa’s crowded social media landscape, where trends come and go in minutes, a simple video changed the trajectory of a startup called Skubu.
The clip, posted by a local influencer on TikTok showed something unusually practical: people filling containers with everyday essentials at what looked like an automated refill store.
No flashy branding. No expensive production. Just ordinary shoppers, refilling maize meal, cooking oil, and cleaning products at prices that sparked immediate online conversation.
Within days, the video spread across platforms, introducing thousands of South Africans to Skubu, a startup rethinking how essential goods reach low-income communities.
The virality wasn’t manufactured. It was organic, and in today’s digital economy, that distinction matters.
South Africans increasingly turn to social media not just for entertainment, but for discovery.
With many South Africans being plagued by rising living costs and sharp economic realities, content that promises practical solutions travels fast, especially when it feels authentic.
The video resonated because it captured something familiar: everyday people searching for affordability and dignity in their shopping experience.
Rather than polished corporate messaging, the footage showed a working system solving a visible problem, such as expensive groceries and unnecessary packaging.
That authenticity created trust at scale.
In markets like South Africa, where advertising budgets often lag behind global competitors, organic influence has become one of the most powerful growth drivers for startups. Viral posts act as real-time endorsements, reducing the barrier between innovation and public awareness.
For Skubu, the impact was immediate. The brand moved almost overnight from niche pilot project to national talking point, proof that a single creator’s content can sometimes succeed where traditional marketing cannot.
As momentum grew, Skubu’s founder and CEO released a follow-up video, speaking directly to viewers who had discovered the brand through social media.
The response video shifted the conversation from curiosity to purpose. Instead of focusing only on affordability, the founder explained the broader vision: combining technology, sustainability, and community impact to reshape how people buy essential goods.
That direct engagement highlighted another modern reality: founders are increasingly expected to communicate transparently and personally, especially when a startup’s growth is driven by social platforms.
In many ways, the second video became a bridge: transforming viral attention into trust, and trust into conversation about long-term impact.
At its core, Skubu is building fully automated refill stores designed to make essential household products more affordable while reducing environmental waste.
The concept is straightforward:
Customers bring their own containers.
They refill goods such as maize meal, cooking oil, sugar, rice, water, and cleaning products.
They pay based on weight or volume, without the extra cost of packaging.
By removing packaging costs and enabling fixed price-per-litre or kilogram models, Skubu claims to deliver significant savings compared to traditional retail, while also reducing single-use plastic waste.
The pilot store in Diepsloot, Gauteng, has been positioned as a next-generation model aimed at communities where affordability is critical.
The startup’s approach blends social impact with retail technology, offering what supporters describe as a “circular economy” solution that addresses both environmental and economic challenges at the same time.
Skubu’s mission goes beyond retail efficiency. The company is centred around three core ideas:
1. Affordability with dignity
Rather than shrinking product sizes or lowering quality, the system allows customers to buy only what they need, whether that’s a small refill for the day or a larger quantity for the month. This flexibility helps stretch limited household budgets.
2. Environmental sustainability
By eliminating single-use packaging, Skubu’s refill model aims to reduce plastic waste while encouraging reuse behaviour at the community level.
3. Scalability for impact
The company has signalled ambitions to scale beyond its initial locations, positioning the concept as a blueprint for affordable, sustainable retail across Southern Africa.
Skubu’s viral rise says as much about the country as it does about the startup itself.
South Africans are increasingly using social media as a discovery engine for solutions, not just entertainment.
When a product or service visibly tackles everyday pain points like food prices, accessibility, or sustainability, communities amplify it faster than traditional advertising ever could.
For startups, this creates an opportunity, but also a responsibility. Going viral brings attention, but it also demands transparency, consistency, and real-world impact.
In Skubu’s case, the transition from viral clip to public conversation reflects a broader shift in entrepreneurship: innovation is no longer just about building technology, it’s about building trust in real time.
And sometimes, all it takes to spark that conversation is a single video filmed on a phone.
FAST COMPANY (SA)