..... Makes Luju debut ahead of Accra Bar Show
The search for the Spotted Horse giraffe has officially come to an end. Over the two days of the Standard Bank Luju Food & Lifestyle Festival, hundreds of festivalgoers took part in the rum brand's 'Spot the Giraffe' challenge.
Marking their Luju debut since lunching last year, the interactive campaign consisted of snapping photos and recording short videos with the now familiar giraffe mascot before sharing them on social media for a chance to win a bottle of Spotted Horse Gold Rum and branded merchandise.
By the close of the festival, one winner, Livelakhe Buthelezi , had emerged, bringing an end to one of the weekend's busiest brand activations.
The competition formed part of Spotted Horse Gold Rum's debut at the Standard Bank Luju Food & Lifestyle Festival.
Throughout the weekend, the Eswatini-made rum welcomed festivalgoers to its stand with cocktail tastings, conversations about the brand and interactive experiences that encouraged visitors to explore the festival grounds while searching for the giraffe.
For many attending Luju, it was their first introduction to one of Eswatini's newest premium spirits.
The festival appearance comes less than a year after Spotted Horse Gold Rum was officially launched by Simunye Beverages, a subsidiary of the Royal Eswatini Sugar Corporation (RES), on August 15, 2025.
While Luju marked the brand's first appearance at the festival, the months leading up to it have already seen the rum establish itself as one of Eswatini's fastest-growing premium products.
Produced from locally sourced molasses, Spotted Horse Gold Rum is inspired by the giraffe, an animal chosen to represent elegance, strength and quiet confidence.
The rum combines notes of raisin, fig and dark plum with smooth vanilla before finishing with lingering oak, creating a flavour profile that reflects both Eswatini's sugar heritage and the brand's ambition to compete alongside established international spirits.
Backed by the Royal Eswatini Sugar Corporation's decades of experience in the country's sugar industry, the rum was developed as more than another local beverage.
From its launch, the intention has been to produce a spirit capable of representing Eswatini beyond its borders while showcasing the country's manufacturing capabilities.
That ambition has already begun translating into international recognition.
Earlier this year, Spotted Horse Gold Rum was awarded Double Gold and named Category Winner in the Premium Gold Rum division at the 2026 World Rum Awards, placing the Eswatini-made spirit alongside some of the world's leading rum producers.
For a brand launched less than a year ago, the recognition provided early validation of the product's quality while introducing the name to an international audience.
Luju Festival offered a different kind of platform. Across both days, festivalgoers gathered at the Spotted Horse stand to sample signature cocktails prepared by the brand's mixologists.
One of the crowd favourites was the Minty Island, while another frozen rum cocktail quickly became a popular stop for visitors looking to cool down between performances, fashion shows and food experiences.
The stand remained active throughout the weekend, with visitors stopping not only to enjoy the cocktails but also to learn more about the Eswatini-made rum behind them.
The 'Spot the Giraffe' activation added another layer to the experience. Rather than limiting engagement to the stand itself, the competition encouraged people to move around the festival, searching for the giraffe before sharing their discoveries online.
The campaign generated steady interaction across social media over the two days before eventually producing its winner at the close of the festival.
While Luju introduced the brand to thousands of festivalgoers, Spotted Horse's next destination lies well beyond Eswatini.
From August 7-9, the brand will travel to Ghana to participate in the Accra Bar Show, one of West Africa's leading beverage and hospitality trade exhibitions.
The annual event brings together distillers, distributors, bartenders, hospitality professionals, importers and drinks buyers from across Africa, creating opportunities for brands to build commercial relationships and introduce their products to new markets.
The exhibition for Spotted Horse represents another important step in taking an Eswatini-made product onto the continental stage.
Operations Manager David Pearce in recent interviews has said the company is looking forward to introducing the award-winning rum to new audiences while continuing to build recognition for a product proudly produced in Eswatini.
The Ghana showcase also forms part of the brand's wider expansion plans. Distribution is already underway in South Africa, while the company has exhibited at trade fairs in Asia.
Kenya has been identified as another target market, with discussions also taking place in France and Taiwan as the brand explores additional export opportunities.
Those developments come at a time when locally manufactured products are increasingly finding opportunities beyond Eswatini's borders, particularly within the food and beverage sector.
Meanwhile for Spotted Horse, each appearance at a festival, competition or trade exhibition represents another opportunity to introduce both the brand and the country to new audiences.
Its Luju debut may have begun with a giraffe hidden somewhere on the festival grounds, but by the end of the weekend, the story had grown into something much larger.
Less than a year after its official launch, Spotted Horse Gold Rum has moved from introducing itself to consumers at home to preparing for one of Africa's leading drinks industry exhibitions, continuing a journey that is steadily carrying an Eswatini-made spirit beyond the country's borders.
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