So, we started Mercha during COVID. At the time, Glo, Jerry, and I were and still are running a record label called Playground Productions. Like many others in the music industry, we watched almost every revenue stream disappear overnight, except for streaming. And let us be honest, streaming alone was nowhere near enough to support an up and coming artist.

That was when the idea of merchandise started taking shape. We looked into it and quickly realised how broken the system was. To get started, you had to put down a huge amount of capital just to buy stock at a decent price. You needed a graphic designer, someone to build a website, someone to manage logistics, and then someone to handle packing and delivery. All while the artist was trying to focus on their actual music career. Most independent artists simply did not have the time, staff, or resources to make it work.

Seeing this gap, we decided to build Mercha, a platform designed to take all of that off an artist’s plate. Zanda joined the cause early on, and having her on the team was invaluable. Her support and perspective gave the project real strength when we needed it most, helping us set the foundation for what Mercha would become.

But to do that, we had to learn everything from scratch: fabrics, printing, CMTs, design, presentation, basically the entire clothing production world. At the same time, we were building our first proper website, not just a template based one, but a full ecommerce space where fans could interact with the brand. That came with its fair share of learning curves, but eventually, we got it to a place we were proud of.

We launched with Roiii and Nadia Nakai as our first artists, which was exciting, but far from smooth sailing. We had tech glitches, site issues, and countless lessons along the way. But one thing never failed: our logistics. Orders always got to fans, and the positive feedback we received kept us going.

The loyal fans have pushed our systems to the next level, allowing us to grow into premium, oversized, heavyweight pieces that are almost impossible to source locally in South Africa. With massive prints and a quality that I am proud to say speaks for itself.

Fast forward to today, if you are reading this, you are on Mercha version two. Our goal is to make the platform even more functional, interactive, and exciting for both artists and fans. Beyond music, we are opening the doors to all creators. Anyone with a vision and a community should be able to launch high quality merchandise with ease.

To everyone who has supported us and the artists along the way, thank you. We are just getting started, and we cannot wait to keep building, growing, and creating retail quality merchandise that brings fans closer to the creators they love.

Kyle Brown

Co-founder / CEO