Privacy Policy

Effective as of: 9 July 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how MHUKA NUTRITION (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2025/915080/07), trading as “Mhuka” (“Mhuka“, “we“, “us“, “our“), collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information collected through our website at https://www.mhuka.africa/za, our social media pages, our marketing activities, and any other services that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Service“).

This Privacy Policy is drawn up in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA“) and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.

Our online store runs on WordPress/WooCommerce, hosted and operated with the help of our web hosting and e-commerce service providers, who process personal information on our behalf as operators under POPIA.

This Privacy Policy applies to the South African site (mhuka.africa/za) only. Our Zimbabwe site (mhuka.africa/zw) is governed by its own privacy terms.

Index

• Personal information we collect
• Tracking technologies
• How and why we use your personal information
• How we share your personal information
• Your choices and rights under POPIA
• Other sites and services
• Security
• Cross-border data transfers
• Children
• Changes to this Privacy Policy
• How to contact us / Information Officer
• Lodging a complaint with the Information Regulator

1. Personal Information We Collect

Information you provide to us. This may include:

• Contact data: your name, email address, billing and delivery addresses, and phone number.
• Profile data: your username and password if you create an account, information about your pet(s), and anything else you add to your profile.
• Communications data: records of your exchanges with us, including emails, live chat messages, social media messages, reviews, and testimonials.
• Transactional data: order numbers, purchase and subscription history (including Wild Box subscription details).
• Marketing data: your preferences for receiving our marketing communications and how you engage with them.
• Payment data: information needed to process your payment, collected and handled by our payment processor, PayFast (see Section 4 below). We do not store your full card details ourselves.

Third-party sources. We may combine the information above with information from other sources, such as public sources (e.g. social media platforms), delivery and courier partners, and service providers who help us operate the Service.

Automatic data collection. When you use the Service, we and our service providers may automatically collect:

• Device data: your device type, operating system, browser type, IP address, and similar technical identifiers.
• Online activity data: pages viewed, time spent on the Site, referring website, and navigation patterns.
• Communication interaction data: whether you open or click links in our emails, using tracking pixels.

Data about others. If you refer a friend to Mhuka or share their contact details with us, please only do so with their permission.

2. Tracking Technologies

We use the following technologies on the Site:

• Cookies: small text files placed on your device that let us recognise your browser, remember preferences, and understand how the Site is used. We use both session cookies (deleted when you close your browser) and persistent cookies (which remain for longer).
• Google Analytics: to understand how visitors use the Site, which pages are most visited, and how to improve it. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking via https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
• Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Pixel: to measure the performance of our social media advertising and show you relevant ads on Facebook and Instagram based on your activity on our Site.
• Live chat: our live chat widget, provided by HubSpot, may collect the messages you send us, your IP address, and general location information, so we can respond to your queries. HubSpot may process this information on our behalf as an operator under POPIA; you can read HubSpot’s own privacy policy at https://legal.hubspot.com/privacy-policy.

See Section 5 (Your Choices) for how to manage or opt out of these technologies.

3. How and Why We Use Your Personal Information

Under POPIA, we may only process your personal information where we have a lawful basis to do so. We process your personal information on the following bases: to perform our contract with you (e.g. fulfilling an order or Wild Box subscription), where you’ve given consent (e.g. marketing emails), to comply with a legal obligation, or where we have a legitimate business interest that doesn’t override your rights (e.g. improving the Site’s security and performance).

We use your personal information to:

Operate the Service, including to:

• process and fulfil your orders and Wild Box subscription;
• create and maintain your account;
• communicate with you about your order, delivery, or account (e.g. dispatch notices);
• respond to your questions, feedback, and support requests.

Personalise your experience, including to remember your preferences and tailor content or product recommendations.

Improve the Service, including analysing how visitors use the Site (via Google Analytics) and developing new products and features.

Market to you, including to:

• send you marketing emails about new products, promotions, or Wild Box, where you’ve opted in;
• show you relevant ads on Facebook and Instagram (via the Meta Pixel) based on your activity on our Site;
• personalise marketing messages based on your interests and purchase history.

You can opt out of marketing and interest-based advertising at any time. See Section 5.

Comply with the law and protect our business, including to:

• comply with applicable laws, regulations, and lawful requests from authorities;
• protect the rights, property, or safety of Mhuka, our customers, or others;
• investigate and prevent fraud or misuse of the Site.

Create aggregated or de-identified data. We may combine and de-identify personal information so that it can no longer be linked to you, and use this aggregated data for business analysis and improvement.

4. How We Share Your Personal Information

We share personal information with the following categories of recipients, only as needed for the purposes described in this Policy:

• Service providers, who help us operate the Site, process orders, host our store, or send email marketing, acting as operators on our behalf under POPIA. This includes HubSpot, which provides our live chat functionality.
• Payment processor, PayFast, which processes your payment card details directly. PayFast’s own privacy policy governs how it handles that information.
• Courier and delivery partners, to fulfil and deliver your order.
• Advertising partners, such as Meta (Facebook/Instagram), for the interest-based advertising described above.
• Professional advisors, such as our accountants or lawyers, where necessary for the services they provide us.
• Authorities and others, where we believe in good faith this is necessary to comply with the law, a court order, or to protect our rights or the rights of others.
• A buyer or successor, if Mhuka is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of some or all of its business or assets.
• Other users and the public, if you post a public review or testimonial that we feature on the Site or our social media.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for money.

5. Your Choices and Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Be notified that we hold your personal information and how we use it (this Policy).
• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information.
• Request deletion or destruction of personal information we no longer have a lawful basis to hold.
• Object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes, or on other reasonable grounds relating to your particular situation.
• Withdraw consent, where our processing is based on your consent, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (see Section 11) if you believe we’ve processed your personal information unlawfully.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@mhuka.co.za. We’ll respond within a reasonable time and in line with POPIA’s requirements.

Opt out of marketing. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the link at the bottom of any marketing email, or by emailing hello@mhuka.co.za. You’ll continue to receive transactional messages relating to your orders regardless of your marketing preferences.

Cookies. Most browsers let you block or delete cookies through their settings. Blocking cookies may affect how parts of the Site function. You can learn more about managing cookies at https://www.allaboutcookies.org.

Interest-based advertising. You can limit the use of your information for Meta/Facebook advertising via your ad settings at https://www.facebook.com/about/ads, and manage Google Analytics tracking via the opt-out link in Section 2.

Do Not Track. Some browsers send “Do Not Track” signals. We do not currently respond to these signals.

Account and content deletion. You can update your account details by logging in, or request that we close your account or delete content by contacting us.

6. Other Sites and Services

The Site may link to third-party websites or social media platforms that we don’t control and aren’t responsible for, including their privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party site you visit.

7. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect the personal information we hold, consistent with POPIA’s security safeguard requirements. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we can’t guarantee absolute security of your information.

8. Cross-Border Data Transfers

Some of our service providers may process or store personal information outside South Africa. Where we transfer personal information across borders, we do so in accordance with POPIA section 72, meaning we’ll only do so where the recipient is subject to a law, binding agreement, or binding corporate rules that provide an adequate level of protection substantially similar to POPIA, or where you’ve consented to the transfer.

9. Children

The Service is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without the consent of a parent or legal guardian, as required by POPIA. If you believe we’ve collected a child’s personal information without appropriate consent, contact us and we’ll delete it in line with our legal obligations.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make a material change, we’ll update the effective date above and post a notice on the Site. Your continued use of the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Policy.

11. How to Contact Us / Information Officer

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights under POPIA, contact:

MHUKA NUTRITION (Pty) Ltd
Attention: Information Officer
Email: hello@mhuka.co.za
Phone: +27 79 019 8959

12. Lodging a Complaint with the Information Regulator

If you’re not satisfied with how we’ve handled your personal information or a request you’ve made under POPIA, you have the right to lodge a complaint with South Africa’s Information Regulator:

The Information Regulator (South Africa)
Email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
Website: https://inforegulator.org.za