WeeklySA_AdminCHILL: The Podcast and Chill founder taking audience loyalty into the beer market, launching a lager that the brand says grew out of repeated requests from fans…
By Len Maseko
Podcast dynamo MacGyver “MacG” Mukwevho has built a following by getting people talking.
Now, the podcaster and entrepreneur is hoping that connection will translate into demand for Chillers Lager, a new addition to his beverage business.
Joining the Chillers Punch family, the lager was launched recently at Katy’s Palace in Johannesburg and, according to the brand, is available in 500ml cans at Ultra Liquors, Pick n Pay and Makro Liquor stores nationwide.
The venture draws its identity from the “Chillers”, the community of listeners and viewers who have helped turn Podcast and Chill with MacG into a substantial digital entertainment platform.
Launched in Johannesburg in 2018, the flagship podcast developed into a wider network featuring celebrity interviews, entertainment and topical discussion. The network’s website reports more than one million subscribers and upwards of 200 million views across its content — figures that illustrate the audience behind the Chillers name. Podcast and Chill Network
MacG hosts the flagship show alongside Sol Phenduka, with contributions from Ghost Lady. Its conversational style and often provocative exchanges have helped make it a prominent part of South Africa’s podcast landscape. The show reached one million YouTube subscribers in 2023, a milestone celebrated with its supporters. Mail & Guardian
That relationship with fans is central to the new lager’s positioning. According to the launch statement, the product followed years of requests from the community for a beer of its own.
“We never set out to make a beer. The Chillers asked for it, again and again, so we went and built it properly,” MacG said.
“Plenty of people told us it couldn’t be done, and that’s exactly why we did it. This is a premium lager the Chillers can be proud of, and with their support, anything is possible, as they have shown throughout our journey.”
The launch placed that audience at the centre of proceedings. Installations made from fans’ social media comments turned the venue into an exhibition tracing the community’s relationship with the network. One supporter, Sello Mokgotho, took his enthusiasm further by having a Chillers Lager tattoo inked onto his arm as part of the exhibition.
The gesture offered a striking illustration of the loyalty the brand hopes to carry from screens and comment sections into shops.
For a media personality entering the consumer market, an established following provides a ready audience for a product launch. Turning that attention into repeat purchases, however, will depend on the beer’s appeal, availability and reception among consumers.
MacG told guests that securing a brewing partner had required looking beyond South Africa. According to the launch statement, the team encountered difficulties finding a partner locally before securing one in Namibia.
The statement did not identify the brewery, but presented the partnership as an important step in bringing the lager to market.
The evening, hosted by broadcaster Macfarlane Moleli, combined the product unveiling with performances and familiar personalities from the podcast’s world.
Poet Vus’umuzi Phakathi opened with the Izithakazelo of the Chillers, while Vulela Maweekend closed the formal proceedings. MacG and Phenduka later took to the decks.
The launch marks another extension of the Chillers identity beyond podcasting. Where the network first brought its audience together around conversations, the beverage venture seeks to give that shared identity a place on retail shelves.
For MacG, the proposition is straightforward: the community asked, and the brand responded. Whether that enthusiasm produces a lasting foothold in the beer market will be the next test of Chiller fan power.
