South Africans are strange creatures.

We will have absolute brand loyalty with things like cigarettes (you’re a Stuyvie Blue kinda person, aren’t you?) and tech brands – we’ve seen hundreds of fights in the comments section between users of Apple and other mobile devices – but other products are simply ‘snatch off the shelf and throw in the shopping trolley’ vibes.

Then there are the kinds of people who would never buy eggs that weren’t laid by a chicken being massaged to sleep every night, and who scrutinise the label of consumables to make sure they are of a certain standard, but are happy to munch on a bowl of biltong as soon as it presents itself on a table within arm’s reach.

Somehow, for something that is so widely loved, nobody seems that bothered about what biltong they’re snapping up. Go on – ask whoever does the shopping at home what brand they’re buying, and they’re not allowed to say ‘it’s from Woolies’ as an answer.

Brand loyalty, for some reason, doesn’t seem to exist.

There are generally three types of biltong on sale in SA – branded biltong from convenience retailers, unwrapped from the local butcher or deli, and house brand offerings from major retailers.

It’s the first of those that you grab when you’re popping in at a petrol station or your local shop, and there’s a reason to pay attention to the brand you buy.

Shirwood Biltong, for example, is made to the highest specifications using only the finest ingredients at their F.S.A audited facility in Cape Town.

Not only is their biltong Halaal approved, and made using energy produced from solar power (environmentally friendly tick), but they only use topside cuts, which ensures texture and brittleness in the bite.

Their online store is second to none, either:

You had me at whole biltong.

Warning – the Snapstix come in Original, Spicy, Peri-Peri, BBQ and Sweet Chilli flavours, are rather addictive, and tend to go down very easily.

Maybe that’s because they use custom-developed spices, honed to perfection.

Rather than grabbing whatever is at hand the next time the idea of buying biltong comes to mind, perhaps it’s time to pay attention to the brand you buy.

In Cape Town, Shirwood will deliver all orders of R250 or more FOR FREE, with orders under R250 paying a R40 delivery fee.

In Gauteng and KZN, there is free delivery on all orders of R500 or more, with orders under that incurring a R55 delivery fee.

Deliveries usually take between one and two days, and as an added bonus, you can actually track your delivery online. Shirwood will send a label number via email or SMS once the order is on its way, and you then enter that label number here to stay clued up.

When you buy from Shirwood’s online store, you buy directly from their factory shop, which makes their prices hard to top, with the convenience of having it delivered to your door.

Surely that sounds better than grabbing some nondescript packet when the mood strikes?