New Trend? Why Are South African Men Hanging Biltong from their Pockets?

Somewhere in South Africa, right now, a grown man is staring at someone else’s car keys trying to figure out why there’s a piece of biltong hanging from them.

That moment, the confusion, the double-take, the slight concern, is exactly why Biltong Ring exists. Because sometimes the best ideas aren’t complicated. Sometimes they’re just funny enough to work. And in a country where biltong is practically a personality trait, it was only a matter of time before somebody turned it into a keyring.

Enter Biltong Ring. A proudly South African novelty keyring handcrafted to look exactly like a real slice of biltong. Not cartoon biltong. Not “inspired by” biltong. Actual, hyper-realistic, “why is there meat in your pocket?” biltong. It’s ridiculous… which is precisely why people love it.

The idea started the same way many great South African ideas do, with someone eating biltong. While demolishing a bag of Centurion’s finest dik gesnyde biltong, Biltong Ring owner Matthew Lowry let his mind wander. How do you build something around South Africa’s favourite snack without going toe-to-toe with the seemingly endless army of biltong shops already out there?

The answer wasn’t another biltong shop. It was something completely unnecessary… and somehow completely essential. What if biltong lovers had something they could keep in their pockets long after the actual biltong was gone? A little sidekick to the real thing. A supplementary biltong pocket product?

Now it’s become one of those gloriously weird local products that somehow make perfect sense once you see it. It taps into something uniquely South African: our ability to take absolutely nothing seriously while taking our biltong extremely seriously.

Because Biltong Ring isn’t pretending to solve world hunger. It isn’t trying to “disrupt the gifting space” or “redefine lifestyle accessories”. It’s a fake piece of meat on a keychain.

Is’ie diep’ie, is Biltong Ring.

That phrase captures the whole spirit of the brand perfectly. Loosely translated from Afrikaans slang, it means: “It’s not that deep.” Relax. Have a laugh. Enjoy the absurdity.

Having at least three Biltong Ring keyrings permanently attached to his keys, Matthew has seen the reactions firsthand. Friends, his physio, the petrol attendant down the road, heck, even his urologist did a double-take. And you know you’ve made an impression when someone who spends their day doing… urologist things, still pauses with a raised eyebrow and a, “Wow, is that real?”

The keyrings have started popping up in gift shops, biltong stores, markets, tourist retailers and checkout counters around the country. Biltong Ring features on shelves across South Africa, New Zealand, English, the USA and even Ireland. It turns out people are very willing to spend money on something that makes both them and their mates laugh.

Biltong Ring feels unapologetically South African, and that authenticity matters. The product works because it comes from genuine South African culture. Just an oke with a doff idea.

Even the branding leans into the chaos. The marketing is playful, slightly unhinged, and fully aware that the entire business revolves around fake dried meat. Instead of pretending otherwise, the company doubles down on the absurdity.

Most novelty products stop being funny after five minutes. Biltong Ring survives because the reaction resets every time a new person sees it.

Of course, none of this would work if the product looked terrible. But the craftsmanship is genuinely impressive. Each keyring is handcrafted with enough detail that people repeatedly mistake it for actual biltong.

Real biltong never lasts; Biltong Ring does. No, it won’t change the world. It’s not revolutionary. It’s not deep. But not everything needs to be.

Biltong Ring keyrings are available from the official website for R110 each.