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Stories by Bimbola Oyesola
It is a fact that investors in the food business will always be relevant irrespective of the nation’s economic circumstance. Consequently, one of the lucrative businesses an entrepreneur can venture into in this recession is production of fruit juice. With the population of over 170 million, over half of the population consume juice in different form everyday.
This invariably makes Nigeria one of the highest consumers of fruit juices in the world and the biggest market on the African continent.
A very good investment in fruit juice production in Nigeria will yield threefold of returns on investment within a short period of time. Established organisations that produced fruit juice have been thriving in the business and making billions of dollars unannounced, while there are still lots of opportunity, more so as Nigeria is blessed with different types of fruits, some yet to be harnessed and processed.
In particular, the Federal Government ban on importation of foreign made fruit juices has further doubled the profit potential in fruit juice production in the country.
Even in this era of foreign exchange scarcity, you can actually earn forex exporting your fruit juices as you can see some of the existing Nigeria products outside the country. Hence fruit juice if properly done can be exported out of the country to make good money. The target will be to export to countries that are not naturally endowed like Nigeria and will also be in need of fruit juice.
A fruit is a good means of getting important nutrients for the body and is therefore in high demand. Fruit juice gives a lot of mineral and vitamins to the body and at the same time has many health benefits making it a good product to have and consume.
Are you still wondering why you must invest in fruit juice production, here are the cutting edge:
Nutritional benefits
Nigerians are more conscious of their health now and also more knowledgeable of the numerous health benefits that fruit juice can offer. Fruits are generally a good source of minerals and vitamins and serve as a cleansing agent for the body helping in purifying the blood and its vessels as well as makes digestion easier and better. Also there are ailments like cold that can be treated by taking fruit juices in their natural form.
Social events
Recession may have made Nigerians to readjust their spending, but special events like birthdays, weddings, house warming and other parties are still being organised and juices are highly consumed at those events. At those events you will find a lot of fruit juices being served as it is a widely accepted drink. Nigerians consume a lot of fruit juices in various ways and forms, and it is also fast getting preference over soft drinks at social gatherings.
Availability of Raw Materials
Nigeria is a country blessed with a lot of natural resources and this applies to the area of fruits also. The major ingredient and material needed in the production of fruit juice is fruits and this Nigeria has in abundance. Various fruits such as oranges, pineapples, mangoes, lime, lemons, paw paw and lots more are available as they are grown and cultivated in great quantites.
Government Support
Federal Government has put high tariffs on the importation of fruit juices and some times can place other strict restrictions on foreign juices entering the country. This is done to encourage the local production of fruit juices in the country. More reason why the business is profitable and lucrative as local producers are given a lot of government support to thrive.
Also government sees this as a means of saving money for the economy which can be channelled to other sectors of the economy to aid growth and development.
Before the embargo, a lot of forex sometimes running into millions of dollars is spent on the importation of juice yearly and government sees this as a waste of the country’s resources and are therefore happy to encourage local production.
For so many years Nigeria has relied on imported goods and products to satisfy the wants of its people. This has greatly affected the economy in terms of local production of goods and services as well as creating jobs.
However below are those things you may need to do to ensure your juice business is successful:
Create a niche
You will have to come up with a niche for your juice business. For example, you can focus on selling organic or natural juices, energy juice, juice smoothies or selling bottled juices wholesale. There are lots of fruits in the country, you can carve a niche for yourself by selecting fruits that are yet to be processed. Also most people prefer natural juice to artificial and so you should be able to meet the need of the consumers.
Before starting the business make sure you do a feasibility study to find out more about the business including the costs involved.
Business Plan
Write a business plan that includes details about your niche; three-year operating expenses; three-year profit projections; marketing and public relations strategies; analysis of competing businesses; information about potential vendors and selling venues.
Register with authorities
Before you even proceed, make sure you get the necessary licenses to operate. Register your company at the Corporate Affairs Commission.
Also, make sure that you register with NAFDAC to get your NAFDAC registration number for your product.
Location
While considering where to locate your business, it is important to consider the raw materials as well as your market. When looking for a place to start. Those two factors will go a long way in ensuring that your business runs smoothly.
You can save cost on transportation tremendously due to how close you are to your raw materials and customers.
Raw materials
Fruits are the major raw materials required for the business. There are various fruits available to choose from and make juices. You would have to get suppliers for your produce, if you won’t be growing your own in line with the government policy on backward integration. Try to buy from local supples to save on transportation costs. Contact farmers markets and growers associations in your area for a list of potential produce suppliers.
Also you may need to create juice recipes for your business, including flavors that aren’t commonly found in stores. A varied menu will give customers an incentive to patronise your business. For example, orange and pineapple juice are common flavors, but watermelon-acai and strawberry-carrot aren’t as typical.
It is advisable to buy in wholesale commercial-grade juicers and items, to save money as opposed to paying retail prices.
Marketing
Secure venues to sell your juices. Options include supermarkets, open markets, city festival, carnival or fair, or shopping mall food court booth restaurants, eateries. Alternatively, you can export your juice and sell it wholesale.
You can market your juice business by sending news releases to local media outlets, sponsor a fitness day or health fair, launch a promotional website or open social networking accounts.
Preservation
Find a means of preserving your juices. If you are doing fruit juices that are freshly made and meant for consumption immediately you may not need to use preservatives. But in a situation where you make large quantity of the product and need to keep them for a long time before they are consumed or you plan to export them, you will need to add preservatives to keep them in good condition. It is important to get the preservatives that will not affect the product and cause harm to the consumer.
9. Sweeteners
This helps to keep the taste fresh and nice, especially when keeping the product for a long time sweeteners or sugar can be added.
10. Packaging and Storage
Packaging plays important role in production, at least it must be very attractive. You will also need to get a good place to properly store your products. A ware house or a store will be needed for storing as well as packaging the products. This will ensure they are in good order when they get to the consumer.
Meanwhile, other vital things for those who wants to start on small scale include;
Water
Tank for washing the fruits
An Extractor
Boiler
A tank for blending
A filling machine
A filter press.
Experts proffer solution on how to exit recession
Nigeria’s current recession can be mitigated faster if massive investments is made by more of its youthful population in the establishment of Small and medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the various states of the federation.
This was the submission of two Nigerian-born United States crisis management and organisational leadership exponents, Professors Chris Ehiobuche and Chizoba Madueke. Both of them spoke at a book launch over the weekend. The book “Youth Entrepreneurship” seeks to explore effective solutions to youth unemployment and entrepreneurship in the country.
The two university dons noted the need to grow a huge base of entrepreneurs among Nigerian youths citing Nigeria’s population which was progressing towards 200 million, and said that about half of this population is made up of youth, consisting of persons between 15 and 34 years of age.
“We are deeply worried by the high rate of unemployment as well as the high population of youths who come out with college or university degrees and don’t find jobs to do and can’t also create the jobs for themselves,” said Prof. Madueke.
“We decided to come back; we decided to help. And we can only help by creating awareness, educating those affected, inspiring them and showing them the opportunities so that they don’t have to look at the government but rather ask themselves the question, how do we help ourselves. And we put all these issues in a book “Youth Entrepreneurship,” Medueke added. Our mission in writing this book”, according to Prof. Madueke, is to “facilitate change and offer the young people some ideas and suggestions to help them navigate and mitigate these challenges and seize entrepreneurship opportunities.” Co-author, Prof. Ehiobuche said both of them were in the country and would be going round schools to hold public lectures on how to grow youth entrepreneurship in the country.
“It is our beliefs that the youth need a change of mind-set, from job seekers to business developers. We will be holding talks in schools. The intrinsic joy for owning a business and its benefits to the Nigerian economy are some of our motivating factors in writing this book. As many existing businesses in Nigeria go through their life cycle, heading toward saturation point, the need for the younger generation to invent and re-invent ideas, products, services and organizations that can produce profitable and sustainable needs and wants of consumers have become unarguable very critical for the Nigerian State,” he said.
Recession: Tax experts seek import waiver for manufacturing equipment
By Charles Nwaoguji
Taxe Experts have called on the Federal Government to grant tax and import waiver on every manufacturing equipment imported into the country as this is currently very expensive.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of ACCERS, Mrs. Morenike Babaington-Ashaye said the current economic recession is biting hard on manufacturers, especially those importing machinery for their operation .
Babaington-Ashaye who stated this at media briefing on forthcoming 1st edition of Open House Event – Public Lecture, held recently in Lagos, explained that to take manufacturing to next level government must create enabling environment.
She noted that the only way to grow the Nigerian economy in the face of present downturn in oil fortune is to maximise the manufacturing sector’s economic potential.
She also stated that the highest contribution of manufacturing to Nigeria’s GDP is estimated to about 10 percent, which is the reason Nigeria depends totally on imports to satisfy domestic needs.
“If we as a people want to build this nation for our future generation, attention must be focused on agriculture, processing and manufacturing. If we are sincerely serious about job creation, these three activities present a solution. Product from these three activities should of necessity meet quality specification for consumable products, especially with respect to toxins and pesticide residues,” she said.
Babaington-Ashaye said the manufacturing sector’s greatest setback is high operating costs due to power generation., adding that as such Nigeria has continued to send out raw materials and buy back finished products at a higher price. She commended the Federal government for taking bold steps in reviewing its policy and incentives to prospective investors in the mining sector.
She said that the three-year tax holiday to mining investors would develop minerals and steel industries and boost the economy.
Speaking further on the forthcoming lecture, she said that the theme of the lecture is “Taxation and the Society, Governance –a case for Nigeria.”
She states that more than 500 tax professionals and alike are expected to attend the first and most prestigious tax lecture.
