Youth earn juicy profit from cane

The value chain of fruit extracts is much more than an increased shelf life. Tom Zirimenya realised a way to make money from sugarcane extracts on one of his visits to a friend.

On a Thursday morning, two best friends start out as early as 6am to set up equipment at their mini-stall in Nakawa. Zirimenya and his friend Joseph Kwesiga are currently first year students at Makerere University.

The business partners hatched a way to handle their daily expenditures by contributing to a value chain of sugarcane extracts. The sugarcane extract they share is evenly blended with lemon and ginger which act as natural preservatives.

The idea
Zirimenya birthed the idea and proposed it to his friend. 

“On one of my casual visits to a friend’s home in Kireka, I came across a juice maker who specifically blended sugarcane fruit. I enjoyed it and immediately brought Joseph to taste the same,” he recollects.

The two devised strategies to make the juice extract from sugarcane fruit a great business venture. They named it Natural Crafted Brands.

The venture
During his seven-month work experience in sales for a gaming and sport company, the entrepreneur developed a good saving culture where he and his friend Kwesiga would put aside money for a business venture.

“We would save about Shs150,000 each with a goal to fulfil our interests in venturing in a sugarcane juice extract venture. We interacted with a juice seller in Kireka who shared tips sparingly and had to do research on our own,” he says. 

In a period of eight months, the business duo had collected Shs1,800,000 as capital from savings which they topped up with other sources to invest in retaining an operational space and shipping the required equipment from China.

“After research, we bought the sugarcane machine from Alibaba.com, an online business store at Shs1,500,000 and shopped sugarcane worth Shs50,000 from farmers which we transported on bicycle to Nakawa,” says Zirimenya. 

The team researched on the process of making confides in their homes and were challenged to produce better after each attempt.

“Our first client was the shop owner that had offered space for us to co-rent just in front of his shop. He tasted the products and would advise us to regulate the ingredients and also consider good storage mechanisms such as refrigerators,” Zirimenya recalls.

Inspiration
Regardless of the long work hours and insufficient knowledge in processing, the entrepreneurs were determined to do better. They learnt from their mistakes and recognised every shortcoming.

“The manual machine was tiresome to use given we had to wake up as early as 4am to start blending the juice extract in time for sales. We would close the day tired but never to retire,” he says. 

They knew this would be a shot at improving their life. 
“We had dreams to achieve. We yearned for a decent life, proper housing, good means, and a comfortable life at that,” he shares.

Marketing
Zirimenya, being the proprietor of the venture believes good marketing skills begin at leadership rank. 
“I personally call out customers amidst passers-by to come and experience a unique fruit juice taste. This also requires me to have a social engagement platform with people and improve my communication skills while making sales,” he says.

The 22-year-old has managed to interest corporate customers and get referrals from several clients. “I do get a few orders from URA workers and good feedback on my brand which increases my client base,” he says.
Good hygiene practices he adds are a great sales scheme since they attract a great deal of customers.

The young entrepreneur also has great social media presence on platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Tiktok where he gets to increase following through his entertainer roles and also market his products.

Achievements
The entrepreneurs have earned themselves a promising business venture and beaten all odds to grow.
“We discovered a way to increase our sources of cash flow in order to enhance business growth. We find time to take on comic gigs and do some camera work. We also forego certain expenditures to save more money for investment,” he says.

Tips
The young salesman believes hard work, persistence, and positive outlook on life has enabled him grow a business from scratch.

He also advises business owners to increase their saving culture and assess their expenditures to create a rich capital base hence fast growing business. 

“Business owners ought to research and be knowledgeable of their brands in order to ease their sales as you cannot sell what you don’t know,” he concludes. 

“Some unscrupulous people add water to the juice, but that should not be the case. That is why it is advisable to produce it when the customer is waiting or even watching,” says Zirimenya, adding that he has land in his home village where he intends to plant cane and grapes to expand his start up and train the youth on juice production.

Sugar cane juice, according to him, changes its colour in a short time because it is alkaline. 
“The alkaline does not allow it to remain fresh for long. For good juice, it must be produced at the place of consumption.”

Benefits

According to nutrition experts, consumption of raw sugar cane juice provides calories and carbohydrates to give one energy. The nutrients are even higher when the plant has not undergone any processing.