Fruit Juice Production in Nigeria

Fruit Juice Production Business  – Everyone loves fruit juice, although for different reasons.  While some love it for the taste,  others do just because it is refreshing, and others for nutritional and medicinal purposes.

Let us take things from the very top.  What is fruit juice? Fruit juice is the substance that is gotten from extracting the juice of fruits mostly by squeezing. However, the fruit juice we will be focusing on in this article is more than this.

It is fruit juice at a commercial quantity which goes beyond squeezing out the juice to include suspension of waters, sugars, acids, vitamins, proteins, minerals, additives mixing, preparation, bottling, preservation, and packaging and marketing.

Before you ask, yes,  fruit juice production business is a very lucrative business that some has even likened to Sachet pure water production business, because it is always in very high demand. According to statistics, out of a population of over 180 million, 40% of that number take fruit juice every day.  In fact some researchers deem Nigeria to be one of the highest consumers of fruit juice in the world. So one thing is for sure and that is that if you go into fruit juice business there is a ready market and you will make your profit in no time. It therefore comes as no surprise that most fruit juice companies such as  Chivita, Coca Cola, UAC, Leventis Foods, Bigi, etc are really making lots of money despite that the fact that new companies are flooding the market with their own products. The market is just so huge that everyone is having a share of the pie. You could be one of them too if you have and apply the right knowledge and strategy.

Let us clear some ambiguities. Some people are of the opinion that most of what is obtainable in the market in the name of natural fruit juice are not really natural.  The truth is that if 100% natural fruit juice were packaged and sold that way it wouldn’t last long on the shelves before it spoils and becomes of no use. However, preservatives has to be added so that they can last long enough to be sold and so that the consumers can keep it and it will still be safe for drinking until the expiry date that will be written on the pack.

So if you want to go into the fruit juice business in Nigeria, we are going to be discussing some helpful tips that will help you start the business and be successful in it.

Just like most businesses, you need capital to start up and fruit juice business is not left out, in fact the bigger your capital the better seeing that fruit juice production business is capital intensive. However there is still an avenue to start up small and gradually expand.

You have to decide on the type of juice you want to go into. You can decide to either go for plain fruit juice or carbonated fruit juice. However if you feel like you can handle both of them and you have the industrial and technical know how then by all means do.

Fruit Juice Production Business Plan / Feasibility Study

Write a business plan. It is very important that you make the above decision before venturing into the business because it will help you to be aware of how you want to write your business plan.

A business plan is necessary because it helps you to acknowledge as many facts as as possible about the business you want to go into,  leaving no stone unturned.  It is also important as it is used to attract investors.

Which is why you have to make it as detailed and comprehensive as possible to contain everything that can convince an investor to investor in your business.

For your fruit juice business you’ll need NAFDAC Approval. This is very necessary and a step you can’t afford to skip. A NAFDAC approval is like a stamp of authority certifying your fruit juice as being safe to consume.  If you do not do this not only will you have patronage but you will face the full wrath of the law when you are caught selling fruit juice without NAFDAC approval. To avoid being tempted to start selling when you have not yet gotten your NAFDAC number it is strongly advised that you start the process on time so that you can get your approval on time and proceed to selling your products.  is very important, you need to have this before engaging in the commercial production of any food, drugs, and beverages.

For fruit juice business you will not just stop at getting NAFDAC approval but you have to register your company and be licensed by the required government bodies such as the Corporate Affairs Commission, SON, NHIS, and Ministry of health. It is best to not try and play a fast one or try to dodge going through the necessary registrations and licensing as that is just being penny wise pound foolish.  This is because eventually you’ll be forced to do the needful and because you had to wait til you were fished out, it will cost you much more and some punishments are very severe and not just limited to fines or like penalties but might involved shutting down your factory. So do the needful as it will give you peace of mind and the confidence to push your products into the market without fear of being apprehended.

A necessary part of this business is raw material which are fruits.  Which fruits do you want to make use of and where are they mostly found.  You know very well that some fruits are seasonal so how do you plan to maintain supply when the fruits are not in season.  You need to have all these figured out before you decide on which fruits and flavours to use in your fruit juice business.

Your factory has to be fitted with the necessary equipments and machinery for fruit juice production. Some of which are: Boiler, filling machine, filter press, tank for blending, tank for washing the fruits, extractor, Cutting boards, Knives, Peeler, Water Containers amongst others.

Preservation is not mandatory especially when you are making the juice for immediate consumption such as is obtainable at hotels, bars, fast food centers, shopping malls etc.

Nevertheless, if you are planning on pushing your products into the market, knowing fully well that they’ll have to go through wholesalers, and retailers before getting to the consumers and that the consumers might not even consume as soon as they make the purchase but may keep it a while then it is just common sense that you have to add preservatives.

Now let us take a look at location.  This is very crucial to the success of any business.  The two main factors you have to consider when thinking about a location are how close you are to raw materials and how close you are to your target market. You’ll have to find a balance otherwise you’ll spend more money than necessary transporting raw materials to your factory or you’ll not be making enough sales because you are not easily accessible or visible to your customers and as they wouldn’t want to stress themselves they’ll just go for the next fruit juice they can lay their hands on.  Bear it in mind that there are a lot of fruit juice in the market that the customers can make their choice from if you are not accessible or too expensive,  so it is advised to not do anything that may place you at a disadvantage. This now brings us to the point of you building a brand. To stand out or even be in the competition you need to be very creative, mix up different fruits to get exciting flavours, make sure your packaging is attractive and that your quantity and prices are reasonable.

In addition you need to ensure that your staff is well trained and really good at their job.  It is important to be good to your staff so that they can work for you wholeheartedly. Also make sure that they understand completely the act of customer care as that also goes a long way to determine if your customers are retained.

To boost sales, advertising is strongly recommended. People will not patronise you if they don’t even know that you exist.  So you have to advertise but make sure that your advertisement is really getting to your target market.  There are various means of advertising such as television, radio,  bill boards, social media and many more.  Just pick a means that you are comfortable with and that gets to your target market and you are good to go.