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While working in New York as an govt assistant at a private care merchandise firm, Jamie D. Saleeby realised there have been only a few African-inspired snacks on sale in native comfort shops. This is regardless of demand for merchandise that signify African heritage and tradition.
After saving up some cash, Saleeby moved again to his house nation of Ghana in 2017 to arrange Sankofa Snacks – a snack brand that makes a variety of plantain chips.
“What we wanted to do is produce and share creative and authentic snacking experiences that are inspired by and that celebrate global black food culture, for Africa and the diaspora,” he says.
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Creating the enterprise
Sankofa Snacks produces six flavours of plantain chips, all influenced by North- and West African recipes. ‘Chicken with Garlic and Ginger’ was impressed by Senegal’s poulet yassa, for instance, whereas the ‘Chilli Tomato Gravy’ flavour is predicated on jollof rice – a well-liked dish in West Africa.
The chips are at the moment bought for round US$0.80 per bag in supermarkets throughout Ghana with plans to export to Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and the US.
The firm buys plantain from smallholder farmers in three areas throughout Ghana. After the uncooked materials is procured, it’s transported to the capital metropolis of Accra the place Sankofa Snacks has a manufacturing unit. The firm has constructed its personal distribution community to ship the baggage of chips throughout the West African nation.
Supply challenges
One of the fundamental issues is securing a gentle provide of plantain from the smallholder farmers.
“During the off season it is really challenging to source plantain,” says Saleeby. “Plantain needs to be watered regularly to grow properly and in the dry season there is very little rain. There is about six months in Ghana where farmers cannot grow an abundance of plantain.”
This will increase the value of plantain by as much as 200% as the provide dwindles. At the second, the agency is ready to hold the value of the chips the identical all through each seasons by offsetting the additional spend in the dry season with the cash saved in the wet season when plantain is less expensive.
“But as we grow the model that is going to have to change because if you’re getting serious orders during the off-season, and not enough during the rainy season to compensate for that, then you are in trouble.”
The resolution, the CEO says, is to construct an irrigated farm that may present plantain throughout the dry season.
“We are looking at setting up a very small pilot farm, so we can fall back on our own supply when the market runs out.”
Boosting gross sales
About two years in the past Sankofa Foods invested in a brand new purpose-built facility to course of plantain. It has the capability to provide way more plantain chips than its authentic facility’s output, Saleeby says.
During the preliminary levels of the firm, Saleeby was unable to commit sufficient time to contacting completely different shops to extend gross sales. As the firm expanded, the CEO employed a gross sales director and representatives who’ve been in a position to increase commerce.
“Just in the past month, our sales have gone up more than 17% on the month before. Our sales director is working to open over 800 more doors than I had access to or was aware of. He has included smaller supermarkets that are opening up in residential areas.”
While Sankofa Foods determined to construct its personal distribution community in Ghana, Saleeby says that all through the wider area it would use distribution companions to “move faster” in new nations. This ought to permit the plantain chips to be simply distributed and bought in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, the first two nations billed for regional growth.
Taking on the US
In the US, Sankofa Foods hopes to promote plantain chips by means of e-commerce websites like Amazon. A key technique to success in the American market can be creating a robust brand that is ready to inform a narrative, Saleeby says.
“As we go into that space we need to look at the story we are telling. We are serving a millennial mindset that is craving culturally authentic culinary experiences.”
The brand will launch in the northeast, “focusing on the diaspora and anybody that forms part of the black community”. After the proof of idea in on-line shops, the subsequent step can be to focus on large retailers like Target and Whole Foods.
“After the online sales we will approach big stores to say, this is evidence of the traction, this is the community we are building. We are adding a range of snack categories that are really underrepresented in the US right now: African-inspired snacks.”
Source : How we made it in Africa
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