AGAPE BUSINESS CONSULTANTS #week11

IDEA 11 OF 52 – TOMATOES (MIDDLEMAN SALES + PASTE PRODUCTION)
tomato




The Idea
The 11th idea in our series of 52 Business Start up ideas for Nigeria is ‘Tomatoes – middleman sales + Paste production”.



One can take advantage of the high demand for tomatoes in the meals of various Nigerian household with Nigeria being the biggest importer of Tomatoes in Africa (the Nation,2015), to join in the Tomato Value chain as either a middle man between the Farmer and the retailers/end users, or to make your own tomato paste, package it, then sell.



Idea Summary

Middleman Sales

Get in touch with a Tomato farmer or farmers depending on the scale you desire. (Meet both those doing open farming and Greenhouse), so that you can be sure of tomato supply all year round.
Agree on suitable price bearing in mind how and where you would sell it in order to have a good profit margin (NB: Factor in Cost of transportation)
Arrange to purchase (or simply rent) a vehicle for transportation. Best if you already have your vehicle to use.
Contact your prospective customers (Retail stores, Big departmental stores), let them know you can supply and the price you are offering
Do not over promise, and do not agree to supply when not sure of the consistency and availability of your source (the farmers)
As demands arise, make the supply, get paid


Tomato Paste

The second aspect of this week’s idea is on making Paste from the Tomatoes that provides a means of putting a good volume of Tomatoes to good use for both the immediate and the longer terms. To find out how you could make your own Tomato paste, follow instructions in this link http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-tomato-paste-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-206853



Your final product can be bottled, and labeled (branded) how you want it, ready to be supplied to your customers.


You could also take this some steps further to make your own Tomato Ketchup. If you can work on the quality of your product, the packaging and your service delivery, you could pave your way into the hearts of ready customers.





The Business


Value Proposition: Depends on the aspect of the Business you choose to operate whether as a middle man, offering a means of transporting the freshly harvested tomatoes from the farmers to where they have been demanded, or in paste production, offering your well packaged tomato paste which now has longer shelf life compared to the initial fresh state.

Customer Segment: Corner shops, retailers, departmental stores (Spar, Shoprite) Markets, Tomato paste production companies, etc.

Distribution Channels: Tomato depot, A dedicated phone line, you could have a website or good social media presence

Customer Relationship: Direct or Mass depending on the business aspect you are focusing on

Key Activities: Selling, Logistics and packaging (Fresh tomatoes/Packaged Tomato Paste), negotiating, supply chain management, customer service, delivery etc.

Key Resources: Startup funds, vehicle, depot (depending on scale of operation), Workforce (Food processing assistants, Sales team, delivery team, Management team, quality control etc.

Key Partners: Tomato related associations, Tomato Farmers, Government regulatory agencies, 3rd party logistics, Retailers, etc.

Cost Structure: Staff pay, work related equipment (Vehicle purchase or rental, Tomato paste production equipment), Promotions, licenses (NAFDAC) and other needed permits, etc. Be sure to carryout more research before going into this. These are just a few.

Revenue Stream: Your cut based on your negotiations with the farmers and the retailers or end customers you sell to. Sales of the tomato paste.





Competition
This Business idea is not very far fetched, and anyone could get involved in this as there are no strong barriers to enter this market, which makes room for competition which you would need to gain competitive advantage over.



Risks
Some possible risks.

Government policies and regulations can have adverse effect on the Business, e.g., if a Government policy favours importers to import already processed tomato paste into Nigeria, this can have a great effect on the success of your brand.
Unexpected disease outbreak can affect the yield that will in turn affect your source of tomato supply.


Summary

This Idea explored the opportunity to become a middleman (salesperson) in Tomato value chain by taking the Tomatoes from the farmer to meet the demand while making your cut. And also looked at making your own brand of Tomato paste as an alternative means of making the tomatoes available for longer period and later use.



Thanks for following this series.



Till next week, stay inspired.





For more information, comments questions or feedbacks, get in touch.

Twitter: @Mrebis

Email: mrebis1@gmail.com

http://agapedev.com.ng/2017/03/15/idea-11-of-52-tomatoes-middleman-sales-paste-production/