Going regional pays off for Glytime Foods

GLYTIME Foods (Pvt) Limited is a healthy foods start-up that recently made a foray into the regional export markets by securing a deal to supply products into Zambia. Our senior business reporter Tawanda Musarurwa (TM), had a discussion with Glytime CEO Lesley Marange (LM) to get more insight into the upcoming food processor. The following are excerpts of the interview.

TM: What motivated you to start this business?

LM:

Our business started in February 2018. There were several push and pull factors to this venture. The turbulence in our economy could not allow me to remain an employee because salaries were quickly eroded due to inflation. We noticed a gap in the market for healthy cereals and by that time there were few players in the category. Most of the players were dealing in imported brands, so we felt it was a good initiative to tap into that niche.

TM: Why the special focus on healthy foods?

LM:

Being a niche, it offered good margins, vis-a-vis our capacity. It was a good starting point for us as a business.

Looking at the global trends, there has been an increase in the uptake of healthy food products due to the prevalence of non-communicable disease such as high blood pressure, cancer and sugar diabetes. People are health conscious because healthy eating gives youthful looks, which has become a global social value.

The initiative was driven by the need to create employment among youths to ease the rate of unemployment. The increase in post-harvest losses mainly of fruits and vegetables has increased the need to venture into agro-processing and we were motivated by our background and expertise in food manufacturing.

I have a degree in Food Science and Technology and an MBA in Strategic Management and more than five years managerial experience in the food industry. My wife has a degree in nutrition, hence that triggered our business motives.

TM: How have you managed to foray into export markets relatively early into the venture?

LM:

In every industry there are key performance drivers. In our industry we have product quality, good packaging and good sensory attributes, capabilities to consistently supply the product to the market, competitive pricing among others.

If these key performance indicators are aligned, it makes it is easy to open many doors of opportunities.

In terms of the regional markets, we were assisted mainly by ZimTrade through their outward seller mission and through global platforms such as BBC news coverage. As a business already exporting within two years of operating, a key attribute has been strategic leadership. TM: What are the main challenges that you face as a business? LM:

Running a business in Zimbabwe is not easy. The volatility of the operating environment is a threat for most start-ups. The biggest challenge in our business was the turbulence in the operating environment mainly high inflation.

The other challenge has been the sourcing of foreign currency to acquire raw materials. Thank God our voice has been heard after lobbying with relevant stakeholders to get an SMEs inclusive auction system, this will ease the hustle of looking for foreign currency on the black market.

The other challenge was coping with the increase in demand, which happened over a short period of time. Within two years demand for our products moved from less than five tonnes per month to 40 tonnes and more is coming due to export markets.

This jump in demand has been a huge challenge considering lack of support in capacity building.

Lack of financial assistance from relevant stakeholders has made it difficult to cope with the rise in demand. However, we are still trying to engage with all stakeholders so that we can meet the rise in demand.

TM: How have you managed to operate effectively despite the economic hardships?

LM:

The key attribute that has helped us as a business to progress is mainly strategic leadership. The turbulence in the operating environment is too high for SMEs or start-ups, but when you master the art of adaptability you can rise above the tide. It’s not easy but it’s doable.

TM: Can you paint a picture of an ordinary day at Glytime?

LM:

We are running a fast growing business and there are a lot of pressures to cope with the growth that is happening at a fast rate. We are trying to balance the demands on execution and a learning curve. It brings exciting challenges.

Our strengths as a business is on product development and customer service. So everyday is a day of coming up with new ideas, screening those ideas, experimenting, and getting customer feedback. On a day-to-day basis, we focus on the interpretation of customers requirements into exciting new products.

TM: What is your employee complement and how are you dealing with issues of staff morale during these difficult times?

LM:

We have 31 employees who are youthful and below the age of 30. Among our employees, we have people living with disabilities, they constitute 5 percent of our employees.

We are also creating an inclusive working environment in line with global standards. We have noted that people with disabilities are as good as people who are able bodied and perform very well.

I urge other manufacturers to include such people in their work spaces and enjoy the blessings of an inclusive working environment.

Covid-19 has brought about many changes and it has changed priorities. Safety of our employees and customers is key. We have put in several measures in line with WHO guidelines to ensure we keep our clients and ourselves safe.

We have created a robust system of engagement, our employees have been empowered to act in the best interests of their safety first. So every decision now is safety centric, this has resulted in a lot of reconfiguration of our work stations, increased our budgets of PPE, fuel to ferry employees to and from home to avoid public transport. TM: What is the future of Glytime Foods? LM:

Glytime Foods Private is now registered in Botswana in Special Economic Zone and all the registration has been completed we are just waiting for the borders to open. The firm is now exporting to Zambia, we are finalising contacts in various other countries including Mozambique and DRC among others, which makes it clear that we are developing a regional brand, which we are growing to be a Global brand. Something very big is coming from our motherland.

Look at the milestones we have achieved in the last two years, give us five to 10 more years. The brand will have good global coverage. We are not threatened by globalisation and liberalisation of markets.

TM: And finally, your advice to young Zimbabweans?

LM:

The best thing to do in this environment is to start something of your own, nature it, face the challenges, learn to adapt, hedge your business with foreign markets. The Government should pay attention to SMEs and help them to build capacity special references to the model in Rwanda and Mauritius. Our banks should play an active role in identifying and funding SMEs that have bankable projects — their systems and models should accommodate young people without fixed properties collateral. Zimtrade should continue in the trajectory of assisting young people for export readiness and adoption among SMEs, which should be supported by other stakeholders such as banks, and financial institutions.