JUICE MAKER TAKES PALAPYE STREETS

For several months in a year, fruits fall from trees by the ton. But without efficient storage facilities or an easy route to market, they are often left to rot with the growers eking out a subsistence on what little they can sell by the roadside or at local markets.

In 2020, Oteng Seofela set about creating an organic juice company as a way to give farmers a better livelihood.

Trading as Jam Juice, Seofela said he identified a gap in the market for juice production in Palapye and decided to try it out with his savings. He manufactures both ready to drink juice and concentrate in three flavours namely tropical punch, peach apricot and guava.

“When I was doing my market research I realised local brands are not that much on our streets, so that gave me an opportunity to start my own and see how it comes out. Our main objective is to sell and distribute juice,” he said.

Penetrating the market was easy for Seofela as his target was different from most juice manufacturers. He said street vendors mostly around Palapye played a major role in the growth of his business as they kept asking for more orders.

“When creating this juice I kept in mind that first impressions count hence why I gave it my all. I was impressed with the hype that small vendors welcomed my juice, they kept making more orders as they all wanted to have it in their cooler boxes,” he said.

On a daily basis, he produces up to 300 500ml’s both manually and by using a steering machine. He gets his raw materials mostly from the neighbouring country.

Apart from facing stiff competition from the well-established juice brands Seofela said locally ginger makers are his competitors, but not a threat as the taste of his juice gives him an urge.

Touching on his future prospects, he said he wants to build a juice factory and sell his brand in retail stores. He also wants to diversify his product, take advantage of the market and produce cool time.

“All I am asking for is support from my fellow citizens so that I can also create employment opportunities. Currently, I have employed one person but have plans to increase the number as my brand grows,” he said. Seofela is also in partnership in the production of cleaning chemicals and detergents at a company called I-chem in Palapye.