ENTREPRENEURSHIP: How to Start a Fruit Juice Business

 

Fruit juice is simply made from fresh fruits. When it’s fresh, it is a rich source of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Most people prefer freshly squeezed fruit juice, bottled without added coloring, flavors and preservatives.

This is a very profitable business in Lagos because it is always in high demand by both adults and children. Lots of people are now aware of it’s health benefits.
Most common fruits are not planted in enough quantity to serve the local fruit juice market let alone the export market. Most makers use imported concentrates. Unless you want to make and export rare fruit juices like ‘local cherry’ aka ‘agbalumo’ or ‘udara’.

Here’s how to start a fruit juice business in Lagos and and make huge money from it.

There are many ways to run a fresh juice business, and it can be a very profitable and rewarding venture. To ensure your juice business is successful, you can do many things.

 #1. Decide on a niche for your juice business.Decide on the type of fruit juice you want to deal in. For instance, you may choose to focus on organic juices, energy juice, juice smoothies or just selling bottled juices wholesale.

#2. Write a business planYour business plan should include details about your niche; three-year operating expenses; three-year profit projections; marketing and public relations strategies; analysis of competing businesses; information about potential vendors and selling venues.

#3. Make recipes

Create recipes for your fruit juices, including flavors that aren’t commonly found in grocery stores. A varied menu will give customers an incentive to patronize your business. For example, orange and pineapple juice are common flavors, but watermelon-acai and strawberry-carrot aren’t as typical.

#4. Register Your BusinessContact your city’s health department to find out what permits you need to start a food business. Ensure that you obtain the licenses required by your state to operate a retail business, such as an Employer Identification Number, assumed name certificate or sales and use tax permit.

#6 Get VendorsFind vendors to buy produce, if you won’t be growing your own. You might want to buy from locals to save on transportation costs. Contact farmers, markets and growers associations in your area for a list of potential produce suppliers.

#7. Secure Your Market VenuesSecure venues to sell your juice. Your options include flea markets, a roadside stand, farmers market, city festival, carnival or fair, or shopping mall food court booth. Alternatively, you can bottle your juice and sell it wholesale to local grocery stores, restaurants, delis, fitness centers and cafes.

#8. Buy your equipementsBuy wholesale commercial-grade juicers and supplies, such as cups, napkins and utensils, to save money as opposed to paying retail prices.

#9 Market Your BusinessSend news releases to local media outlets, sponsor a fitness day or health fair, launch a promotional website or open social networking accounts.

How to Produce Fruit Juice:

1. Ingredients:The major ingredients are fruits around us, such as: mango, paw paw, pineapple, guava, orange, grape, cashew, banana, tomatoes, watermelon etc.
2. Preservatives: Most of the commonly used preservatives employed in fruit juice production include sodium metabisulphate, citric acids or sodium benzoate.
3. Sweeteners: The commonly used sweetener is sugar.
4. water (reasonable quantity), colour and can labels.

Select the fruits of interest (May be Orange), wash thoroughly and peel them.
Put the pealed orange fruits in the extractor and press.
Poor the liquid extracted into a blended tank.

Add the sweeteners, colour (orange) and preservatives. (optional)
Boil it to 90oC for about 30 minutes to eliminate any bacteria.

Filter the mixture, transfer the filtrate into a container and label it.

NOTE: If you want to make 100 litres of fresh juice; Measurements is; 50 litres of water, 150 mils of orange concentrate and 1 tablespoonful of colour (orange).

Credit: newsworldng.com