Marketer turn potato agro-processor; thriving to excellence
By Steven Mulanda
The transition from closing down a business venture to establishing a new different business can be an arduous and unpredictable. For Wanjiru Mambo, the CEO Wedgehut Foods the journey was riddled with challenges and discoveries. Her story begins back in 2020 when the government announced measures restricting movements, banning public gatherings and in-person meetings to slow down the spread of the corona virus. This created a “new normal” completely disrupting life resulting to a complete halt of her previous business. This eventually catapulted her to her new venture; potato agro-processing.
“Before the pandemic, I had a restaurant in Upper Hill which I had to shut down. The restaurant could no longer operate as the Ministry of Health had given an order for all outlets and eateries to close in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. The closure left me with a huge consignment of potatoes that me and my household could consume but not deplete it. I began selling them in the estate where I liveed. This is the same time people were panic-buying to stock up their foodstuffs. My stock was depleted in a very short period. I went ahead to get more potatoes from Limuru and sold. In the process, I began asking myself which other business one can engage in that is profitable. I was drawn more on potatoes reason being they cannot be stored for a long period because they tend to have a shorter shelf life. It’s at this point that the idea of processing and adding value came about,” she reveals. She is carrying out her business craft along the Eastern By-pass, Ruiru, Cape Business Park, Kiambu County
As it stands, she has built an entire business empire that generates income for her and a provides employment in the vicinity. “We produce fresh cut potatoes where we vacuum pack to increase the shelf life. Vacuum pack is the removal of air from the potatoes. We get potatoes from farmers, do the sorting, the cleaning, the peeling and finally packing,” she elucidates. The end product is fresh, ready to cook potatoes.
“Before venturing into the potatoes value chain, I reached out to a lady friend who was in the potato value addition. Unfortunately, she had closed shop due to cash flow issues but she informed me it is a very lucrative business. I also did my own research about it; got some data about consumption of potatoes and the market especially in the retail spaces. We started with a processing capacity of 300 Kilograms in a day but as it stands now we are doing 4 to 5 tons in a day but at full capacity we can process 10 tons in a day,” Wanjiru opined.
In a nutshell her value added products ranges from; French Fries Chips,Potato Wedges, Potatoes cubes, Lyonnaise potatoes and Whole potatoes for the Mukimo lovers.
Currently in Kenya, potato has been dubbed as a second staple food closely following maize but according to Wanjiru, the scales are going to tilt in future in favor of potatoes as the consumption of potatoes has increased exponentially. This she reveals she learnt from Agrico when doing her research and bench marking on why potatoes will surpass maize. Back in the year 2010, there was a Kenyan delegation to the Netherlands for Government ties and engagements. One of the outcomes was that the Dutch Government to Kenya was to support in the production of potatoes by opening many varieties and many seed multipliers from the Dutch came to Kenya and this has had a huge impact on potato production.
With time other seed companies from other parts of the world like America have al also ventured in the Kenyan Market. One Company that is making strides in seed multiplication is Fresh Crop. It has had a huge impact on potato production in Kenya.
The company’s order of preference is Shangi, Unica, and Markies varieties. Shangi and Unica are the most commonly grown varieties in Kenya produced by Fresh Crop and they are very sumptuous. Most hotels, eatery joints and households prefer them because of their sweetness.
Wedgehut Foods having begun with one clientele has grown its local foot print supplying to restaurants, hotels, schools (which nowadays chips is one of their Menu’s), among others. Their prime markets includes the supermarkets, schools, hotels, among many more.
Besides processing potatoes, Wedgehut Foods has partnered with Syngenta East Africa under the program dubbed Mavuno Zaidi which seeks to improve the quality of potatoes produced in Kenya. “The influence of the program has been incredible, both to farmers and processors like Wedge Hut. Farmers who have attended the program now approach farming from an agribusiness point of view. How to access certified seeds and required fertilizer for farming. Equity bank has also come on board to ensure the farmers get the necessary financial literacy while Syngenta has many extension officers in the fields who are able to reach many farmers in the potato growing zones,” she said.
With processing of this high value crops requiring specialized training, the company has tapped into local workforce whom they have been able to train on food processing management. They have been pivotal in transferring the knowledge to local workforce, majority of them being women. The workers have undergone theoretical and practical training. The company is fully committed to protecting the rights and working conditions of its workers. They look after their workers, adhering to and going beyond International Food Standards.
“Currently, we are working on ISO 22000 because we believe the future is big for food value addition and not only for potatoes. At the moment we are contemplating on which other crop are we to venture into. This is being necessitated by our clients because they need a variety of crops to consume,’’ she explained.
However, her journey in the potato field has not been devoid of challenges. Consistency with production of potatoes by farmers is what is ailing the industry. For instance, the period between February to May is very tough due to lack of potatoes and exorbitant prices. And the season between June to August plenty potatoes and the prices extremely low thus denting the farmers income.
She states that there are so many opportunities in the agro-processing space and as we step into the future she encourages young people to go back to the farms we grew up in and work for a better value. “If our parents could manage to educate us from farming we as a generation can be able to do more with the exposure we have. Google, ask a friend and people who have been a head of us and showing us it can be done,” she concludes. For the future, the company is imploring on which other product they can diversify into and also the potato range, while growing more volumes they are processing in a day.
They are also in the processing of raising funds for expansion and to have more extensive programs with small holder farmers for maximum output to ensure consistency supply of the potatoes.
