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| Coconut and Coconut Oil |
Coconut oil is one of the many commercial end products that can be gotten from a coconut tree. The coconut oil is made from the coconut fruits and the oil is said to be much better than groundnut oil to the health. Starting a coconut oil production business is a very profitable business and is less capital intensive than other forms of coconut related produce.
In this article, I will start by mentioning some of the many uses of coconut oil to show you why the product is on demand; then I will go ahead and take you through the process of how to start your own coconut oil production company.
4 Health Benefits of Coconut Oil
- Contain Nutrients for Building Body Immune System-: Research has shown that coconut oil contains a type of fatty acid known as lauric which helps to build the body immune system to fight against diseases and antibodies in the body.
- Used for Cooking-: The saturated acid found in coconut oil can be easily broken down into absorbable bits; which is why most people prefer using the oil to cook than other saturated oil like the groundnut, palm and melon oil.
- Weight Loss-: Anybody trying to shade some excess weight is encouraged to take more of coconut oil. This is because the oil contains nutrient that helps to increase the body metabolism rate and to break down food faster for the body to easily absorb.
- For External Use-: Coconut oil is applied on the skin to make it look smoother and softer; it is also used to clear stretch marks.
Starting a Coconut Oil Production Company – Sample Business Plan Template
Coconut
1. Develop a Well Defined Business Plan-:
This is the first step you need to take in setting up your business
structure. You need to draw up a clear business plan that will define
the future of the company. What will your product brand look like?
Or will your coconut oil product be like any other coconut oil in the
market? Where do you see your company reaching in the next few years? Answers to these questions will help you structure your business plan.
2. Register the Business as a Legal Entity-: Since you will need to run the business as a company, you need to register it as a legal entity. You can start with a sole proprietorship and expand it to a partnership company as the business grows in the future.
3. Get the Required Training-: If you must produce a coconut oil product that will be high on demand, you will need to get the necessary training on how to produce the best coconut oil. There are many eBooks and video tutorials online that will take you through the process of how to produce the best coconut oil in the market. I will discuss two popular ways of processing coconut oil later on this article.
4. Source for Coconut Supply-: Since the main raw material required to produce the coconut oil is the fruits, you need to find a supplier that can supply you huge quantity of coconuts constantly; as advising you to buy a piece of land, plant your coconut trees and wait for it to bear fruits will take ages to happen. So get a farmer that can supply you healthy coconut fruits at a cheaper price.
5. The Actual Process-: This is the actual process involved in turning a coconut fruit into a coconut oil. I mentioned above that I will discuss how you can process your coconut into coconut oil. Remember that you are doing it in a commercial quantity, meaning you need to choose the best process that will give you faster result and at a cheaper price while maintaining a high quality.
The easiest way to prepare coconut oil is by getting matured coconuts; the number of coconuts needed is dependent of the quantity of oil you want to make. Then break the coconuts and scrap out the meaty part of the coconut that is white in colour; cut into smaller piece and place in a blender. Blend the nuts until it turns into creamy whitish water, then take a sieve or cloth and separate the fibre from the milky water. Place the water in a container and leave it over night. By the next morning, you find out that the water has separated, the oil will settle on the bottom of the container; carefully scoop out the top particles on the container, and you have your coconut oil.
6. Packaging-: There are tens of coconut oil brands in the market; how you package your own product will determine if it will sell or not. You need to package your coconut oil product in such a way that anybody that sees it for the first time would wish to know what is in the package (first impression matters a lot).
Then the oil must be of the best quality because even if the customer buy the product for that first time because of the packaging and finds out that the oil inside isn’t up to expectation, you may lose not just that customer but several others he or she will tell about the bad quality of the coconut oil. Remember to include your company’s logo, company name and contact on each pack so that anybody who wishes to order for a larger quantity will know how to contact your company.
7. Marketing-: How do you encourage customers (but retailers and wholesalers) to patronize your coconut oil over other brands out there in the market? First you can offer them a buy two get one promo. Secondly, you can attend food or cooking related expos and share samples of your coconut oil. Finally, you create an online Blog where you post articles on coconut oil and its health benefits with an ecommerce place where visitors can place their order.
You can also leverage top social networking sites with millions of traffic to make sales.
For instance, you can create some few minutes’ videos on the health benefits of coconut oil and post it on Youtube with a link to your ecommerce site.
