Wondering how to start a potato chips business in Kenya?
Potato chips are one of the most consumed snacks worldwide with every age group loving it.
Before you start the business, there are some questions you should ask yourself:
- Is it feasible?
- Am I a manufacturer only or will I manufacture and sell to stores or individuals?
- Who is my target market?
- Is there a demand for chips in my target area?
In this article, I’ll take you through steps on how you can start a potato chips business with low to medium investment and have it running.
How to start a potato chips business in Kenya
Before diving in and just starting any business, there are steps you should follow.
- Have a business plan. Your business plan should contain business goals, methods on how these goals can be attained, and the time frame within which these goals need to be achieved.
- Do market research. Do research on the location you want to set the business, other businesses in the area i.e competitors, and most importantly your target customers.
- Follow legal procedures. Get yourself the necessary permits for the type of business you want to start e.g county council license. All businesses in Kenya are required to have a business license.
- Find a location. After doing research, you should figure out the location that’s most suitable for your line of business.
- Finance your business. Without capital, there’s no business thus you indeed have to find ways to finance your business. Fund the start-up yourself then for a boost you can ask for a loan from friends and family or from a financial institution.
After you’ve gone through all the above steps, now you’re ready to get into the real thing of making things happen.
Now here are ways on how to start a potato chips business in Kenya;
You need to have the potato chips machinery.
- Potato peeling machines
- Flavoring machine
- Automated potato slicer
- Potato chips drier machine
- Deep frying machine
- Potato chips packing machine
Process of chips making
- Potato peeling. First, the potatoes are put into the peeling machine where they are all peeled evenly.
- Slicing. After they’re peeled the potatoes then go to the slicing machine where they’re sliced as per the set thickness.
- Drying. After slicing the potatoes are then dried in the drier machine to make them ready for deep frying.
- Deep frying. The potatoes then go to the deep frying machine which deep-fries all of them equally.
- Flavoring. The deep-fried potatoes are then put into a flavoring machine with the flavor and spices intended and are all coated.
- Packaging. This is the last step in chips making process where the chips are weighed and packed accordingly ready for sale.
The potato chips industry is really big and if you are thinking to start your business then the potato chips making business is the best idea. The demand for potato chips never goes down in any season. The profit margin in potato chips is around 30%-40% depending on the raw materials you are using for it.
