We peel our money off potatoes daily

Stephen Muriuki’s Kangemi-based firm, Green Point Groceries, supplies peeled potatoes to fast food joints. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • After failing to get a job, three graduates set up a potato business, now they have employed five

Tired of waiting for a job that was not forthcoming after graduating from university, Stephen Muriuki, Juvenulis Mutua and Simon Maina decided to start a grocery.

They raised Sh5,000 and set up base at Kangemi market in Nairobi in 2010 dealing in sukuma wiki, potatoes and tomatoes.

Their sales totalled about Sh700 a day.

“The earnings were not much, but we could not give up as the business was all that we had. We also diversified and started peeling potatoes.”

Determined to make it in business and earn a living from it, the three opened a website, with the goal of reaching out to other clients who could not visit their stall in Kangemi.

It didn’t take long before interested customers started to contact them through the site www.greenpointgroceries.kbo.co.ke

RETAINING CLIENTS

Lady Luck struck, and the three landed their first lucrative deal through the site from Nairobi Club, an upmarket facility.

“The management of the club saw us online and called to place an order,” says Muriuki, who spoke on behalf of his business partners.

They started by delivering 20kgs of peeled potatoes weekly to the club. The club later increased the order to 70kgs.

It is over two years since Green Point started to supply groceries to Nairobi Club.

“Maintaining such clients happy is not an easy task. Being time conscious and offering quality products has been key to our success,” says Muriuki, who like his colleagues, is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate from the University of Nairobi.

Some clients give very short notice for delivery of the products, but they always strive to meet the demand.

“We have to be fast to ensure the potatoes reach them on time. As they say, a customer is always right.”

Most of their clients are fast food joints.

This means time and quality is integral to the survival of the business.

Green Point gets their stock from Murang’a and Kinangop. “Because we are selling fresh produce, we decided to source potatoes directly from farmers,” explains Muriuki.

According to him, they save a lot in costs by buying the produce from farmers directly. Also, they are able to select fresh quality produce, which suits their clientele.

“By going to the farms, we are able to pick the best potatoes as opposed to buying them from middlemen. When you engage brokers, you find that most of the produce you buy has defects.

‘‘But this doesn’t happen if you source the groceries on your own,” says the 26-year-old entrepreneur.

In addition, they are assured of the source of their products as many people are wary of food grown along sewer lines.

Initially, they used brokers to reach the farmers in Murang’a and Kinangop.

Green Point Groceries picks the produce every weekend and transports it to Nairobi on a hired vehicle. 

They buy up to 10 bags of potatoes a week. The potatoes are peeled on order and are sold to clients throughout the week. They sell a kilo of peeled potatoes at Sh85.

They have employed five staff who peel the produce, package and deliver to clients.

Green Point Groceries makes Sh34,000 in profit every month. “This is after we have paid operational costs and our salaries,” says Muriuki.

The three young men say their plan is to package all groceries they sell, including capsicum and tomatoes. “We want people to walk into supermarkets, buy, open and cook without washing or worrying about peeling,” says Muriuki.

It is not an easy ride, however: “We incur a lot of expenses on transport and getting individual customers and maintaining them is not easy.”

He advises jobless youths not to wait for employment but create opportunities for themselves and others.

“Jobs are hard to come by, but you can create jobs for others and yourself. Think of an idea and do not give up on it, however, frivolous it may appear as that is what might give you millions.”