Just before you get into the thick of Kawempe’s industrial area on a road named after the founder of the company, Jakana Foods, one of the first Ugandan companies certified to export dried fruit to the USA, is firmly anchored.
It’s over 8 years now since Jakana Foods moved away from making packed fruit juices for the local market and focused on creating dried fruits for export mainly to the USA and other markets.
How it all started?
Not so far from today, Jakana Foods Limited will celebrate 30 years of existence having started out as a juice processor and pivoted into the export of dried food snacks.
A lot has transpired since the company opened shop back in 1994 but the most fundamental change happened back in 2013 when Meg Jaquay the current Managing Director took the reins of the company.
Having been born and grown up in the USA, Meg had an idea what consumers in there were interested in and to test the market she begun off by marketing the new Jakana fruit snacks with in the local expatriate community.
“When this turned out a success, I was certain the market back home in the USA would warmly receive our product too and that has been the case since we exported our first batch back in 2014,” she says.
What makes Jakana Unique?
“One of our strengths at Jakana Foods is being both American owned and Ugandan founded so this gave us a good understanding of how the supply systems of fresh fruits which is our main input work in Uganda and also how the market back in the USA operates like” she says.
Our fluidity and ability to adapt fast to a changing business environment as a business is also something that has helped Jakana Foods weather the storm and stay afloat over the years.
Our dried fruit snacks which include pineapple, banana, jackfruit and mangoes struck a code with customers because of their authentic and tasty Ugandan flavour, it distinguishes them a lot in the market and keeps customers keep coming back.
Our snacks being a healthy alternative to artificial sugar filled unhealthy snacks also keeps many health conscious customers looking forward to having their next bite and sharing it.
We are also launching a 'Factory Direct Program' in partnership with DHL which will ensure we deliver the Freshest Dried fruit snack to the US Market in 10 days with door to door deliveries too.
“The fruit will be harvested, dried, packed and shipped to the customers and retailers all with in 10 days to ensure they get it fresh with that tasty natural Ugandan flavour intact.”
This puts us ahead of competition from big chains like Amazon where the same process takes like 4 months making the fruit snack reach the consumer when it has lost its flavour.
How did Covid 19 impact the Business?
Covid 19 struck at a time when Jakana Foods had come together with 19 other businesses in total a few months before the break out in January 2020and started the Southside farmers market accessible online at www.southsidemarketug.com which happens at Dancing Cup on Luthuli avenue in Bugolobi every Saturday from 9:00am to 3:00pm.
“Suddenly everything ground to a halt, all movement of goods and services was suspended and we had to think fast, adapt or perish,” Jaquay says.
She further explains, “At Jakana Foods we got together with about 25 different suppliers and started supplying fresh foods to customers in Uganda given movement was restricted in the lockdowns and people could hardly move.
On top of that we had to adopt an e-commerce model together locally with our partners in the Southside market in order to stay afloat. We moved together and this helped us all stay afloat through the pandemic to date and we are moving towards expanding this internationally.
Things are now back to normal since last year but it left us thinking on our feet and we have gotten into a number of joint ventures and partnerships to expand our reach into new markets like Europe in the United Kingdom, Netherlands and other places so as to spread our risk and also grow.”
What does it take to get certified for the USA market?
At the start you need to find an importer or retailer in the USA willing to take your product and once they have accepted, it will help you begin the process.
After that you have to set up your working facility properly and ensure you have a Food Safety Management plan in place.
Your facility has to meet the required standards of the USA’s Food and Drug Administration Agency and you must be open for them to come and inspect you any time.
With that in place and an importer who can vouch for the quality of your products while getting them to reach consumers, you are good to go.
What challenges are Jakana Foods facing currently?
We have challenges with our suppliers and consumers having different seasons.
While most of our products are consumed between November and May in the USA, our peak harvest season is between June and July which means we have to buy in bulk and store, keep meeting overhead costs for the other months to keep the business afloat until our customers put in their orders and subsequently pay for the products.
The cash flows of the business get strained as result.
Related to that, affordable capital to increase our inventory and expand production is also hard to come by locally.
What are the future prospects of the company?
Going forward things look positive and bright for Meg and Jakana foods as a company.
“Reason being Uganda for starters has been given an export quarter of about 6 Billion Us Dollars to fill by 2028 and with the help of PACIED things are already shaping up as a number of Ugandan companies including Jakana Foods have been certified to export to the USA. Of this figure if Jakana Foods can just pull off 6 Million US Dollars a year, it will be a good start” Meg says.
The market for fruit snacks in the USA especially dried snacks is quite huge as well standing at about 3 billion US Dollars a year so there is a lot of room for growth and new entrants she adds.
To boost the production capacity of Jakana foods especially during the peak season of fruit harvesting, they have gotten into partnership with other drying facilities and also sent some of their experienced staff to train the staff of these facilities on how to produce dried fruit snacks to the quality Jakana’s customers want.
With our improved Factory Direct Program’ we aim to make our snacks so affordable even for those at the lowest entry points like Mom & Pop shops across the USA can be able to stock up in smaller quantities regularly.
Other products and services
Meg says they are planning to expand their product range still with in horticulture.
They are also equipped to provide expert knowledge and work as an incubator for small businesses looking atgetting into food processing and export.
Jakana foods also can provide a contract manufacturing facility for eadible oils, juice processing plus grading and polishing of coffee beans.
What advice do you have for Entrepreneurs looking to export to the USA?
Find an importer willing to take up your products.
Set up a facility with good food safety management standards if you are looking at exporting foodstuffs.
And start, get your hands in with your product, add value to it, change it, tilt it, twist it until you have nailed the product market fit.
After you have nailed the product and the market can’t have enough of it then scale it and win.
In terms of investment, you should look at an average of about 200,000 US Dollars, if you are looking at a food production facility.
It's also important to consider getting certification in Food safety standards and the ISO quality mark as well, something Meg would love to thank PACIED for helping willing exporters achieve expeditiously. ISO certification for example is becoming a minimum requirement for one to export to international markets.
About Jakana Foods
The company was started in 1994 by Engineer Dan Jakana, its factory is located on plot 1 Jakana road Kawempe and they started out processing and selling pasteurized banana juice locally known as omubisihowever as cheap carbonated soft drinks flooded the market this became less competitive.
In 2013, Meg Jaquay came in as MD a position she has held to date. Meg switched up the company’s product portfolio, production processes and market focus among other things introducing the dried fruit snacks mainly for export which have become their mainstay product to date.
Locally the dried fruit snacks produced by Jakana Foods can be got at Ark Organics Kololo, Moonbean Chocolate Bugolobi and at the Southside market which happens at the Dancing Cup in Bugolobi between 9:00am and 3:00pm.
WhatsApp: +256701133509
Email: michaelkanaabi@gmail.com