Anybody that has lived in Nigeria for several years must have come across Kunu drink at least once in their state of residence whether they knew what it was or not. Kunu, also termed Kunu Zaki is a non-alcoholic drink made from millet grains and it is well fortified with natural vitamins and other nutrients. It mostly comes in white/cream colour when only maize or millet is used in preparing it, but if sorghum is added it changes to brown.
People from all works of life love this drink and it can be found in market places or areas with busy foot traffic. Bankers, electricians, mechanics and even medical practitioners patronise the kunu drink business whenever they can afford to. To start this business and succeed at it, there are factors to be considered and guidelines to follow which we will explain in this article.
CAPITAL
Just like millions of businesses around the world, you need capital to start Kunu business because the essential items for the production would have to be purchased. However, it is a low cost business which can be kicked off with as little as N10,000 or less.
If the money is not available, one can try sourcing for it from friends or family so long as you show seriousness about exploring the business.
BRAND NAME
If you want to stand out, getting a brand name – which is the name of your business – is important in any venture. Some may however be confused or short of ideas on the type of name to choose, in order to make it easy you can create something catchy from your name or something that appeals to you.
REGISTER YOUR BUSINESS
Every business that operates legally in Nigeria must be duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC. Your brand name is what you will use to register the kunu business, it may be helpful to choose two or three names in case of the coincidence of someone already registering their business with a name you wanted to use.
This is also a way to trademark and secure the name to prevent other business owners from using it for similar or different product..
GET NAFDAC APPROVAL
For food, drugs and drinks, an approval from the regulatory body, NAFDAC is mandatory because of health and safety concerns considering the fact that your product is being ingested.
Research the procedure and steps to apply for approval from NAFDAC in your locality and follow instructions. In most cases you will have to invite NAFDAC officials for inspection and registration. When you have been approved for commencement of business, they will issue you a registration number.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
To produce kunu drink you will need the following materials;
I. Funnel and cups
II. Grinding machine
III. Ice block cooler or fridge
IV. Bowls
V. Stirring rod
VI. Containers
VII. Sticker
VIII. Stove/cooker
ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS
The ingredients for making Kunu are as follows:
6 Cups of millet or sorghum (de-hulled)
Medium size potatoes (peeled)
2 sizeable ginger
1 Tablespoon of sugar or as desired
Few drops of cloves (konofiri)
Groundnut and dates (optional)
How To Make Kunu (Steps)
- Firstly, sieve out the dirt, chaff and stones from the grains. Pour into a big bowl of water; let the water cover the millet. Soak the grains overnight for 48 hours to ferment. Use clean water to wash them properly.
- In the morning, add ginger, cloves (known as konofiri). Put groundnut in it, (could be raw or fried) then add dates if it is an option.
- Grind the mixture together with your grinding machine. Make sure you grind it with sufficiant water so that it can be fast and thoroughly blended to a paste or you can take it to local grinder in your area. Mash/pound potatoes and add to it.
- The next step is to divide the smooth paste into two. One of them should be more than the other. Pour hot water on the paste that is more in quantity and stir very well, just how pap is prepared. Add some cold water to the small paste and stir it. Mix the two solutions together and stir very well. This helps to bring out the kunu taste everyone is familiar with. Heating everything up will make the solution to come out like normal akamu.
- Use a clean clothe or material like the ones used in washing pap to sieve the kunu. Make sure to use enough water for the process. Some people remove the chaff and sell to those raising farm animals, but if you’re not interested it can be throw away.
- Allow the liquid produce to settle for about 7 hours then turn out the clear water on top of the paste leaving behind the thick mixture. Kunu should be watery, so if it is thick, add some water.
- People sometimes add honey to serve as sweetener or flavour. Package the drink and put them in the refrigerator or ice block cooler.
MARKETING/ADVERTISEMENT
When your kunu drink is ready for consumption, take them to places where you can easily sell them such as markets, schools, churches and offices areas (secretariat). What is the essence of making a product if people do not know that you sell it. Start by printing flyers and paste on the containers you will put the kunu inside.
The sticker on the bottle should contain your phone number, and or email address and location of your business if people see and wish to buy. Also, with the advent of social media, many business owners have been going online to advertise their products, you can also try this out. If your intention is to distribute it in wholesale, you can supply the kunu drinks to retailers at a discount price. Package the drink in different sizes of containers ranging from 50cl, 60cl to 1 litre.
Conclusion
It is important to note that Kunu is highly medicinal and helps in blood regulation, contains a high level of protein. The millet grain is rich in fibre and Vitamin B such as Riboflavin and Thiamine.
The money you make from kunu drink business might not make you very rich, but it will be enough for your to handle your bills and attend to basic needs. It is better than staying idle and waiting for a job to find you at home. If you study the guidelines very well you should be able to start a kunu business today with little to no stress.
