HOW TO START A POTATO CHIPS BUSINESS IN KENYA

They say if you want to make everyone happy, sell ice cream. In Kenya, sell chips and everyone will love you.

Chips is Kenya’s most loved fast food. It’s a business you are most likely to make profits if you venture into.

Potato chips (fries) is a favorite meal for many people and especially women and children.

This makes the chips business in Kenya a lucrative venture.

You do not need a lot of capital to get started. However, you need to know how to prepare chips.

The business is viable in most parts of the country, both rural and urban areas.

If you are planning to start a potato chips business, in this article, I will guide you on what you need to do.

*Carryout a Market Research*

It is best that you first do a market research to understand the market. A market research will help you determine if the business is viable and identify a good business location and where to source potatoes at a cheaper price.

It will make your work easier when writing a business plan.  

*Write a Potato Chips Business Plan*

The other thing that you need to do is to write a business plan. Your business plan should capture the following:

*Business name

*Business startup capital

*Business location

*Sources of startup capital

*Requirements for starting a chips business

If you carried out a market research, it will be easy to write a business plan. If you don’t know how to write one, you can hire an expert.

*Identify a Good Business Location*

A business location is crucial for the success of any business.

As such, you need to find a good location where you can get customers.

A chips business is best suited for areas with a large youthful population.

It would be best if you can find a location near an institution like a college or a banking hall.

It is because you can target students and workers as your customers.

To thrive in this business, your location should be easily accessible and should be a place that attracts a large number of people.

You might consider streets near main roads/bus stations, schools, clubs, and bars, or highly populated estates.

Besides that, your location should be neat and your outlet well organized.

Decorate your outlet, to attract more customers, also be innovative on ways to attract customers.

*Get a Business Permit and License*

You need to secure a business permits to ensure that your business .

You need a single business permit, food and health certificate and fire and safety certificate to run a chips business in Kenya.

A single business permit is compulsory for all businesses while the food and health certificate is a necessity for all businesses dealing with food.

Since your business will be using heat, you need to get a fire safety certificate to ensure compliance with fire safety measures.

*Brand Your Chips Business*

You need to partition and brand your chips kiosk business so that you have a private place to prepare chips and where your customers can sit.

If you are just starting, and you have limited capital, you can start in a small kiosk and offer takeaway chips and later move to a bigger room as your customers increase.  

*How to Prepare Chips*

Chips are easy to prepare and if you are starting a chips mwitu business, then you only need some experience to get started.

However, if you are looking to start a fast food restaurant, then you need to consider getting some culinary training.  

Peel potatoes. The first process is usually to peel potatoes. You can do it manually if you do not have a potatoes peeling machine.

The next thing is usually to slice potatoes into the required sizes. It is best that you get a slicing machine, otherwise it will take you long to peel them manually.

Then dry the sliced potatoes using a dryer machine.

Deep fry the sliced potatoes using a deep fryer.

Then flavor the the chips with spices and flavors like masala. 

Finally, serve the chips to the customers. Provide the customers with tomato sauce and chili. 

*Cost of Starting Chips Business in Kenya*

The cost of starting a chips business depends with the size of your business.

For instance, if you are starting a chips mwitu business, you need around Ksh.30,000. The following is a capital breakdown for a chips mwitu business.

*Electric deep fryer (double) – Ksh.10,000

*Potato chipper – Ksh.2,000

*One sack of potatoes – Ksh.3,500

*Rent – Ksh.5,000

*Utensils – Ksh.3,000

*Tomato sauce – Ksh.1,000

*Business licenses – Ksh.7,000 every year

*What You Need to Start a Chips Business*

If you are looking to start a medium sized chips business, you need at least Ksh.250,000.

Luckily, you can prepare other meals like chicken, burgers, smokies and sausages.

You need the following items:  

*Electric deep fryer

*Chips dryer machine

*Potato slicing machine

*Potato peeling machine

*How to be successful in chips/fries business in Kenya*

The following are tips on how to do a successful business in this area of fries that will attract a good number of customers where you will rarely count on losses.

1. Ensure you have good cooking equipment. This includes the deep frier, the potato cutter, the peelers, the ideal containers in which you will put your raw potatoes during preparation, the serving equipment such as serving scoopers, a warmer which keeps your cooked chips at the right temperature throughout and the packaging material.

2. You should ensure a constant supply of clean water. This will help you keep the environment within your business clean and at maximum hygienic standard.

3. Secure a reliable source of the raw materials. You can survey on the cheapest dealers of potatoes which could be the big markets that offer wholesale prices. Other materials like cooking oil, tomato sauce, chilli sauce, salt can be obtained from wholesale shops. Sometimes it is possible to make special arrangement with sellers of these commodities so as to have them delivered at your premises.

4. The fries must be well prepared. Too much oily fries can put off your customers very easily. This can be avoided by making sure that you give your fries enough time to cook in the hot oil to an extent of becoming slightly brown.

5. Make sure your premises is located at a densely populated area such as near a matatu stage, within a city/town centre, within a market place or near an institution such as a school or health facility. Give a great look to your premises by doing things such as proper painting, doing graphics, tiling the floor, fitting the premises with modern furniture and adding soothing sounds such as cool music for your customers.

6. Employ workers who are competent in customer care skills. They should be welcoming to the customers, must observe personal and general hygiene, must be very sensitive to the needs of the customers and they must not cause delays as they serve your customers.

7. Ensure that you prepare varieties of accompanying snacks such as sausages, smokies, samosas, pies and other small bites which you are comfortable with.

8. Before starting your business, ensure you clear with the relevant authorities such as the local authority and the public health department.

9. And once you are up and running, manage your cash properly by ensuring that you give back to your business. This will ensure growth in the future.

*Finally*

Starting a chips business in Kenya is a profitable venture. It is a trending business due to the high demand for chips and especially chips mwitu.

People working in offices need fast food like chips. You can look for orders to deliver chips to offices.

Remember you can start a small chips mwitu business and grow your business to a large business.

The returns in this business are high (30 to 40%) and the business has great potential to grow organically. The demand is always on the higher side and it never goes down.

Always offer quality chips. Ensure your chips are well fried. Besides, you can always prepare some salad to accompany the chips. It could be kachumbari or some steamed cabbages with mayonnaise.

Sell smokies and sausages too as a supplement.

Lastly, manage your cash well, re-invest in the business, and be patient enough to witness your business growth.

As we always tell you, there’s no marathon race that has ever been won by those who did not start the race.

If you like the idea discussed above and you have what it takes to actualize it… then don’t wait to start… just do it.

By
Timothy Angwenyi
Business Consultant

Justine Nyachieo
Business Man & Mentor

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