Breastfeeding is not a business but it’s a business to get milk for a baby to suckle. This statement is true
to Annette Manwa, an entrepreneur who has devoted her time to manufacture products which helps in
increasing breast milk supply for mothers. Through her own experience, she found that many mothers
especially the ones working faces shortage of breast milk due to long times spent at work which
translates to little breast milk production. She’s the founder of Ziwa Asili Limited a company which
manufacture breast milk boosting products.
For her, shortage of breast milk is a problem whose solution is available without having to forgo one’s
duties at work. She narrates how she came to be enthusiastic about breast milk production and the
process it took to manufacture these products.
“When I got my first child, I transition to being a new mother and have to breastfeed for six months. It’s
a struggle balancing work and breastfeeding the baby because you will not have enough milk to last six
months. At work there’s so much pressure and sometimes you don’t produce enough milk for the baby,”
she narrates.
She continued, “We were about four women in the office who were breastfeeding and we would
experiment what we can eat to increase the milk for the children and from there I got an idea. When I
got my second child, I transitioned to a stay home mum. During that time some women were asking me
how I manages to produce enough milk for my child. I would tell them what I eat and some would call to
verify that it worked,” she narrates.
Combining ingredients
The former banker says she started trying several ingredients herself and also for other mothers.
However, she faced a challenge since many ingredients were used making it uneasy consume all of it at
once. Additionally, fellow women whom she was giving these herbs happened to be busy hence have no
time to consume them. It was until her friend asked her to make products from the same herbs and
that was her starting point.
“A friend of mine challenged me to do value addition and make a product that would be easier to
handle. So I started combining the herbs, milling them together. I started with herbal tea but it was not
tasty. Then I added other products like camomile and ginger to make it taste better. In the process I
went to Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) to do more research, combination
and formulas until we found the balance that worked,” she reiterates.
Sourcing raw materials
Herbs and other ingredients which she uses to make the products are not easy to get since she has to
source it from several parts of the country. “I use variety of ingredients. I source the herbs from farmers
and people doing wholesale. Farmers from Nyahururu, Kisumu and Kitale. It depends also with seasons,”
she says.
Licences is one of the crucial requirements for every business. For Annette, she acquired them in 2020.
However covid-19 postponed her production for a while. She bounced back to business officially in
2021. “In 2020 I went to KEBS for licence. First, I attended a seminar where we were taught the nity-grities of what you need to do. To get my products to code, I started research at KIRDI with the help of the
scientists. But covid-19 hit and we took a long break. I started selling in 2021. We sell herbal tea and
lactation cookies,” she says.
Financing
Financing every business is one of the challenging issues that most entrepreneurs face. At Ziwa Asili,
Annette says she bootstrapped to fund her start-up which is basically using whatever she had to fund
the research and there entire process of production.
“Funding my start-up was challenging I used bootstrapping strategy to finance it. I used the money that
I saved from my banking career. Sometimes family comes in also. It’s using what you have to build the
business and also trying to run a business from home,” she says.
Marketing
In marketing she leverages social media to market her products. She says in this era of internet, social
media platforms are central to her marketing which has enabled her to reach wider market – that’s
countrywide supply. The convenience of the product has also contributed to the product’s marketing
success since customer can easily consume the lactation cookies anywhere.
“We are in the digital age, so, I use social media like WhatsApp, Facebook and even influencers to push
the products. The uptake has grown with time since it’s convenient. You can carry them to work for
example lactation cookies. Majority of my clients are in Nairobi but we deliver countrywide,” she
affirms.
According to her, banking career has come in handy for her since the knowledge acquired in banking is
pertinent in running the business. She says the customer relations is so important.
“Banking background helped me to create structures for my business. You have to know you vision,
mission, targets and balancing books of accounts. Going out to talk to customers is vital. I learnt that
from banking. In banking you must Know Your Customer (KYC). Knowing what your customers want and
how to provide it,” she says smilingly.
Expansion
Annette says she’s planning to increase the number of products which helps in boosting breast milk
supply. She also work with nutritionists whom she has brought to work with her and help in giving
expert advice to lactating mothers.
“We are planning to increase the product ranges so that mothers will have a variety to choose from . I
can’t say now what we are working on but definitely we are going to increase the product range.
Additionally, I work with nutritionist because it’s not only a product for us but we are looking at how
mothers can navigate their breastfeeding journey but with correct information,” she concludes.
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