Paheja Siririka
After seeing women sell nuts in the streets of Tanzania and how popular it is among people, Erika Shipena came home with the idea to test the local market by also peddling nuts.
But instead of just selling the nuts as is, Shipena and her team at Moonsnacks added a few ingredients to transform the ordinary peanut into a biscuit-type snack they now call Crunchy Peanut Burgers.
“The nuts are natural from Zambezi and Kavango regions and we add value by coating them with flour, eggs, salt and sugar. We basically came with a type of a biscuit but in a nut form,” she told Youth Corner at the recently concluded 11th edition of the Kasi Vibe Festival.
Shipena works with her partner Eddy Nghimwena, who does most of the marketing while she does the cooking and promotion for their two-month-old business.
“Our main customers are taxi drivers because we sell on the street corners, especially there by Hartlief,” she detailed.
However, the 32-year-old Shipena said they are struggling to get it into the shops.
“The ultimate goal is to have the nut biscuits in local supermarkets and eventually expand so that we can brand out even more.”
She warned her peers wishing to tap into business that it will be a struggle for them to get known in the beginning and it will require continuous market research with their products. “Unfortunately, we are squeezing ourselves in there but overall, the way you market yourself and do research should play a major role and you need to do it right,” said the enthusiastic Shipena. Nuts are one of the main sources of omega-three fatty acids, vitamins and minerals the body needs, presenting a range of health assistance from reducing rheumatoid arthritis to protecting against Alzheimer’s and dementia.