The Sunday News
Nkosilathi Sibanda, Business Correspondent
A BULAWAYO-based entrepreneur, Ms Providence Moyo has diversified into nutritional food and beverage manufacturing by establishing a series of edible brands derived from indigenous African trees at a time when the global demand for nutritional supplements is high, owing to the Covid-19 disease.
The range of nourishment products, which are mostly extracts from the Baobab tree have so far been a hit on local retail markets, with the now Devine Pro Baobab juice being earmarked for the regional market. From the baobab tree, Ms Moyo has also managed to make powdered supplements and a coffee brand.
Buoyed by the ample time she had under the Covid-19 induced lockdown, Ms Moyo came up with the idea to do natural supplement to help people with chronic diseases and those in need to boost their immune system. Known for being a pioneering skin care product line, Devine Pro Skin Care, Ms Moyo told Sunday Business that she decided to diversify her portfolio after realising how much people are in need of edible natural supplements.
Ms Moyo said in producing the Devine Pro Baobab juice, she had in mind a ready consumer market that is faced with difficulties of getting healthy beverages that are based from indigenous trees.
“There was a need to make a quality product and at the same time, one that is organic. So we settled for the Baobab juice and powder extracts,” said Ms Moyo.
She said the concept was mooted in 2017 but came to fruition this year during the lockdown.
“I had this idea for the Baobab juice three years ago. In 2019 I bought a food mixer. Together with my microbiologist we formulated the ingredients and came out with the new product. Serious business really began during the initial Covid-19 lockdown when we began to supply local retail shops in the City of Bulawayo.”
She said for now her emerging enterprise can produce 300 bottles per week but was in the process of buying equipment that will produce up to 200 litres per hour.
Ms Moyo said she saw her new product as complementing her already flourishing skin care business.
Plans to distribute the new product to regional markets were put on hold owing to the closure of national borders.
Markets in Europe, Middle East and the United States are one of the leading buyers of Baobab tree edibles, as statistics from the ZimTrade show.
