Sarah Wambui.

| Richard Maosi | Nation Media Group

She milks the growing business in soybeans

Gatundu South, some 42 kilometres from the capital Nairobi, in Kiambu County is characterised by small hills and valleys that host arrowroots, tea, coffee and pineapple plantations.

Seeds of Gold team was in the area to visit Sarah Wambui, the director and founder of Prime Soy Products, who has specialised in making plant-based dairy alternatives.

From soybeans, Sarah makes milk, yoghurt and okara, the pulp that consists of insoluble parts of the beans, which is a good feed for dairy cows and an organic fertiliser.

"Small amounts of okara can also be added to make chapati or bake foods like bread to enhance the protein content and provide fine texture," says Sarah. 

Photo credit: Richard Maosi | Nation Media Group

The air hostess ventured into self-employment in 2013, collaborating with a friend who was trained in agronomy and agricultural advisory services to begin providing information on good agricultural practices to fodder, mushroom and dairy farmers.

It is during her routine job in 2015 that she met a breastfeeding mother in Kiambu, with a seven-month old baby, who was allergic to animal proteins.

"She had been advised by doctors to seek plant-based proteins to wean her child but she had no idea where to find them.”

Sarah saw a business opportunity in plant-based protein products. She did research and realised that soy products were not common.

A visit to Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) and Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (Kirdi) opened her eyes on what she needs to do.

With a capital of Sh300,000, Sh100,000 which came from her savings and Sh200,000 from a micro-finance institution in Kiambu, she bought a pasteuriser, a grinder and a deep freezer. Part of the money also went on certifying her products with Kenya Bureau of Standards and renting a shop in Kiambu town. 

Photo credit: Richard Maosi | Nation Media Group

Her business, Prime Soy Products, was thus born. She sources raw materials from farmers in Kiganjo in Ruiru and areas close to Kiambu town, who grow Kensoy, a variety of soya for extraction of milk.

Soybeans need sufficient rainfall for optimal performance, with Kiambu offering such an environment.

“I normally order 70-100 kilos of good quality soybeans that goes at Sh100 per kilo. We clean, grind, soak in water and then passed through the pasteuriser and cool to produce soy milk.”

Besides fresh soya milk, she also makes yoghurt by adding cultures and flavours like strawberry and vanilla.

She sells a litre of soy milk at Sh300, while the same quantity of soy yoghurt goes for Sh400. On the other hand, a kilo of okara costs Sh80.

“Majority of my customers place their orders through social media platforms such as Facebook while other buyers come through referrals from places like Nairobi, Kibwezi, Nakuru, Machakos and Kisumu,” says the entrepreneur, who ensures her products are prepared in hygienic conditions.

In a week, Sarah makes an average of 15 litres of soy milk and soy yoghurt, while okara is sold to dairy farmers.

She has trained her staff to always put on the headgear, dust coat and gloves to minimise physical contact with food products.

According to her, demand for dairy alternative is rising as consumers become more health conscious.

“One of the reasons why people are turning to soya is because it has all the amino acids compared to beans and meat. In addition, it has less cholesterol. Soya is low in saturated fats and high in protein, unlike animal products that are highly saturated with fats.”

One of her major setbacks, however, is that while the market for soya milk is growing, it is still constrained.

Nevertheless, a value addition business, according to her, requires patience and hard work before one eventually makes it in the competitive market where they are many food products.

“Proper marketing strategies and branding is an added advantage and can make one have a breakthrough easily," says Sarah, who employs two workers.

Aska Nyakwara, a food scientist at Kirdi, says there is untapped potential in the soybean value chain that can boost food security, nutrition and youth employment.

"Cultivation of the crop is pocket friendly, as it does not require nitrogen fertiliser for top dressing."

According to her, soybean is the richest crop in terms of crude protein, which ranges between 40-42 per cent.

She says that for the best soybean products, a farmer and an agripreneur should be able to choose the right variety that gives highest yields for a particular area and season.

"Proper harvesting is needed to ensure that the quality is maintained at all times."

She explains that soybean is a secret to prosperity, as it can assist subsistence farmers to diversify their income by extracting milk, making flour, oil and protein concentrates for more income.

She, however, asks agriprenuers getting started in value addition to consult experts to get the right information on agricultural practises, harvesting, storage and marketing.