₦airaland Forum

Hi all and how is it? This is to report that we are making progress in Lagos as per the price issue. For now, wide consultations are going on and almost concluded. In no time, we will be fully ok and running well here and I foresee a very permanent good price situation. It is also my pleasure to report that certain areas in Lagos have contained the low price and are doing well now. Such areas are orile-coker, iba and ojo, ikorodu, most of ikeja area and island which has enjoyed relative immunity from the price crash bug due to effective policing. It is a good thing in a way that the price crash happened so that new comers and those who have not bothered to do a proper costing can feel the pinch and caution themselves. The major problem has always been the fact that a lot of us jump right into the biz without asking questions or doing their homework well such that they are totally unaware that the cost of producing a bag of water is way above fifty naira. I have seen instances where the cost of producing a bag got to eighty naira!! The problem has always been managing the distribution costs effectively and most are so unaware of how that aspect plays that they underestimate this and calculate cost wrongly.

Hi all and how is it? The last post outlined the cost implications if you want to set up your own factory but then there are other very viable alternatives. I wrote on them earlier but want to touch on them briefly here. The first one is a franchise-like arrangement in which you can put a production machine or two or even more in an already-registered factory and produce using the brand name. The original trade mark owner charges some fee for allowing use of the name and facilities such as purified water, power supply, premises etc. This is the most commonly used option. The other party produces his own water, stacks in his own allotted storage space and sells them as he deems fit.

Another is that of getting some water dispensers, filling them in an existing factory and distributing same under the registered brand name of the parent company. One other is acquiring a truck and using it to pick and distribute water. The price is usually low enough under this arrangement for everyone to make a good profit.

my two cents. there is a time to stop and take action in another direction. an adopted baby is as precious as a biological kid and i know that from watching my sister her husband and their daughter. the man and the girl are like salt and palm oil and to think he was the one that delayed in deciding. can the mrs chima bashing stop for a moment while we all think about what is the truth and reality of our lives. she may have been too blunt but my sister would give anything to have acted faster.

my sister is now an apostle of deciding fast ib these issues and facing fate early. another sister now thirty is also battling infertility but we have all learnt and the decision will be faster this time. she plans to adopt early and if the great one gives her biological kids she will also be very grateful. i experienced great grace. i had three but there are huge unintended gaps in between one kid and another and stopped birth at age thirty two.

by the time my sister and her husband accepted what was the reality and adopted a baby girl my sister was forty six and half years old and her husband was fifty. now that adorable girl is two years old and my sister is forty eight and i am two years younger than her. she now has to cope with a tot and like i said earlier she lost most of her health money and vitality to the battle. i do believe she spent too much time on the other options. she even accepts that herself.

typing with an annoying phone. we all started hinting on adoption and my sister and her husband did not accept and so the battle went on until doctors said they didnt know what else to do. meanwhile time was flying by. my sister first shifted ground and her husband stood his ground. then years later the husband said yes but insisted on adopting a boy. that was when my very quiet and peaceful sister raised her voice and started crying out loud.

all these hue and cry about reality and insensitivity reminded me of my sister and her story. she married late to start with and then started a titanic struggle with infertility. she took every manner of treatment and prayed all she could. she spent until she was koboless. she worried until she became very ill. we could not say where de infertility was coming from as our dear mother had twelve of us and our dear grandmother even did better.

yes, there are problems with prices in Lagos but the situation is receiving urgent attention. It was mostly brought about by new producers looking for a way to penetrate the market and who also didnt know that a great reduction in demand is to be expected dring the rainy season. I thank God that I am still selling at very good prices per bag and I have vowed to close and go for holidays anyday I have no choice but to sell at N50 a bag. Luckily for me, I have been around long enough to win brand loyalty and recognition such that water hawkers call my brand by name when re-loading their bowls at the wholesalers'. Series of meetings are going on but not everyone is aware because the meetings are more like elders' council meetings to put a strong legal and other structures in place for a re-launch once season starts. Details will be provided over time.

I believe I was the one that mentioned four million naira as cost of start off if you already have land and a building; let me give more details.
Two packaging machines cheapest brand will take 600k; one delivery truck in good condition cheapest 800k, treatment plant if your raw water is very good is about 250k; reverse osmosis where raw water quality is poor is a little above N2 million; re-modelling building to meet nafdac requirements 300k or more; a good bore hole is about 150k;gen set about 25kva will be up to 500k but not sure here; tanks, uv, pipes and pumps will take like 150k; tiling and other interior decor will take about 150k,nafdac tests, fees and consultants plus charging treatment modules will take about 350k. These are the items I can recall off hand and I am being conservative here.

Hi all, how is life? It is good to see so many people showing interest. For the vans, I'd suggest very rugged brands of vehicles. Water is heavy, a bag of water weighs 10kg so you must ensure ruggedness and very strong chassiss and solidly built body. Again, what you are supposed to use is determined by your sales area. If you want to sell far from your factory location, buy big vans or you will have very high fuel costs per bag to contend with.

For example, if you carry just 100 bags and travel a distance that consumes N3000 fuel, you have unknowingly spent N30 transporting each bag!! Small vans are good if you are not going far to sell. Best thing is to get a good mechanic to advice on any van before you buy it.If the parts are not available and affordable do not touch the van abeg. It is also good to choose generator well so you won't have too much down time attending to a forever spoiling gen set. Same goes for packaging machines.

It is important to choose a location with good water or else the cost of purifying the water will increase dramatically like in some areas where you must spend N2 million on reverse osmosis machine to make the water drinkable.

Hi everyone and how are you all preparing for the approaching season? I hope many of you are through with nafdac and will soon hit the markets. Good luck to everyone and hoping more people will summon courage to throw in their money into the biz.

hi everyone i have an observation. i receive many mails from people interested in de biz in which i am politely ordered to write and send all there is to know about the biz.this is strange in that one wanting to start like a spare parts biz doesnt demand such a mode of education. many get angry when i drop my number and ask for voice contact or even a visit to know what a water factory even looks like. trying to help should not be mistaken for joblessness. still very willing to be of service .

Water now N100 per bag for distributors and N120 for others in Lagos. Kabarka is PH doing anything new concerning prices

how is everyone out there? i am making the most of the strike period by selling seriously around my area something i wasnt doing before. amazed at the large volume i sell a day just close to my factory. i must continue doing this area sales after the protests. by the way water price is not coming down no matter de agreed price of petrol. subsidy was removed on diesel long ago and the price increase was overdue. kabarka how is port harcourt today?

Leave the woman alone. Cowards hiding under user names! Most of u dont qualify as her office assistant. Nonsense!

For those planning to start the cost of setting up differs based on what u have on ground already and envisaged scope.

Sorry for not updating. We now sell N80 to N100 and I heard Ketu is doing N130.

Price of sachet of water finally got to N10 in every part of Lagos paving the way for a successful increase of bag price

My dream is to get rich enough to hire a chef who is well versed in dietetics. I cook but I cannot pretend to love it

@Fhemmy. I saw the mail long ago and been composing an answer. I will get back to you soon but Kabarka's free pack will take care of most of the questions.

@inspireall. Welcome sir. While not outrightly doubting you I am not quite sure N400000 can touch de tip in setting up.

@9ja I hail. Not a good idea to buy machines de way u intend to do. Must be sure parts and technicians r available here

Price per bag and sachet up everywhere by force. I have added N10 to my former price per bag.

Hi everyone and welcome to a beautiful new year.

@cejo. i suggest you get the e~book from kabarka. i believe you will get all you need to know there. he is also in the same town with you so befriend him. i know he is also a machine technician. why are u cutting water too big? some hawkers at oshodi told me once that they avoid big sachets it is heavy load to them. they will love to sell your water if you dont overburden them.

Debo I dont know what your rolls supplier is talking about but sure he is lying and preying on ur ignorance. Drop him.

It is good to see a lot of people expressing interest in this business. Kabarka has packaged all you need to buy to start the biz so those who need the information should direct enquiries to him. I do more of advise on the business side as well as practical training for owners and key staff.

@remite66. You are free to visit my factory and ask your questions. I can be reached on livcord@yahoo.com and my website is www.livcord.bloombiz.com .

@Phil2011. Why are you hiring loaders for what you will produce with one machine. The driver’s assistants will do the loading for now. The more you hire non-needed staff, the more your cost of production rises. Loaders are only needed in very big places where up to 10000 bags are loaded and sold in a day so as to relieve the drivers’ assistants who will do all the off loading alone. You need salesmen to find customers if you don’t want the van to do too much roaming about to sell especially with the high cost of diesel. You can do without hiring and paying salesmen if you poach a good driver or motor boy of an existing company. They will pull in customers from their old place of work.

You can approach a factory near you and see if the owner can accept to be your mentor and friend. Some will agree others will not let you come into their premises. My experience at the beginning was being turned back at the gates of factories I went to visit to ask for advice. It cost me millions as I made very many expensive mistakes. Continue until you see someone experienced enough to mentor you; it is very important.

My two trusted people: one is the manager and the other, a lady, heads production. The manager must be trustworthy or else you are wasting time. He also has to have experience in pure water biz or he won’t know when you are being robbed bind and how to stop it. Pls let him go for some training at another company for about a week or he will not know what to watch out for.
Avoid granting too much credit facilities because it will finish you off. Try as much as you can to operate on a cash and carry basis,

kabarka is right here. you have to clear this idea with nafdac first. i do not know of any such labels in nigeria now but it is don in some other climes. pls go to nafdac office and ask if it can de done and then ask producers in de festac area if You can work with any of them on your terms.

@cejo. Comgrats. Do not lower prices too much as a way of getting customers and avoid selling on credit.

lolly555. i had to call my mechanic on your matter. he said that 814 is not ideal for the biz and that it is prone to overheating and turbo charger problems. he adviced you get 813 if you must buy very big engine mercedes. pls get an honest mehanic to go with you to check out vans before you buy. failure and success will depend on the delivery trucks you buy

debolabi i have looked at your plan but i must confess i am not too good at readind plans. however those two toilets cannot be there. i suggest you ask around and hIire a consultant or get nafdac staff to come and have a good look at the facility on ground. at certain stages you need expert advice and not depend on just any advice.

bvci am based in lagos and so do not know a consultant at asaba. ask water producers in that area they will recommend someone for you. st mera what machine brand are you using? it is either your tehnician is incompetent or you bought scrap or you have a bad operator. ask around for a tested technician to help you isolate the cause of your machine problems.

I went far on a juice making project once but put de idea on hold. Using bottles or tetra pak? Batch formulation done?