The demand for yogurt in Kenya has been steadily increasing since 2009. Despite this, the market remains undersupplied. This is an area where, if invested well, money and monthly profits can be made. The best thing about yogurt is that it can be easily made at home.
There are many ways to make yogurt at home. If you want to make money from homemade yogurt, you need to consider the different options to find the right product. Starting at home does not need much capital contrary to belief, with only 15,000 Kshs you can start with the first production. You’ll need to invest in good kitchen tools, such as high-quality sourdough and airtight containers to store your yogurt. For the packaging, you can start with the disposable plastic cups sold in supermarkets that cost Kshs 250. A fridge would play an important role in preserving the yogurt.
There are two main ingredients used to make yogurt. Raw fresh milk and yoghurt extract. Fresh milk used to prevent infection. A liter of milk is Kshs 40 at the farm; you don’t need to buy much milk because one liter of milk can produce one liter of yoghurt which can be sold at Kshs 220. As for the extract, any kind of plain yoghurt from supermarkets can be used, after which the leftover yoghurt from your first batch must be used for the next production. Other things needed include an oven or any other heat source that can be used to keep yogurt warm, a whisk, a thermometer that can read up to 50.
First you need to make sure your hands are clean in addition to your sufficiency and storage containers. Pour your milk into your boiling pot and stir continuously using the whisk to prevent the milk from spilling out of the pot as is often the case when milk boils. When the milk has reached 85Ëšc, you can let it cool to about 45Ëšc before adding the yogurt extract, preferably three tablespoons. This specific temperature must be reached because it allows the activation of bacteria in the extract to act on the fresh milk. Stir the extract into your milk. You can then pour the milk into your storage containers. Yogurt tends to sit better in small containers than in large ones. Pour the yogurt into the airtight containers and place them in a large container of hot water that reaches the same height as the yogurt in the containers. This helps keep temperatures stable and prevent burns.
The yoghurt should then be kept in the oven for 2-4 hours at around 49ºC until the cultivation process has taken place and the desired flavor has been reached. If you don’t have an oven, a small fridge with warm water added can be used to maintain temperatures for culturing to take place. At this point it should be kept in the refrigerator to allow it to settle as it is still too runny. Let it sit for 4-6 hours and then it’s ready to eat at the right thickness.
The next step would be to get your product on the market to make money. Start by packing them in 250ml glasses and sell them for Kshs 55. You can decide to walk around with your product or advertise it to your neighbors who will in turn tell others and
You will constantly have a stream of customers. If you make 10 liters of yoghurt in one day and sell it all at Kshs 220 per litre, you will make a profit of more than Kshs 1000 in one day. In a month you will have profits of up to Kshs 25,000 less expenses to reinvest in your business. You can expand your market by delivering your product to neighboring kindergarten schools and local stores around you.