Value addition is all about ensuring that your products or services have extra unique features to compliment them before they reach the hands of the customers. Value can have a monetary figure attached to it, especially when great effort have been invested in the product or service before they reach the hands of the consumer. Yatu foods, a limited company in Zambia have recognised the benefits that one can reap from adding value to their products and services. As a result, the company have identified a line of products by which it adds value including; Yatu pure mineral water, Yatu bread, Yatubaking powder and Yatu tea. Our focus for today, will be on their tea.
Yatu Foods Ltd
Yatu Foods Ltd is a family business established by Mr. and Mrs Chapotamo in August 2006. The company had a very humble beginning and by the grace of God it had grown from strength to strength to what it is now. Yatu foods is a fully Zambian company. At just the age of twenty four (24) Mr Asher Levy, the son of Mr. and Mrs Chapotamo have taken up leadership position in the company as the acting CEO and he is being honed to carry on the legacy established by his parents to develop and grow the company much more.
According to Asher Levy, some of his roles and responsibilities includes being tasked with efficiently managing the company and ensuring that the system that has been put in place is running smoothly. Mr Asher further adds that, he reports to their holding company’s board, and submit strategies plans and budgets etc. which he carry out and manage after approval has been given. The company is still in the process of growing so the acting CEO sometimes join and assist the different departments with their delay tasks, more specifically their sales and marketing department as Mr Asher himself majored in marketing and business management for his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Based on the leadership style employed by the company, Mr. Asher believes that they have implemented a strategic leadership style to ensure that the abilities of their employees are efficiently utilised and that their potential is realized and channelled into the growth of the company. The team at Yatu has an age range of about 24-60, in this mix they have great talent, experience and energy.
Overview of the chain of activities (processing process) before it reaches the hands of the consumer.
In a nutshell, this is how the processing plays out. Yatu receives the raw material (ingredients that makes up the tea). They often buys them locally within Zambia and occasionally from Malawi. Afterwards, they then place them into machinery to blend a non-additive tea product using their recipe to create a premium blend black tea which is then again put in other machinery and packaged into teabags. The cartons will be ready to be sold and delivered. At the moment, the Yatu tea is only available in Zambia but plans are underway for them to start exporting soon.
The uniqueness of this tea hails from the fact that it’s a non-additive tea, grown in Zambia. In addition to that, their production is done within Zambia so they are able to operate at a low-cost while being able to provide a good quality product. Yatu is pleased to say that the money generated by the company is reinvested into the country. With the wave of COVID-19 almost touching every corner of the earth, the company have ensured to put in place preventative measures to safe guard their employees, and have established mitigative measures to reduce the impact on the company.
Some of the challenges that the company have experienced is the drought that Zambia have been experiencing over the years, it also had a negative ripple effects on them. The effect was very devastating, as the general economy was affected, they had to reduce production as demand and supply lessened. Mr Asher ended with that, the company wouldn`t be where it is without the hard work, dedication and perseverance invested in it. Furthermore, Yatu Foods ltd wouldn’t be where it is without the help of God, so he encourages anyone currently pursuing their dream of starting their own business to put their trust in God because that is the sole reason that their company is able to do what it is and has been doing (Philippians 4:13).