How graduate turned animal fats into a thriving business

Teko Fats. (Courtesy) Q: Briefly introduce yourself A: I'm Newton Ouma, a graduate in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management and the founder of Teko Fats, a venture specializing in natural animal fats. I'm currently transitioning into a career as a data scientist, where I aim to combine my business expertise with data-driven insights to drive innovation and growth. Q: Tell us about Teko Fats A: Teko Fats is a venture that produces and sells high-quality animal fats. Currently, our main product is beef tallow but we are actively expanding our portfolio to include other natural fats such as lard, sheep tallow, and goat tallow. Teko Fats is dedicated to promoting healthier cooking alternatives and sustainable practices. Q: When did you start this venture and what motivated you? A: I started this venture three months ago, inspired by Amerix and Dr Muchile, who are passionate advocates for healthy living. They often emphasize that "health starts in the kitchen" and promote the use of animal fats for cooking. As a follower of their channels and social media pages, I noticed their advocacy for using animal fats and their guidance on how to make them at home. This motivated me to experiment with producing tallow for personal use, which ultimately led to the creation of Teko Fats. Many followers of Amerix, Dr Muchile, and other health-conscious individuals struggle to find quality animal fats, so I saw opportunity to make these products more readily available to the public. Q: Is this what you wanted to do or there was something else and why did you eventually opt for this? A: No, this wasn't exactly what I had initially planned. It was an unexpected opportunity that arose. I have always been interested in agri-business and in developing a product or brand that can succeed in the international market. While I haven't fully committed to this as my sole focus, it aligns with my broader ambitions, and I see huge potial in expanding Teko Fats both locally and globally. Although I have other ambitions, Tekofats is a stepping stone toward building a business that could one day expand into the international market and the broader agri-business space. Q: Kindly take us through the production process A: Okay, we start by sourcing the fatty parts of beef from local butchers, Kenya Meat Commission, and slaughter houses. After washing the fats, we remove impurities and chop it into into smaller pieces to facilitate rendering. These pieces are then placed into a slow cooking pot (sufuria) over low heat allowing them to simmer for several hours while stirring occasionally, depending on the quantity. Once rendered, we turn off the heat and strain the liquid tallow into glass jars. The liquid tallow is then allowed to cool solidifying into a yellowish or whitish product. Next, we package the tallow into various glass jar sizes: 500 grammes, 1kilogramme, 1.5 kilogramme and 2 kilogramme. Each jar is labeled with Teko Fats branding and product information, and we conduct quality checks to ensure standards are met. Finally, the packaged Teko fats are stored in a cool, dry place. We receive orders online, process them, package the products and dispatch them for delivery. What makes your product unique compared to regular cooking fats? Teko fats tallow is a unique product that is nutrient-rich, natural, and a healthier alternative, with no industrial or chemical processing. It offers numerous health benefits, including helping the body in absorbing essential fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). Kenyans should embrace tallow not only because it's a healthier and nutrient-dense alternative to seed oils, but also because it's more cost-effective in the long run. With rising medical costs, particularly for treating metabolic and inflammatory diseases like diabetes and cancer, which are linked to seed oils -tallow provides a way to improve health while reducing medical expenses. Well, many entrepreneurs and innovators like me often struggle to access capital for scaling up their businesses. It would be beneficial if the government and other stakeholders could offer grants, low interest loans and other funding opportunities to help us grow.

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