By Bimbola Oyesola
Looking good is good business, is a common parlance, which simply means a man or woman that dresses well will automatically earn the respect of others. One of the household products that enhances the outlook of clothes is starch, be it spray or cold water. Before now, it was only native fabric that was being starched. Now, the story has changed. And the most popular starch being used is the cold water starch. Cold water starch, which is popularly used by many because it is easier to apply, comes in two variants, namely, the dry (powder form) and the liquid cold water starch. Making of cold water soluble starch is one profitable business anyone can venture into with minimal capital and generate steady income with remarkable high turn over.
It is used during laundry and is applicable on a small or large scale. Home owners use the product including businesses that do laundry and dry cleaning.
An entrepreneur has many advantages producing the starch such as availability of raw materials and ready market. With proper management, starch production is lucrative. The major aspects are funding, sourcing the product, market research and price of your product. The amount spent depends on the method used to produce cold water soluble starch.
To start the business, you need to carry out a feasibility study, secure a workshop, source capital and acquire knowledge. Other requirements are proper market analysis, sourcing raw materials and understanding customers’ needs.
Below are a few tips on how to go into the production of a liquid cold water starch.
Feasibility study
To launch your enterprise, you need to carry out a comprehensive feasibility study. The study should focus on different methods of production and customer base. You need a good location, equipment, infrastructure, supplier and marketing strategy. The study covers ways of production, quantity and finding startup capital.
Gather lots of information and statistics through your feasibility study before starting off. The amount needed depends on the size of your business.
Funding
The funds you need depend on many factors such as lease, staff and quantity of raw material. Others are packaging, registration, certification fees, branding and marketing.
You can raise funds from a cooperative society that provides soft loans to members. Try target save or borrow from friends and family. Other loan sources are microfinance banks and trade banks.
Small home-based manufacturers need only moderate funds to start the business. Because the quantity they produce is small, they might not need to register a company immediately.
Registration
As often adviced, registration of business is essential and starting on a small scale, you can register as a sole proprietorship and acquire appropriate licensing. The product will need certification and approval from other government agencies like NAFDAC, SON, among others.
Get insurance and value added tax number. There are also some environmental and safety concerns.
Location
You don’t need a large space to start your production line. A converted garage or small shop will suffice. Before securing a space, you should factor growth potential, storage, more staff and larger equipment. Start your enterprise from home or lease appropriate space. An advantage when securing a space is closeness to your customers.
Learn the trade
How are you going to produce your starch if you don’t learn the trade? There are many resources that could help an entrepreneur learn the basics.
Use online resources such as e-books and websites to gather information. Attend seminars or practical workshops in your area. There are also trade institutions that offer courses in liquid cold starch production. Another way is to understudy an establishment that produces liquid cold starch. If you don’t want to go through the stress, hire a trained producer to jump start the process.
Raw material
Some of the ingredients needed to make cold water starch are perfume, starch extract, preservative and water. The perfumes you can use include jasmine, lavender and lime. Find the perfume that works for you to provide a unique product.
The main ingredient in cold water starch is starch. Starch is prevalent in many crops and easy to obtain. You find starch in rice, cassava, potato, corn and yam, among many other cash crops.
The properties of the type of starch you use impact on the quality, volume and viscosity. You can purchase starch from the open market, supermarkets or in stores. Fortunately, the raw material, starch, is easily found in most countries and the major source is from cassava. Africa is the top producer of cassava in the world. Any starch is useful in the production of cold water starch powder. Because it can only be got in commercial value from cassava, cassava is widely preferably used.
Water
A very clean water is needed because unclean water can affect the quality of the product.
Perfume: This is very important because this is what gives a unique fragrance to the product. These perfumes are sold in the market and have their various names, including jasmine, centrolina, lavender, pearls, robinson, among others. One can get these perfumes for between N350 and N450 per litre. It is mostly sold in litres. For you to get your special unique fragrance for your product, it is better to mix two perfumes of different types together.
Polivenol Acetate (PVA)
This is an extract from starch source. Polivenol Acetate is of different types ranging D120, D200, D800 depending on the viscosity. It is white in colour and sold in kilogrammes. It helps to increase the binding capacity of the product.
Preservative: Just like its name, it is used to preserve the product for longevity. This is one important chemical needed in the production process of cold water starch for clothes.
Equipment
The equipment used in making cold water starch are boiler, mixer, dissolution pot and weighing scale. You need cylindrical stainless steel boilers while the mixer could be fitted with a motorised mixer. Other equipment are packaging materials such as nylons, bottles and cartons.
Further explanation on the equipment:
Boiler: This is a stainless steel in the shape of a cylinder with a heater at the base. Its purpose is to boil the water to be used in the production process.
Weighing scale or other measuring device: This is used to measure the raw material depending on the production capacity.
Packaging materials: These materials can either be bottles, sachets and spray cans depending on your budget. When packaging your product, you should be aware of the market demands. You should know how you should package it so it looks authentic and your market won’t need to devalue your product using price factor. Most available sizes in the market range from 20g, 30g, to 50g.
Mixer: This is used to mix up the product so the raw starch can be properly mixed with other products to get good quality. It is also a stainless steel in a cylindrical shape.
It ranges from 200 litres in volume depending on the production capacity.
Dissolution pot: The product stays in this pot until it is ready for packaging.