Rwanda's largest food processing company, Inyange Industries to break-even in one year.

Sudadi Kayitana, their MD talked to Service Mag's Saul Butera.

Q What is the current status at Inyange Industries in terms of production and products?

Inyange Industries Ltd, is a company that was incorporated 1997, fully owned by Rwandans. By that time is was a small in 2010 it migrated to a state of art plant in Masaka.The plant in Masaka has a combined capacity of 100,000 liters per day and this includes milk products, five flavors of different juices and mineral water. Today the current plant is operating at 40 percent capacity and will hopefully upgrade to 60 percent
capacity in 2013.

Q Any plans of introducing new products on the market?

Before the end of this year, Inyange will have three more new products in the juice segment and early next year, we plan to have three more products of milk.

Q Are you exporting some of your products? If yes in which countries basically which country is your major export destination?

Inyange is currently exporting various products mainly to Uganda where we are exporting juices and also in Burundi where we are exporting Milk. Uganda is the biggest contributor to our exporting market today. DR Congo was one of our exporting destinations but then due to conflicts in eastern DR Congo, exports have slowed down.
Outside the region, we are in talks with various export traders, traders have approached us from Congo Brazzaville and Gabon, and we are still working out the logistical part as it has a very big impact of the costing.

Q Inyange industry has been said to have issues with local farmers. What do you have to say about this?

I would say confidently that currently Inyange is in good books with the farmers. We have agreed to have quarterly meetings and they have been going on throughout this year. We exchange information and now we don’t have any outstanding issues.

Q How is Inyange coping with the competition from regional food products?

Competitive edge is in quality, in the region we think Inyange as a brand is respected of its quality imbedded in its products. However, there is stiff competition like any other first moving consumer goods, but because of that competitive edge, we think we will make it in the region and locally we remain the dominant
brand.

Q Being the country’s leading food processing company, can you share with our readers the current balance sheet of the company?

As I said the new plant was inaugurated in 2010, if we look at revenues, I would say Inyange as today started in 2010 and the growth rate in terms of revenues has been on the average of 40 percent.

Q When is Inyange expecting to break even?

As I said we are only using 40 percent and we can breakeven if we surpass the 50 percent mark in terms of capacity utilization. We see this coming sooner than we anticipated, because the response for our products on the market is very positive and we could break-even as early as next year.

Q Recently the company acquired five refrigerated truck to boost milk supply, how has this helped in the in the milk delivery chain?

The thinking and strategy behind the investment into the refrigerated trucks is boost the supply in our cold chain products. We aim to use these tracks to cover upcountry and previously because of the limitations in transporting cold chain products we were supplying Kigali mainly—but now we are going upcountry
and we intend to extend the supply chain to Bujumbura.

Q What is Inyange’s current local market share?

Currently we can proudly say its over 85 percent.

Q Last but not least, is Inyange Industries, involved in any Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?

Inyange is a family brand, and we are involved in a number of social events mainly CRS and brand visibility. Currently, we are sponsoring the Under-17 football team, support farmers.

Q Any last message to our readers?

I request the readers to support the Inyange Brand, because support Inyange brand is supporting the Rwandan farmer and Inyange will stay sure that people will get quality products.

 QUICK FACTS

Inyange offers Fresh Milk, which include; Pasteurised and
homogenised whole Milk: 2lrs, 3ltrs and 5ltrs as well as UHT
Milk: 500 & 1000ml

Fresh Cream: 500 ml, Yogurt: 130, 250 & 400ml. Inyange Yogurt flavors: plain, apricot, vanilla, banana, strawberry and pineapple.

Also Milk Dispensers. Inyange Mineral water is packaged in bottles of: 500ml, 1l, 18L Gallons.

Nectars and Juice Drinks, which come in different flavours; orange, pineapple, passion fruit, Mango and apple. Inyange also intends, as it expands its production capacity, to expand its product line by introducing new products: ice-cream, butter and ghee, tapping into a virgin or underserved market.