Bedella previously worked in the fishing industry, bringing in what profits she could from a tough and often unpredictable line of work.
When walking through the grocery stores in Monrovia, she realized that there were no locally made nut butters from Liberia. Living in a country abundant with peanuts, honey, spices, oils, and salt was a perplexing situation for Bedella. With all the ingredients affordable and on their doorstep, why had no one ever explored this product line before?
So with that, Bedella got to work, grinding peanuts, testing flavours, and getting her recipes just right. Fortunately, a family friend sponsored the purchase of her nut grinder, so Bedella was able to bring the production in-house, quite literally, with a spare room in the backyard of her family’s home. She then started selling her nut butters to friends and family to get their feedback and improve her recipes.
At this point, Bedella joined Universal Outreach's Business Accelerator program. where she received advice on costing her product, marketing her business, identifying her target audience and further developing her brand. Check out Bedella and her brother making their signature butter in the video below.
At this point in her new business’s evolution, Bedella decided to apply for Universal Outreach’s Business Loan Program and successfully secured a loan for her project. With that loan, she could pay for a substantial shipment of packaging, and she is now amidst the packaging process of her first major production.
Liberty Nut’s Honey Vanilla flavour and Regular flavour with both smooth and crunchy varieties are hitting the shelves of Liberian supermarkets by mid-March. Thanks to the food distribution system Liberia Pure has established, this new peanut butter business will have easy access to grocery stores to expand its market.
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