It's 10 a.m. in the Zabbaan Holding meeting room. The boss Aïssata Sidibé looks impatient, because today she is expecting some guests to test her very next line of products that the company plans to bring to the market. Meanwhile, a truck is being loaded with brand new juice cases to go to the multiple depots of the city of Bamako.
April 08, 2021
ZABBAAN: Natural fruit juices within everyone's reach
Zabbaan Holding is a Malian company that operates in the food industry, created and managed by a young woman entrepreneur who decided to set up her modern fruit juice production unit in Bamako.
The company's ambition is to promote local products; those from traditional sectors that are little known on the international market, such as Zabbaan (a species of wild lianas from which the company takes its name), baobab, hibiscus, kenkeliba and moringa. Nowadays, the company works in around 15 sectors with a range of juices, jams and herbal teas for the local and international market. In this still underdeveloped sector in Mali, Aïssata remains motivated for several reasons.
When I see today the impact that we have been able to make; when I see my team and the sector that we have been able to organize, all this gives me the motivation to get up every day and come to work in the company. Especially when I see that we are no longer chasing customers like we did in the past, but the customers are coming to us. In addition, there are all the innovations that we manage to do with our raw materials, that is a boon for us.
Towards a diversification of offers on the market
Innovation is another dimension of Zabbaan, whose main ambition is to diversify its products on the market. Known for high quality products, packaged in glass and exported to the international market, the challenge Zabbaan faces today is reaching low income consumers. To do this, the company plans to develop new products in small, low-cost juice packages and distribute them throughout Mali.
During our visit to the company, which coincides with a tasting session. Aïssata explains:
Today we performed the sensory profile, that is to say the tasting of a new range that is not yet in the market. Our objective is to bring to the market an accessible range of new products, within everyone's reach, and which will also benefit the health of consumers. It is therefore a range of nutritious and good quality products. That is why we are working on the baobab sector, which is rich in calcium and vitamin C, and which will help enrich all products.
Increasing the performance of working mothers
After tasting and validation of the choices, a surprise awaits us in the backyard. Here, it is not a kindergarten, but a crèche created by the company for women who come to work with their children.
On a permanent basis, 35 people work within the company. There are also seasonal employees, mostly women, who come during the peak fruit season. They sort and sift the raw materials that will be used out of season. Most of them are mothers, and often breastfeeding. According to Aïssata, when some of these women give birth, they are excluded from the value chain. However, the income they earn by working for Zabban enables them to provide support to their families.This is why the company has created a dedicated crèche so that these women can continue to come to work with their children without affecting their performance.
Korotoumou Samaké is a 20-year-old mother. Previously, she would leave her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter at home to come to work. But since the development of the children's space within the company, she takes her child to work.
This space is a great relief for us. Otherwise we risk losing our job if there is nobody to look after our children at home. Here, the company pays someone who takes care of our children while we are working. In addition, the kids have fun all day long, because there are lots of toys.
Women and youth first
The inclusive dimension is an added value of 2SCALE in the Zabbaan partnership. Today, the company places particular emphasis on the inclusion of women and youth in all links of the value chain. In gathering, aggregation, transport and marketing, women and youth are strongly represented at all levels.
The company is currently working with three main aggregators that source from 4,500 women involved in the collection and primary processing of baobab fruit. In early 2021, it initiated a process that aims to increase its deposits in several localities in Mali. This initiative called Zabbaanso (the house of Zabbaan) aims not only to bring natural and nutritious fruit juices closer to consumers, but also to foster job creation for many young people. Following a training organized by Zabbaan and 2SCALE, two young entrepreneurs have found the Zabbaanso initiative as a livelihood opportunity in distribution. Thus, they decided to open their depots in the cities of Kati and Fana.
