Viola Maina is the founder and CEO of Gooseberry Delight.
Her enterprise, located just outside the town of Eldoret in Kenya, specializes in the production of sauces, juice and jam from gooseberries.
Maina worked for the Nation Media Group for 17 years before leaving to launch her fruit-processing enterprise.
She worked in the advertising department before leaving to pursue a career in the unpredictable world of agribusiness.
Maina resigned in 2017 to pursue possibilities that would allow her to better use her skills and help her community.
She wanted to start an agricultural business, but handling two jobs at once was impractical, so she had to make a decision.
“Leaving Nation was incredibly difficult,” she says.
It took her two years to decide to leave the company, and getting started was not an easy task.
Maina initially linked with her friend Bernadette Murgor, the founder of Smart Farmer magazine, and worked for the company.
This allowed her to interact with farmers and learn about their concerns.
One of the reasons she decided to join the agricultural magazine was to make connections with farmers through field events.
During one of Maina’s events while working for Smart Farmer magazine, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) organized an exhibition of underutilized fruits, including gooseberries.
Maina’s fascination grew as she learned more about these fruits.
“KALRO notified me of a farmer farming gooseberries in Tigoni, Limuru, so I paid him a visit. Stephen Mwanzia, the farmer, was extremely knowledgeable and highlighted the various features and benefits of cultivating gooseberries. “I was very intrigued,” she said.
Maina departed Smart Farmer in 2019 to spend her time connecting with farmers and encourage them to grow gooseberries.
Later that year, she asked KALRO to educate farmers about the benefits of cultivating this crop.
Eighty farmers attended the field day and learned useful information on gooseberries from industry specialists.
Daniel Haller: Founder of Kilifi’s Nile Crocodile Farm Rearing over 40,000 Crocodiles
KALRO invited Maina to an event at a three-acre demonstration farm operated by a local farmer.
Unfortunately, the farmer was harvesting gooseberries with no market to sell them.
Seeing an opportunity, Maina decided to acquire the fruits from the farmer and start looking for buyers.
She purchased the gooseberries for Ksh 29 and sold them for Ksh 39 in several markets in Eldoret, and as the fruits gained popularity, she decided to completely devote to the business.
Farmers were growing bigger numbers of gooseberries, and Maina recognized the opportunity for a company to buy from them while also handling packaging and sales.
Maina began promoting her items on social media, and one day she received a 500-punnet order from a Nairobi grocery.
Her business was booming until the COVID-19 epidemic upended everything. The stores she was selling to stopped buying as the virus hit companies across the country.
However, in September 2020, her company saw a rebirth when someone interested in exporting the fruits approached her and purchased gooseberries keeping her business alive.
Later, Maina participated in a brief course at the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) in Eldoret, where she learnt how to make jam, juices, and other gooseberry products.
As a result, she registered with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), and with their approval, they were able to begin packaging and supplying supermarkets.
Maina’s products are sold at Transmatt, New Yako Supermarket, Yako Household, Uzuri Supermarket, Tulin Supermarket, Eldomatt Hyper, Eldo Raiya Supermarket, and Kenmart Supermarket.
The hot and sweet sauce is the company’s best-selling product; it sells approximately 20 boxes every week, each containing twelve 250g units and ten five-litre bottles.
