By Bimbola Oyesola
There are some products that must be part of our daily lives. Food is considered essential, so do items that complement our cooking. One of such is scouring powder. Hardly can one visit a kitchen, irrespective of the class in society, that one will not see this product.
Scouring powder is a household cleaning agent, which can be used in various ways for cleaning hard surfaces like stove tops, counters, pots, porcelain, fibreglass and tiles. It is a cleansing powder used to remove tough stains from pots (back of pots mostly), bath tubs, toilets, ceramics, toilet bowls, among others.
The business is one of the cheapest any would-be entrepreneur can venture into without breaking bank, and easier to produce as well. The ingredients to produce the product are also readily available. In terms of turn over, the profit margin is equally very high, a real business with high turn over on investment.
There are different ways to produce this item, which we will analyse and either way, you can easily start production right in the four corners of your home. By this also, you will be saving cost on facility.
One of the production methods involves using calcium carbonate and other chemicals while in the other, which is considered as non-toxic, all materials needed to produce are already in the house. Have you wondered what you can do with egg shells? This is because egg shells are used in producing scouring powder. Turning waste to wealth!
You can as well start small, medium or large scale. Whichever way you want, depending on available capital, there is huge profit awaiting you.
Below are quick guides into the business:
Research
It is important that before one ventures into a business, one should endeavour to know if there is a market for the product he or she is taking to the market. You wouldn’t want to waste time, energy and money to start a business that no one is in need of, would you?
Since scouring powder is a household product that is needed almost everyday, then the demand for it is high. Places like hotels, homes, eateries and even offices are in need of this product.
Capital
The fund to start production of scouring powder is very low. The business of producing scouring powder can be started with as low as N50,000 only. As explained earlier, you can double whatever amount you put into the business at every production. The return on investment is quite high and this can easily grow the investment exponentially within a short time of commencement of the business.
Registration
It is also important to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and other regulatory bodies in the country to ensure smooth operation of the business when it eventually takes off.
Raw materials
For the first production process, here is a list of the necessary materials needed for the production of scouring powder: Calcium carbonate –1kg; sodium laurie sulphate i.e SLS (powdered) – 3 teaspoons; caustic soda – 1 teaspoon; soda ash (light) – 1/2 kg; perfume (optional).
It should be noted that the above is just measurement for I kg of scouring powder, so if you are producing in large quantity, then you will need to add according to your capacity.
Production process
•For 1kg of calcium carbonate, add 3 teaspoons of powdered SLS and steer very well.
•Then add 1 teaspoon of caustic soda into the mixture and mix together.
•Add ½ kg light soda ash into the content and stir well.
•Add perfume (if desired) and turn very well.
It is important that you stir well and ensure that the materials mix well before packaging. Perfume is optional so it does not matter if you add it or not to your scouring powder. But it can make your product stand out; it can also be considered as part of branding and marketing strategy.
The process for the non-toxic production is equally easy but what is the advantage of one over the other? It is cheap, it is easy to produce, it is non-toxic and its ingredients are readily available.
Raw materials needed
Egg shells, salt, powdered detergent, mortar and pestle or blender, and a big bowl. Before you start production, it is important to know the ratio at which these ingredients are combined for the best result. Irrespective of the measuring tool you are using, the ingredients have to follow these ratios: Egg shells (1), salt (1/2), detergent (3). These ratios mean that if you are using one milk tin cup of egg shells, you will be using 1/2 milk tin cup of salt and 3 milk tin cups of detergent.
Production steps
•Get egg shells and dry them in the sun
•Ground the egg shells into powder with either the mortar and pestle or blender.
•Get a big bowl to contain all these ingredients.
•Mix the salt with the powdered egg shell plus any detergent of your choice.
Wondering how you can get enough egg shells for your production? This may look a bit difficult but you can approach any food seller, eateries, hotels and even the local mallams making noodles and eggs and bargain with them. Some of these people can even give you for free because it’s just helping them dispose their refuse, which is number one raw material for your product.
Packaging, branding and marketing
After production, the next stage is packaging and you just need to get it right and make it attractive to beat the existing producers to the game. For marketing, you actually start with your immediate connections, family and friends, neighbours, supermarkets, eateries, hotels, among others. You can get some sales people and do some road shows to create awareness, radio, television and local newspapers. It is the age of technology, so make use of facebook, Instagram and others to market your scouring powder.