Jeremiah Ajayi
The Espact team met with a young university student who discovered how to produce liquid wash and has been using it as a source of income. He is a young man who is eager to start this business after school.
Arogbo Precious Ayomide known as YP is a 300l student of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) studying Microbiology. He started making soap in the year 2020 during the lockdown. He visited his aunt in December 2019 and saw her making soap; it was nice he said, his sister makes the soap for use alone and the household. He got fascinated by the processes and he started to pay attention to the production process of the soap. He immediately thought to himself; “I can start making it to support myself in school”.
Precious started to make his own and his first soap was more “koko” (not smooth) like a normal soap. He was introduced to the chemical and boom he started making soap using soft drinks bottle; it wasn’t easy looking for because he would have to go to different refuse dump to pick bottles and wash them. His Cousin had a session with him and told him he could be using good bottles branded and sealed, so he gartered money and worked on it and started bottling his liquid wash with sticker.
In the2020 he started the business also, he got his flyer designed and started selling with the motto says NO to dirty dishes. “Whenever you hear or see YP Liquid Wash, you have to say NO to dirty dishes”, he said.
However, Precious faced some challenges while trying to start this business. He tell us that the biggest challenge is the market, the chemical price kept increasing every time he goes to market and his customers kept complaining of his prices. There was a time I tried reducing the quality just to beat price and my cousin advised that I shouldn’t reduce the quality but I could reduce the quantity.
He maintained the quality and it has been a good experience as he received and kept receiving good feedbacks on the product, the fragrance, the foamy nature and the thickness.
He also stated that location has also been a challenge, the place where he reside are familiar with all these local liquid Wash with table water bottles and all, so coming to them with a branded soap and price seems strange to them, in his words he said they prefer to buy the local bottle than buying his branded wash. Precious stated that the only help he would love is capital which would aid mass production and packaging.
ASUU strike has reduced his sales and production, his niche has always been the student (they understand the game, the packaging and branding), “now that school is on strike I have reduced sales and I must say it has been affecting” he complained that if the school resumes he would sell to his mate and make a lot of money the way he used to.
Precious was asked if he wants to take the business to the next level after school, he said; “Yes, I will continue doing it in the future, YP Liquid Wash has come to stay and I tell you expect us very soon” he also said laughing; “we are coming to the lime light. You all have to say NO to dirty dishes using our product”. Quite a remarkable young man!
His advice to students out there is to be what they want to be and do what they have passion for. He said they should not ne swayed away with what majority are doing, and get busy.
