A local company, Ed Stelar Foods Plc, is warming up to start exporting semi-processed meat products, particularly burger patties and meatballs, to Somaliland, Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates.
The company produces a range of processed beef and chicken products and targets to export 70pc of its total production while supplying the remainder to the domestic market. It plans to secure around seven million dollars from exports in a year and double the amount within five years.
Ed Stelar was founded in 2014 with 400 million Br capital as a joint venture between an Ethiopian entrepreneur, Eshetu Belay, and Dutch investor Hans Wasmoeth, who has previous experience in the “ready to eat” food processing industry.
The company currently employs 200 people and produces 59,000 food items a day at its plant, which sits on 5,000sqm of land in Sendafa, 35Km north of the capital. It is currently producing at just a fifth of its capacity.
“We started the business after observing how busy restaurants and burger joints are,” said Eshetu, CEO of Ed Stelar Foods Plc and Ed Stelar Broadcasting Plc, which is also known as Ahadu TV & Radio.
“There is demand for semi-processed meat from the diaspora and expats, who usually bring such products back with them when they go abroad,” he said. The company supplies mostly restaurant chains, supermarkets and hotels. A pack of six Ed Stelar beef patties goes for 380 Br in the local market.
The company has signed agreements to provide processed meat to international franchises, according to Eshetu. It plans to begin exporting in the coming few months.
“We’re working on getting international certifications,” he told Fortune. One of these is the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), which sets standards for management and safety systems in food processing industries. The company is currently sourcing its livestock from seven farmers’ cooperatives in Sendafa and Luna Export Slaughterhouse Plc, which owns the thriving Fresh Corner franchise.
SL entrepreneurs should start doing this themselves ASAP.