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He quit his job to make Honey wine, The story of an Enterprise development Specialist

By: Prossy Nandudu

Pix: Prossy Nandudu

Ambrose Bugaari, an Enterprise development Specialist, has been working with farmers under different projects in Uganda for close to 13 years. 

Throughout his work, he observed that most farmers didn’t have the capacity to add value to their products especially those from bees like honey.   

 It was in 2002 that he realized that there  few products from bees on the market, apart from honey ,honey combs, and candles, many  people knew nothing more about bees. 

Having worked with farmers under different organizations, Bugaari therefore decided to start up his own business.

“I saw that there was limited range of bee products on the market yet one can do a lot more from bees through its honey, as the main ingredient.

Having observed that there were very few honey products on the market, he decided to come up with a whole new product from honey, which is the honey wine hence the birth of Bugaari winery located in Kanyanya.

Although most wines in Uganda are associated with countries like France, Italy, South Africa, Bugaari thought he would take his wine to another level which would interest Ugandans to buy. 

In order to achieve his dream, he had to make a painful decision, that was quit his well paying Job at environment Alert an non government organization working with farmers in different parts of the country, to the surprise of his boss, ye one can only realize earnings from wine after two good years of investment. It means injecting in more capital for at least two years before earning from its sales.

Making wine from honey involves collecting honey  from farmers, collecting fruits, sterilizer to make sure that no disease causing organism finds its way into wine, extracting juice from the fruits, mixing them, fermenting storage, packing , labeling before one can earn from it.

 It goes beyond a business and it becomes part of the family because wine is like a baby that needs real care until it matures into adulthood.

Starting out,

The plan was first hatched by the couple in 2009.First there was need to have their own fruit farm, which they did in Kyegegwa district, in order to have their own fruits because those on the market are demanded by many.

“With a fruit farm we were assured of fruits. We later added on bees themselves so that we could as well harvest honey,” explains Bugaari. And identifying places with farmers that are more into bee keeping   to get honey from them.

After this, actual production started in 2010 with the testing process. “We realized that in order to convince Ugandans that we can also make quality honey, we offered a free testing session for honey before we were sure it would attract the market,” Bugaari explains.

Then in 2011 in April is when Rosmac honey wine was launched on the market which is doing well until today in all the leading supermarkets. 

Before long, Bugaari had to increase production and ensure quality, so with the help of family members especially his wife an advocate with one of the law firms in the country, they raised some money to ensure that the project grows into a winery it is today.

But to maintain quality, the couple is directly involved in the production process of wine so that quality is not compromised.

“With wine or something edible you cannot trust someone else, it is you and my wife because the earliest we go to bed is 2:00am because we keep monitoring and testing the wines to check if there is a drum we need to change or that is showing signs of not maturing,” Bugaari.

He now employs four people and then ten casual workers especially women who peal and grade the fruits every Saturday once they are delivered to the winery from farmers and Nakasero market.

The main fruits used in this winery are Mangoes and Pineapples. In order to realize the desired color of redwine, Bugaari says they are using hibiscus flowers because of it numerous health benefits in addition to honey which is the main ingredient.

According to Bugaari they are using honey as the main ingredient in processing wine because it is healthy and is aimed at eliminating the use of sugar given the fact that many people are becoming more sensitive towards their health so there tend to consume less or no sugar.

Market

At the moment, the couple is targeting the high end clients who frequent main supermarkets in town. Honey wine which goes by the brand name Rosemac is found in all Uchumi Supermarket branches, Capital shoppers and Mega standard supermarket at the old park.

Also the other class has not yet been left out; some winery shops are also selling honey wine which is both red and white.

A 750ml bottle goes for 10,000 at wholes prices and between sh15 and 20,000 ratail prices, while a 330ml bottle goes for sh500 at whole sale price and between sh7000 on retail.

Growing the local market

In order to sell his wine to all and not only the high end class like it is today, there was need to attract the ordinary customer as well. 

There is misconception among fellow countrymen that quality products especially wines and spirits come from other parts of the country yet the same quality can be achieved in Uganda. It is this misconception that the Bugaaris had to first work on by offering free wine to whoever cared to taste.

This in turn created customer satisfaction and trust that there is quality wine on the market, made from Uganda. Before launching the product on the market; the couple offered 500 litres of wine to the public free of charge for testing purposes. Two years later the strategy has worked and is still working.

“This was one way of creating a market for out wine, those who tasted and liked it spread the gospel and many still come here directly while others call and we deliver to their places,” explains Bugaari.

What keeps the business going

The quality that is observed at Rosemac winery has won him clients trust, meaning that they refer their friends to him. Having passion for his work has also been key in the growth of the businesses as  this ensures quality.

“I monitor every step in the process of making honey from the time fruits come in, to sorting the, to fermentation stage, to storage, to testing until its fit for the market we serve,” he explains.

“My wife and I are the key people in this winery just to make sure that no other party or employee access it because any mess in the first step while brewing means the wine will be contaminated hence not fit for human consumption,” adds his wife, Immaculate Bugaari, also the chief Brewer at Rosemac Winery.

How to maintain Quality

Everything else used in this winery be it honey, furits, containers are all sterilized with a food sterilizer that is imported.

“We can wash but some germs cannot be seen with naked eyes that is why we have to import that small powder to kill off any traces of germs that could have remained during the cleaning process,” .

Instead of using water for mixing in the honey as we make the wine, we use fruit juice from mangoes and pineapples plus hibiscus when producing the red wines just to make sure that we don’t add in chemicals that are likely to interfere with the quality of the final product. 

Also the color of wine is determined by the color of the honey used, because different regions produce different colors of honey.      

“The color of wine and taste is determined by the honey used and fruits. Bees get hector from different vegetations however the color doesn’t not in any way determine the quality.

Hygiene is the main issue observed while producing wine simply because any slight dirt contaminates the whole drum yet it takes a year for wine to mature.

“We don’t allow shoes or visitors in our mini brewery. We also keep changing the wine from drum to drum to get rid of the residues that might have been left behind such that the wine comes out crystal clear,” he explains.

Challenges.

The winery industry and other industries that are engaged in adding value into bee products may loose out soon due to increased clearance of vegetation for settlement.

“This means that bees will not have the vegetation to breed as well as getting nectar from them and also their feeds to feed on.

Currently the demand for honey exceeds the supply which has also lead to an increase in the price of honey. Unfortunately, there is no readily available solution to reverse the trend.

“We mainly get honey from farmers across the country especially west Nile which has been a regular supplier but as I speake, we ordered for 20ltr- jerry cans of honey but they have managed to deliver only 3and ½ due to the scarcity of honey,” Bugaari said.   

    

One other challenge is the bottles, are not readily available on the market. A 330ml bottle goes for sh1000 on the Ugandan market while those that accommodate 750ml are imported from Kenya.     

Balancing his consultancy job and family   

He decided to quit a salaried job and opted for consultancy work so as to pay more attention to the winery.

 His wife, advocate in one of the law firms in town joins him whenever she off duty or back from work since she is the chief brewer. 

He also adds that they have a reliable maid who takes care of the children while parents are busy in the winery.

In addition he employs four women on staff while the rest are casual and these only work on weekends.   

Future plans.

He plans to open a wine tasting center which targeting tourists who come to visit Uganda .

He also plans to expand his fruit farm to make sure that there will be constant supply of fruits because currently they buy fruits from especially Pineapples from Luwero and Nakasero market which are demanded by many factories into fruit processing.

Ends