MAKING FRUIT CHEESE
Introduction
Fruit cheese is a delicious nutritious fruit based confectionery containing fruit pulp, sugar, butter, or hydrogenated fat, salt, colour, etc. which is heated to high sugar content and wrapped in films to protect from moisture. Fruit cheese is a product with a high shelf life. The investment can cost US$ 10,869 yielding estimated revenue of US$ 720 annually with production capacity of 31, 200kgs per year.
Production process, Capacity and
Technology
Any ripe fruit such as: mango, guava, jackfruit, banana, etc. is peeled, cored and pulped. Sugar along with butter, salt, colour is added and cooked into a thick mass, which is poured on greased trays and spread to half-an –inch layer. The mixture is cooled and cut into suitable sizes and wrapped in polythene films and released to the market.
Market Analysis
Because of its taste, flavour and nutritional values, fruit cheese is cherished by both the rural and urban population. There would be need for massive advertisement since fruit cheese would be a relatively new product. Supermarket chains, restaurants, fast food shops, educational institutes etc would form a good supply chain for the product. However, this Industry is not yet developed in Uganda; most of these Items are imported.
Capital investment Requirement in US $
|
Item |
Units |
Qty |
Cost |
Total |
|
Pulpier |
No |
2 |
600 |
1,200 |
|
LPG pressure & gas cylinder |
No |
1 |
500 |
500 |
|
Refract meter |
No |
1 |
150 |
150 |
|
Weighing balance |
No |
2 |
25 |
50 |
|
Cutters &knives |
No |
1 |
75 |
75 |
|
Packing machine |
No |
1 |
150 |
150 |
|
Trays |
No |
10 |
15 |
150 |
|
Total cost of Machinery & Tools |
2,275 |
1. Production costs assume 312 days per year with daily capacity of 100 Kgs.
2. Depreciation (fixed asset write off) assumes 4 year life of assets written off at 25% per year for all assets.
3. Direct costs include: materials, supplies and all other costs incurred to produce the product.
4. A production month is 26 work days
5. Currency used is US Dollars.
Production and Operating costs in US$
Direct materials, supplies and costs
|
Cost Item |
Units |
Unit |
Qty |
Prod |
Prod |
Prod |
|
Direct Costs |
||||||
|
Fruits |
Kgs |
0.20 |
32 |
6 |
167 |
2,000.00 |
|
Sugar |
Kgs |
1 |
3 |
3.53 |
91.67 |
1,100.00 |
|
Butter |
Kgs |
3 |
10 |
24.04 |
625.00 |
7,500.00 |
|
Salt |
Kgs |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.10 |
2.50 |
30.00 |
|
Colour / |
Kgs |
2 |
0.16 |
0.24 |
6.25 |
75.00 |
|
Packaging |
Pkts |
2 |
3 |
4.81 |
125.00 |
1,500.00 |
|
Sub-total |
10 |
258.33 |
3,100.00 |
|||
|
General Costs (Overheads) |
||||||
|
Labour |
350 |
4,200 |
||||
|
Selling & distribution |
100 |
1,200 |
||||
|
Utilities (Water, power) |
75 |
900 |
||||
|
Rent |
50 |
600 |
||||
|
Miscellaneous expenses |
25 |
300 |
||||
|
Depreciation |
47 |
569 |
||||
|
Sub-total |
647 |
7,769 |
||||
|
Total Operating Costs |
905.72 |
10,868.7 |
Project product cost and Price Structure in US $
|
Item |
Qty |
Qty |
Unit |
Prod |
Unit |
Total |
|
Fruit Cheese |
100 |
31,200 |
0.3 |
10,869 |
0.6 |
18,720 |
Profitability Analysis in US $
|
Item |
Per |
Per |
Per |
|
Revenue |
60 |
1,560 |
18,720 |
|
Less: Production and operating costs |
10 |
906 |
10,869 |
|
Profit |
50 |
654 |
7,851 |