Saafara
“Without your support I would have never got my loan approved. Great job! I wish you had known about the SBDC a year earlier.”
Saafara Herbal Teas brings you the flavors and tastes of West Africa in the delicious, healthy, and caffeine-free wild-crafted teas. These 100% natural herbal teas are steeped in the rich botanical history of Senegal and surrounding regions, where the ancients and the mystics of West Africa preserved their healing knowledge of plants and blends.
Challenges
From 2007-09, Ismael Diagne, owner of Saafara, was selling his special tea in bulk to small African communities in America, but he decided to approach big chains of supermarkets such as Wholefoods and Rainbow. These supermarkets did not want to receive the tea in bulk but in nice packaging. Ismael did not count on the financial resources needed to package his product. He was trying to obtain a $25,000 loan for over a year but with no luck from both traditional and micro lenders. One of the micro lenders referred Ismael to the SBDC to improve his business plans and financial projections.
Gameplan
The SBDC reviewed his business plan and financial projections and realized that Ismael was only relying on Wholefoods to sell his product. Ismael needed to improve his marketing plan as well as his projections that were not sound. The SBDC referred Ismael to an SBDC food specialty consultant, who met with him several times to work on strategies to launch his product wholesale. English is Ismael’s second language so his writing skills were somewhat limited. The SBDC helped with editing the business plan with a new and improved marketing plan as well as worked on developing better financial projections. The SBDC also helped Ismael in practicing his presentation skills for the loan committee.
Results
Ismael was able to secure a $25,000 loan to package his tea and now customers can find this tea in Wholefoods, Rainbow and other 15 stores in the Bay Area. Ismael sent an email to the SBDC expressing his gratitude. “Without your support I would have never got my loan approved. Great job! I wish you had known about the SBDC a year earlier.”
