The crux of any business or startup is making money. Making money is a function of realizing sales – which ultimately leads to profit-making. When it comes to salespeople generally want short turnarounds. That is why people tend to avoid long term business ideas. They want business ventures where the turnaround period is quite short. That way revenue is realized faster and more stocks can be sourced. The more and quicker that can be done the more money can be made. That is the hallmark of fast selling products. Short turnaround periods and high demand are the key attributes of fast selling products. If you want to start a business dealing with fast selling products in Zimbabwe, here you go:
Meat And Eggs
Meat is a good niche to settle for given the ever-present demand for it. Starting a butchery business is a lucrative venture in Zimbabwe so long you can guarantee supply. It is best to source and supplies all the common types namely beef, chicken, and pork, amongst others. There are also a good number of people regularly looking for rabbit meat, goat meat, game meat, and so on.
Many people I know who do this meat business realize good incomes and profits. Another strategic thing I have seen to move meat faster is to process it. You can process it into products like mince, and sausages, amongst others. The other strategy is to have braai services onsite. This way people tend to buy meat more because they can have it prepared and ready for eating on site.
Eggs are a good product to sell that moves quickly. This can be mostly in form of running layer chickens business. It can also be in the form of sourcing and reselling. It even cascades down to the selling of boiled eggs which again are fast-moving. The other day I calculated and realized vendors who sell boiled eggs realize some considerable profit. Eggs form a key part of many people’s daily diets so they are always sought after.
Beverages
There is a wide range of beverages which are mainly needed as refreshments and more. I am referring to the whole spectrum from non-alcoholic ones to alcoholic ones. This also extends to concentrated drinks which are ideal for home and school use. Especially in summer like this, you can make money from beverages. Water, the most basic, moves big time. It is commonplace to find street vendors out of bottled water due to limited capacity.
Fast Foods
No question about how fast-moving fast foods are. Just recently Simbisa Brands, the holding company for the likes of Chicken Inn, Pizza Inn, Bakers Inn, and several others made an interesting announcement. They announced that they will be opening 92 new fast food outlets across the country. This undoubtedly shows that fast foods are a hit business. Be it you are selling cooked sadza, rice, roasted maize, and so on, those food items move fast.
I remember some time ago hearing a story of a man in Harare. This man has employed several people under him in the roasted maize business. The popular Russian sausage and potato chips are preferred by many. More and more fast-food joints have been opened over the past couple of years in Zimbabwe. Again, another indicator fast foods move fast thus making it a profitable venture.
Fuel And Gas
These are basic commodities and that makes them highly sought after. If you can manage to find yourself a spot in this area you can make lots of money. These products are even faster moving in peri-urban and rural areas. Basically in areas that are somewhat remote the demand for these services usually outweighs the supply.
Stock Feeds And Veterinary Products
Last year I worked with a company dealing in this domain so I am well aware. I still occasionally visit them and I have noticed the demand for stock feeds is even soaring. Their Masvingo branch now needs on average 2 truckloads of stock feeds every week. This is because they are running out too quickly. This is not surprising given the number of people entering livestock production space.
Stock feeds for cattle, poultry, piggery, fish, rabbits, and so on are highly sought after. The same goes for the associated veterinary products for livestock. I urge you to consider being an agent or stock for these established brands such as Fivet, Profeeds, and National Foods, just to mention a few. I have seen people starting with orders of just a few bags to full truckload orders in just a few months.
Fruits And Vegetables
Yes, horticulture is a good business in Zimbabwe, vegetables in particular. You do not even necessarily have to be a producer to make money. You can just focus on sourcing and selling fresh and vegetables, it is a banger as well. Even dried fruits and vegetables move quite fast. You can also venture into processing the products of which move fast too.
Starch-Based Food Products And Snacks
Starch-based foods are a solid part of the Zimbabwean diet. We are talking about food products like maize meal, flour, rice, bread, and cereals, amongst others. They move fast because they are a major part of meals prepared daily by most Zimbabweans. Snacks sell a lot because they cater for all age groups. No wonder you find every street vendor selling them and do move quickly.
So whether you are into wholesale or retail, snacks are a perfect fit when it comes to fast selling products. Mostly corn-based snacks but potato-based are a hit too. This also spans into delicacies like nuts. A snack, by the way, is an item of light food eaten between meals. So do not limit it to the few examples I mentioned. Things like samosa, sandwiches, and the like also fall into this category.
These are just 7 of some of the fast-selling products in Zimbabwe. These are nowhere exhaustive as there are plenty more fast selling products. For example things like second clothing, fashion and beauty products, and medicinal products – the list goes on.
