Two brothers have turned N2000 into a thriving juice business…

In 2010, Nigerian –born brothers Seyi and Seun Abolaji set up Wilson’s Juice Company, a freshly squeezed juice company, to tap into a new market.

The brothers took it upon themselves to start producing fresh and natural fruit juice. Seyi Abolaji, went to a local market in the Western part of Nigeria, in Ogun State called Otta Market. There, he bought a bag of oranges and a plastic hand juicer. His first sales point was the Covenant University where he sold orange juice and smoothies. Subsequently the business transitioned into lemonade production when he came across lemons on one of his trips to the market. Now the Abolaji brothers have built a company in Nigeria that distributes its juice in over 650 locations in 18 states in Africa’s second largest economy.

In an interview with CNN, the brothers explained how with just about N2000, they started Wilson’s Juice company in Lagos, Nigeria in 2010; They say their company is now worth millions. Their company produces about 24,000 bottles of lemonade daily in a factory they built which employs 30.

Since starting the company, the two brothers have raised money about $200,000 with the help of family and friends and their own savings.

“When we started thinking about Wilsons in Nigeria, there was nobody doing lemonade. We went around to anybody who would let us in their factory, and we just started asking questions,” said Seun Abolaji

The Abolaji brothers are hoping to build a juice empire in Nigeria first.

They talked to yogurt and water companies, and big companies that were doing fizzy drinks, and thought: “Hey, why is there nobody doing juice in a bottle?” The two seized the chance to tap into this new market. “We saw an opportunity with fresh juice and with lemons, it has so many health benefits,” said Seun, who added it’s a healthy alternative to what’s on the market now.

“There are a lot of challenges…but could we have started this company in the United States? I doubt it. We would need $10 million. We started this whole company with less than $5. And that’s the beauty of Nigeria, you can have a naira and a dream,” said Seun. The pair hope to create a brand that will become a household name, first focusing on making sure they saturate Lagos and Nigeria, but the duo don’t see why they can’t go further afield.

“We believe there’s still a lot of work and a lot of value to add here. But from the very beginning we’ve seen ourselves as a global brand. We made a product, and we’re making products, that can stand on the shelf anywhere in the world,” said Seyi.

The company now produces two different flavours of lemonades, the Old Fashioned Lemonade and Pink Lemonade.