But little did Jordan’s mother, Claire Nyabok Orina, know that this school project would soon blossom into a successful fresh juice business called Kerama Juices.

Like most parents, Ms. Orina was used to helping her children with schoolwork.

But when her son Jordan asked for help brainstorming a business idea, she suggested he pursue something related to programming given his active interest in information technology.

However, Jordan had other plans and said he wanted to do something in the kitchen.

It was a Sunday, and Ms. Orina remembers not being particularly eager to help and asking her son to go into the kitchen by himself, instructing him on what to do for his project. Also, if the ingredients are available, use them.

And inspired by YouTube cooking videos he’d seen before, Jordan, now 11, decided to make a smoothie — something he’d seen people do online.

Using bananas and avocado, she made her first smoothie and proudly presented it to her mother about an hour later. To her surprise, the drink was not only delicious but also showed initiative and creativity and it was at that moment that Ms Orina realized that her son was on to something special.

The next part of Jordan’s school assignment required students to sell their business idea. Inspired by his initial success, the boy made four more glasses of his smoothie and sold it to his parents for Rs 200. His family, excited by his entrepreneurial spirit, eagerly supported him.

The final step of the assignment involved taking pictures and videos of the product and sending them to the class teacher.

In a twist, the teacher gave the students the opportunity to take their products to school and sell them to fellow pupils, teachers and staff members, and this required Jordan to come up with a name for his business.

The eighth grader decided to use his middle name and call it Kerama Juices.

The family prepared five liters of juice for a school sale and went the extra mile to print a label with the company’s name and buy disposable cups to make the presentation more professional, despite the school recommending That they can use a regular cup.

At Sh50 a cup, Jordan started selling juice worth Sh4,350, making a profit of Sh3,000.

“I had to explain to Jordan that he had just earned money from his school project. It was such a unique moment. As a parent, I was just doing my duty to support his education, but this It became more than that,” Ms. Orina, a mother of two, recalled in an interview.

What started as a fun project for Jordan quickly took off and Ms. Orina posted pictures of her son’s juices on her WhatsApp status.

Soon, her phone was ringing with friends and family members asking about flavors and if they could order. What started as a school project quickly turned into a business opportunity, and Karima Juices started receiving regular orders from teachers, parents and other clients.

Despite not initially planning to start a business, Ms Orina could not ignore the growing demand.

With the Sh3,000 profit from the sale to Jordan’s school, they reinvested in more fruit which enabled them to meet growing orders from the neighborhood in Nakuru’s Linate Estate.

And it wasn’t long before Kerama Juices became a full family business.

The journey was not without its challenges as during the first three months, Ms Orina and her family faced many hurdles such as struggling for consistency of juice to supply quality fruit at reasonable prices.

“Sometimes, we added too much sugar or made the juice too thick. Other times, we didn’t get good quality fruit,” he said.

But through trial and error, they learned the intricacies of the juice business.

The family soon developed unique formulas for their smoothies to improve their product to meet the needs of their growing customer base.

Eight months into the project, they made a significant investment by buying a commercial blender for Sh15,000 and a sugarcane crushing machine for Sh65,000. This equipment helped them increase production efficiency and meet the growing demand.

Today, Kerama Juices offers more than 40 different juice flavors, a significant leap from the initial banana-avocado smoothie that started it all.

Popular combinations include mango lemongrass, pineapple and mango beetroot. They have also introduced health-focused options such as pineapple with mint cucumber, popular for weight loss, and apple detox juice.

“We focus on using natural ingredients to meet various nutritional needs. We offer juices for people with acidity problems, who are looking for non-appetizers, non-appetizers, detoxifiers and more. Ms Orina told The Nation. Africa at his Lynette mini-shop where he has a juice business.

Kerama Juices produces 10 to 400 liters of juice per day depending on the season and customer orders.

Their products are sold in different sizes to suit different customer needs from 250ml bottles for Sh50, 500ml bottles for Sh100-150, half liter containers for Sh100-200. are sold and cost between one liter bottles. Sh 200-300.

Ms. Orina’s background in industrial chemistry and environmental science has been instrumental in the company’s growth. She uses her scientific knowledge to ensure that the juices are nutritious and of the highest quality.

They even conduct tests in a small lab before releasing new products to the market.

The business has expanded significantly, with two stores now open—one in Nakuru’s city center and one in Lynette.

They also offer delivery services to offices, events and individuals throughout the region.

Ms Orina has left her teaching job as a lecturer to focus entirely on her venture of Carima Juices and Water. The business now employs seven people, including three marketers, two production workers, and a fruit sorter and processor.

“What we believe in is giving people fresh and sweet juices. Our juices are unique. We do a lot of research to make sure what we’re making is nutritious, not Just picking and blending the fruit. We have a lab where we test it before we take it to market.

Although they cannot give Jordan direct access to the profits of the business as he is still young, they save most of the money earned for his future education and use some to pay his school fees. .

“We can’t give him money because he is still young. We save the profit we make and use it partly to pay his school fees. It was his business idea when he was older. If it does, it raises from something that is operational, is the founder and CEO of Karima Juice,” said Ms. Orina.

Much of Kerema Juices’ success can be attributed to social media marketing and word-of-mouth referrals, she says, and Orina further notes that many of their clients are from online platforms and satisfied customers. are obtained through recommendations.

Their biggest clients include event organizers, schools, wedding planners, and private party hosts who want fresh juice options for their guests.

“I thank God that we have come this far. It has not been easy, but for anyone who wants to start a business like this, patience and persistence are key. Indeed, innovation is extremely rare. “It can happen in the most unexpected places, even with a child’s homework,” she says.

The plan is now to expand Carima Juices to major supermarkets across Kenya, making their fresh, nutritious juices available to more people.