About JHINES FACTORIES

Company status: created in 2014 and registered in 2018

Number of staff: 2 permanent employees and 8 casual employees

Joan Ines Henry Gad, Founder and Managing Director

Joan Inès Henry Gad trained as an agronomist. She has completed several internships and training courses with organisations such as CESAG (Business and Entrepreneurship training in Senegal through the Yali programme), Ecobank (Youth business bootcamp training in Togo through the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)), the Conventional Centre in Kigali, Rwanda (Youth Employment in agriculture conference), the Songhaï Centre, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the World Vegetable Center and the Jardin des Plantes et de la Nature (JPN). These experiences have enabled her to strengthen her knowledge and skills, which she now puts to good use in her community.

Joan Inès is involved in a number of initiatives to bring together professionals and local people, particularly young people. In particular, she is responsible for monitoring markets, standards and quality for the Ouémé market gardeners’ network, she is the general secretary of the Ouémé department processors, she is part of YALI CRL Dakar alumni session 13 (Business and Entrepreneurship), she is the international general secretary of the World Union of Women Entrepreneurs (UNIMFEE) network, and Benin president of UNIMFEE. She is also a Young Leader of Benin (class of 2019) of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and a volunteer in the SHE’S GREAT project funded by the IREX organisation in the United States of America and implemented by the Benin YALI Alumni Association. She is the winner of the Best Female Entrepreneur of Benin award in 2018 by the NEPAD project, the winner of the first female leadership prize of the Benin Yali Awards 2019 and third finalist of the pitch competition organised by the AUDA-NEPAD programme 2019, awarded best mentor of the AWE 2021 programme.

Through her company, Joan Inès trains young people in her community in soap-making, food processing and production. She has been a trainer for several activities organised by the company and has also been asked by other organisations to provide training, coaching, mentoring and experience-sharing. In 2020, together with a colleague, she set up a centre called UBUNTU CAMP, which every year offers stays and training courses for young people and adults who don’t have the means to travel to meet external partners and investors, and members of the diaspora in Benin. This enables them to learn about business management, agriculture and, above all, entrepreneurship.

In 2023, Joan Inès became a freelance graphic designer and career change consultant.

Business model

Tasks :

• Contribute to the fight against tomato post-harvest losses,
• Creating jobs for young people, particularly women,
• Ensuring that all tomato growers make a profit from their production,
• Dedicate a percentage of sales to entrepreneurship training for disadvantaged people.

Vision: To be the largest industrial tomato processor in Benin and the West African sub-region by 2030.

JHINES FACTORIES is a social enterprise in Benin that transforms fresh local tomatoes into food condiments, soap and cosmetics in order to reduce post-harvest losses.

Tomatoes are one of the main products grown and consumed in Benin. However, the seasonal nature of its harvest and its perishability mean that a large proportion of its production is lost. In addition to the lack of storage and transport infrastructure, there are limited opportunities for processing fresh produce in Benin. In Kpomassè, one of the largest tomato-producing areas in Benin, a large part of the harvest is lost because it is not consumed fresh or processed before the tomatoes rot. Joan Inès created JHINES FACTORIES to combat these post-harvest losses and add value to local produce. During the harvest season, the company buys fresh tomatoes from local producers and processes them.

JHINES FACTORIES has established itself as a key player in the tomato value chain in Benin. The company works closely with local tomato producers and sells their produce. It also makes tomato-based products available to local consumers throughout the year.

JHINES FACTORIES develops innovative tomato-based products for the local market, making it one of the leaders in the tomato processing sector in Benin.

Strong relationships with smallholders

The company works with 7 tomato growers from whom it buys their produce during the harvest season. 3 of these farmers are women aged between 40 and 50. The 4 men are aged between 45 and 60.

Products and markets

JHINES FACTORIES processes fresh tomatoes into a range of products including food condiments and cosmetics.

JHINES FACTORIES’ two main food products are ready-to-use tomato puree and concentrate, marketed under the POWER TOM brand. Tomato puree is packaged in flexible aluminium containers that can be resealed with a cap. The tomato paste is sold in glass jars.

The TOP EPICES range completes the range of condiments with ginger and chilli powders, as well as a blend of spices. These powders are packaged in flexible re-sealable aluminium sachets.

The company has also developed an innovative cosmetic product: tomato soap, sold under the TOM SKIN brand.

All JHINES FACTORIES products are sold on the local market.

In addition to its agri-food processing business, JHINES FACTORIES offers a number of training courses, particularly on preserving, processing and adding value to tomatoes. The company also offers training in soap-making and cosmetics, to help you learn how to make washing powder, cosmetics, detergents, etc.

In 2021, the company obtained National Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control (ANM) certification for its tomato concentrate.

Innovations: milestones and expansion plans

Tomato puree is the first product to be developed by JHINES FACTORIES and marketed from 2019 under the POWER TOM brand. From 2020, the company has extended its range of condiments with tomato concentrate.

The company’s efforts are not just focused on its product range, but also on its packaging. Since October 2021, tomato purée has been packaged in flexible aluminium stand-up pouches (also known as Doypack) that can be resealed with a cap. This packaging ensures that the products are well preserved, and is easy to use and transport (because it is light and not bulky).

Since 2022, ginger powder, chilli powder and the spice blend have been packaged in heat-sealed aluminium foil bags. This type of packaging is strong, light and more economical than the plastic jars initially used.

The packaging used by JHINES FACTORIES is imported from Nigeria and China because it is not produced locally in Benin. To cut costs, the company has joined forces with other companies to form a purchasing association and order packaging directly.

In addition to food production, JHINES FACTORIES is innovating in tomato processing. In 2021, the company began marketing a soap under the TOM SKIN brand, made from broken tomatoes. This soap has a dual purpose, as it reduces the effects of the sun’s rays on the skin and helps to combat the harmful effects of depigmentation.

Initially packaged in plastic film, the soaps are now sold in environmentally friendly, recyclable cardboard boxes.

JHINES FACTORIES continues to innovate by working, since 2024, on a project to produce black soldier fly larvae and compost from damaged tomatoes. Black soldier fly larvae are rich in protein and are a growth food for fish and poultry, improving their organoleptic quality. Compost can be used as a fertiliser and input to improve soil quality, particularly in organic farming.

The accessibility and availability of packaging is a major challenge for JHINES FACTORIES. The absence of a packaging production plant in Benin forces the company to source its supplies from other markets, particularly Nigeria and China. Importing this packaging entails significant costs and delays. The packaging is often unavailable for some time, which delays the marketing of the final products. In addition, the packaging delivered does not always correspond to that ordered by JHINES FACTORIES, which complicates its container filling operations and/or the marketing of end products.

JHINES FACTORIES is currently in an expansion phase and seeking financing to :

• Strengthen the capabilities of its staff,
• Purchase appropriate machinery and equipment to increase production capacity,
• Obtain AMM (marketing authorisation) certification for its products,
• Improving product quality,
• Acquire a transport vehicle to carry raw materials and finished products.

Success factors and lessons learned

Through its activities, JHINES FACTORIES contributes to the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). What’s more, each year this social enterprise donates a percentage of its annual turnover to community activities in the form of donations, sponsorship and free training, mainly for women and young people.

The company is always on the lookout for new ways to add value to all parts of the tomato, including those excluded from the food processing chain. The company contributes to reducing food waste while helping producers to make a profit from their production (SDG 2 “zero hunger”). By marketing tomato purée and concentrate outside the fresh tomato harvesting season, JHINES FACTORIES gives people access to healthy, easy-to-use, long-life and affordable products.

In addition, the company is creating jobs for young people, particularly women, in its processing plant (SDG 8 “decent work and economic growth”).

JHINES FACTORIES is constantly seeking to improve the packaging of its products and offers packaging that is unique on the Beninese market. The company uses packaging that can be recycled and/or is produced from recycled material in order to limit its environmental impact. This contributes to SDG 12 “responsible consumption and production”.

The company actively communicates on the development of its packaging via social networks. This enables the company to inform its customers of packaging changes, while promoting its products and gathering feedback from consumers to adapt to their requirements and expectations.

JHINES FACTORIES also maintains relationships with its customers outside social networks. The company organises promotional sessions and exhibitions of its products, places promotional posters in strategic locations around the city and distributes leaflets. The company also organises quarterly awareness campaigns on the harmful health effects of depigmentation, offering TOM SKIN soap as a solution.

In an effort to achieve continuous improvement, the company regularly informs itself about national regulations and export markets by participating in training and mentoring programmes, such as Women In Africa (WIA) and the AUDA-NEPAD programme.

Additional Resources

• JHINES FACTIORIES Business Profile (English)
• JHINES FACTIORIES Fiche d'entreprise (français)