Zaag Naturals Moringa dietary supplements

Liberian Natural Startup Begins its Mental Property Journey, registering trademark for natural Moringa leaf powder and tea, a plant with antioxidant properties

In its native India, the moringa plant is understood to some because the ‘tree of life’ and the ‘miracle tree’. The names replicate the worth this drought-resistant tree has in Indian conventional medication, the place its leaves, bark, roots and seeds are used to deal with all kinds of illnesses, from dry pores and skin and diabetes to anemia and bronchial asthma. Though the reputed well being advantages of moringa nonetheless require scientific research, its fame as a natural one-stop-shop has unfold because the tree has been launched to tropical and subtropical areas world wide.

Examined well being advantages of Moringa impressed Zaag Naturals

From do-it-yourself treatment to enterprise success

One place the place moringa has been launched is the leafy suburbs of Monrovia, the capital metropolis of Liberia. It was right here that Sandra Perkins-Lighe realized concerning the plant’s reputed well being advantages. Because the co-owner of Toe-Zarzar Farm Inc., a cocoa farming firm, Sandra was well-versed in agribusiness. Nonetheless, it was not till she started scuffling with postpartum weight problems following the delivery of her third son that she began investigating moringa’s potential. After incorporating moringa into her weight loss program and exercising recurrently, Sandra not solely misplaced weight however felt a big enchancment in her general wellbeing. Impressed, she established Zaag Naturals to provide and promote medicinal moringa merchandise.

At first, Sandra offered Zaag Naturals’ cures to family and friends. As phrase unfold, nonetheless, she started promoting to a broader buyer base and stocking her merchandise in native outlets. Quickly Zaag Naturals may very well be present in 5 supermarkets in Montserrado and Nimba counties. The startup expanded in parallel, rising its personal moringa bushes and processing and packaging its merchandise.

Enhancing information of IP with WIPO

As the corporate grew in scope and professionalism, the necessity to defend its mental property (IP) grew to become more and more necessary. Nonetheless, Sandra was not totally conscious of the significance of IP and had not thought-about it a enterprise precedence. This modified in Could 2023, when she participated in a Regional Convention on Mental Property for Ladies in Agribusiness within the Rwandan capital of Kigali. The convention, organized by WIPO, raised consciousness amongst African ladies entrepreneurs of IP and offered them with the information and abilities to boost their enterprise competitiveness.

Liberia’s first IP Administration Clinic

The next month, Sandra was chosen by the Liberia Mental Property Workplace (LIPO) to hitch twenty-nine different startups at Liberia’s first Mental Property Administration Clinic (IPMC). The IPMC is WIPO’s four-month program supporting progressive small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop IP methods that finest showcase their enterprise plans and portfolios of intangible belongings. The collaborating corporations are proven the best way to higher handle and use their IP via customized, one-on-one mentorship, skilled recommendation and coaching. The clinic attended by Sandra, a part of the WIPO COVID-19 Response Package deal, additionally provided one-on-one mentorship with IP and enterprise growth consultants to assist SMEs use IP strategically to get better from the pandemic.

Zaag Pure – A registered trademark in Liberia

The information and abilities gained from the Kigali convention and the IPMC impressed Sandra to pursue trademark registration for her model. On December 18, 2023, “Zaag Pure” was formally registered and certificated as a trademark by LIPO, and her product labels now proudly bear trademark certification. Moreover, Sandra now consists of an IP clause in all employees contracts to spice up her enterprise’ competitiveness.

Assembly the rising demand for Moringa merchandise

“Entrepreneurship is a journey, not an occasion”

What started as a do-it-yourself treatment for family and friends has rapidly expanded right into a profitable enterprise. Sandy Group of Corporations, a Liberian-owned agro-processing firm of which Zaag Naturals is a subsidiary, now employs seven employees members and hires further employees as wanted. Zaag Naturals is now offered in 13 places and has diversified its product line to incorporate ginger powders and teas.

Sandra credit a lot of this success to her utility of IP. “As we interact new purchasers and share details about our IP registration, willingness to do enterprise with us has elevated,” she says. “We now provide merchandise to eight supermarkets, one retailer, one resort and one magnificence salon in Montserrado and Nimba counties, in addition to one on-line retailer and one social media platform.” Sandra is now exploring collaborations with different companies utilizing collective marks – logos owned and utilized by a collective, quite than only one firm – to satisfy the rising demand for moringa merchandise.

Providing recommendation to fellow entrepreneurs, Sandra emphasizes the worth of IP registration for SMEs and the significance of incorporating IP right into a enterprise’ general technique. Maybe most significantly, she can also be eager to emphasize that business success takes time and persistence: “entrepreneurship is a journey, not an occasion.”