US-based Kenyan entrepreneur, Joyce Kerubo Nderi, is in the race for a mega deal with the supermarket chain Walmart. In mid-January, Walmart announced a nationwide contest for individuals, small businesses and inventors to have an opportunity to have their product carried by Walmart stores.
The contest, called Get On The Shelf, officially starts this week at www.getontheshelf.com, and the results will be determined by public voting. Three products will be chosen to be carried on Walmart.com, and the grand prize winner may even have their product stocked in physical stores throughout the country.
Joyce Nderi, the founder pof Catalog Production Tech, sees the contest as an opportunity to take her homemade body-care products national. She created a testimonial video for her product line, Joyce’s Natural Blends, and got a few of her colleagues to share their experience with her products.
She submitted the YouTube video along with her contest entry and the video is also currently located on the homepage of her website, joycesnaturalblends.com. Joyce’s Natural Blends products for face, body and hair are made in small batches by hand using natural oils and emollient butters, carefully enriched with complimentary herbal extracts, plant proteins, botanical and essential oils for a luxurious skin care regimen.
Joyce believes in making her products gentle and safe, using organic avocado, almond, illipe, and coconut oils and cocoa and shea butters etc. to create highly effective products that are paraben-, sulfate-, alcohol- and chemical-free.
“For many years I used beauty products that promised to deliver results but all I got were disappointments,” Joyce says. “My hair was straightened using chemicals that made it weak. After I had my daughter my hair started falling out like. That day I decided to do away with anything that was not natural and safe. I cut my hair and decided to start a natural journey. After several months of using my blends on my daughter and me, it was clear that what I was concocting was working.”
As her friends and family noticed the improvements in Joyce’s life, they convinced her to try selling her products. She now sells products from her website and at a salon in Dallas. Walmart will help the contest winners with things like scaling up production to meet Walmart customer demands.
In a telephone interview from the US, Joyce appeals to as many Kenyans as possible to vote for her, adding that hers is a true story of determination and faith. “Growing up in the Eastlands estate of Makadara in a two-room home with a family of seven kids, it was always my dream that one day I will make something meaningful out of my pitiful life,” she told BUSINESS TODAY. “When I reached the United States I promised myself that I will always work hard and take advantage of all the opportunities that USA offers. I decided that the sky is the limit so I embarked on this project and this could be the biggest break of my life.”
She added: “I am appealing to as many Kenyans as possible to vote for me. This is not only a vote for me but also a vote for our beloved country, because I believe that one day I will supply the kenyan market with my products” she said. The first round of voting opened March 7 and runs through April 3 with a second round commencing April 11.
To vote for Joyce go to http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/4744/Hair-and-Body-Natural-Be
Good luck, Joyce!
Photo couretsy of KOBI KENZO KONCEPT
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