Cane Juice Profits

One of our writers sent us the following true story on how to squeeze and sell cane juice. It is a good example of what traveling can do to open our eyes to the possibilities for businesses.

How to Make Money by Squeezing Sugarcane

By Tanya Whitehead

Traveling to Malaysia for the first time, my boyfriend and I fell in love with freshly squeezed sugarcane juice. The pure, golden liquid, mixed with ice, is like nectar to the Gods. We found one of the presses to buy, and shipped it back home. We made a set up on an old trailer, cut some sugarcane from a local farmer, and soon we had the golden nectar oozing from between the stainless steel rollers. We were in business.

Find a Good Supplier

Next was to find a farmer that would keep an area of cane for us that wasn't going to be burnt. You don't want to squeeze burnt cane! Once that was achieved, we had to figure out a way to clean the cane before use. This ended up being 3 floor brushes, tied together top and bottom to form a hollow triangle in the middle, which the cane was pushed through and up and down, in water.

Find a Good Market

We then approached one of the bigger Flea Markets in our area to see if we could hire a space. Usually there is a long waiting list, however, because this is so unique, we were given a top spot straight away as we would draw people to the market.

The first day that we set up our stall, my parents came to visit us and found us sitting on the trailer, twiddling our thumbs. We had sold out by 11am! More cane needed to be cut and carted. The next Sunday we worked full time and the cane lasted until 3pm. We knew we were on to something.

Marketing an Unusual Product

We then also started squeezing at a weekly market, once a week. This however, was a different clientele, more wary, not in the weekend, relaxed, mode. It took us about a week to convince passersby that sugarcane juice is not sickly sweet and that a can of coke has more sugar in it, than a can of sugarcane juice. We realized that we needed to bring in a variety of freshly squeezed juice to add to the sugarcane. After tracking down a good quality, yet well priced source of guava, apple, orange juice, passion fruit, we were back in business, and business was booming.

Costs

For us, a stick of sugarcane cost 5 cents. We sold a cup of juice, half filled with ice (good money saver this ) for $3. For this, only half a stick was used. The cup cost 10 cents. You do the math!!! We ended up selling three times a week and that was it. The money was literally rolling in. The machine can be bought for between $500 and $1000.

Related Opportunities

Now, this idea won't work unless you actually live in an area that grows sugarcane, but think in a different direction. Could you buy an apple cider press, squeeze fresh orange juice ? What grows around you and how could you press it?

If you liked this page please let others know with one of these...

Other Relevant Pages

Green Jobs and Businesses

Odd Ways to Make Money

Some Good Businesses