Star Tribune interviews owner, Mohamed Ismail about Acacia-Tree Beverages and Ziwa Yogurt Smoothies
To read the full article, click here
Read about how Acacia-Tree Beverages got started, what Mohamed’s wife thinks and the challenges along the way. Learn about camel’s milk, healthy bacteria and what he did when his dairy plant up and quit during peak production.
The relationship with Hastings Co-Op is working. Sales are growing. Lunds & Byerlys just signed on to stock the product later this year.
Ismail projects a best-ever $350,000 in wholesale sales this year and $1 million next year.
“We like Mohamed and we like this Ziwa product,” said veteran distributor Mike Reineck, president of Market Distributing of Burnsville. “This has a unique texture. It’s refreshing and not so thick or clunky as other smoothies.
“It looks like a national-brand product, very well designed, but it’s from a small business and produced locally, which is great. It has mass appeal. We’re buying the product, selling to more retailers and Mohamed is an expert [on yogurt and nutrition]. We ask him along to explain the product. He’s passionate about this and we’re happy to represent his products.”